Marissa Alexander, the woman convicted under a controversial Florida gun law accepted a plea deal that reduces her prison time from 20 years to 65 days for shooting a gun during a domestic abuse incident. In the retrial Alexander faced a 60-year sentence if she was convicted.
However, Alexander, 34, pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault with a weapon for firing a “warning shot” at her estranged husband and his two underage children, reports The Florida Times Union. The ruling takes into account the 1,030 days she spent behind bars as time served allowing her to finish her sentence with 65 more days in jail. In addition, she is sentenced to two years of house arrest after she serves her time. The plea deal Alexander accepted is similar to one she rejected before her first trial.
Initially, Alexander was sentenced to a 20-year sentence for firing a “warning shot” at her estranged husband during an argument under Florida’s 10-20-Life law. The law carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years for anyone convicted of a crime in which they fire a gun. Lawyers for Alexander used the Stand Your Ground defense, the high-profile law that allows victims to use deadly force against their attackers for fear of their safety. George Zimmerman used the law in his defense for killing unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. Many states have a version of the law with most being contested due to the backlash after the Zimmerman was found not guilty.
Prosecutors and State Attorney Angela Corey, who also tried Zimmerman’s case, often grew frustrated over the misinformation in the Alexander case. One of the key pieces of misinformation disseminated in the news was surrounding the “warning shot.” In many reports it was stated that Alexander fired a single shot into the ceiling. In reality, the bullet hit the kitchen wall, a shot that could have killed her estranged husband Rico Gray, said Assistant State Attorney Rich Mantei.
Alexander isn’t completely off the hook. She could still face five years in prison for a second count during her January 27 hearing.