Crime & Justice

Marissa Alexander : Stood Her Ground, Now Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison

Here’s another case of Florida’s stand your ground law. However, in this case, it seems self-defense was rightfully used and now a woman sits wrongfully in jail.

Published

12 years ago

April 18, 2012

Chenelle R. Covin

Marissa Alexander : Stood Her Ground, Now Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison

Since news of the tragic shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin went viral, it has bought focus on Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, which allows those confronted by violence and fearing for their life to potentially take deadly action to protect themselves.

Due to this very same law, the man who admitted to fatally shooting Trayvon Martin was not arrested by city police citing the shooting was in self-defense. He was charged 44 days later with second-degree murder after a special prosecutor investigated the case.

There has a been a huge controversy over the law with many stating it’s a license to kill. But what happens when a person actually stands their ground?

Well here’s another case of Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law. However, in this case, it seems self-defense was rightfully used and now a woman sits wrongfully in jail.

31-year-old Marissa Alexander, mother of three, currently sits in Duval County jail awaiting sentencing for three counts of aggravated battery.

Friend and ex-husband of Alexander told ActionNewsJax that she definitely doesn’t deserves to be there.

“She was a battered woman, I’ll just say that,” he said.

Alexander was arrested in August 2010 after police say she fired shots at her husband and his two children inside the home they shared.

But Alexander tells a different story. The mother says she fired the weapon in self-defense because she was approached by her husband in an unprovoked jealous rage while using the restroom.

“He assaulted me, shoving, strangling and holding me against my will, preventing me from fleeing all while I begged for him to leave.” she says.

She goes on to explain several minutes of trying to escape and was able to make it to the garage to her truck. She then realizes her keys were missing and was unable to open the garage due to mechanical failures. For protection against further assault, she retrieved her weapon which is registered and has a permit. She says she entered back into her home to either leave through another exit or to get her cell phone.

Alexander says her husband and stepsons were supposed to leave out of the front door, but didn’t. “Instead of leaving thru the front door where his vehicle was parked outside of the garage, he came into the kitchen by himself.”

“I was terrified from the first encounter and feared he came to do as he had threatened. The weapon was in my right hand down by my side and he yelled, “B-tch I will kill you!”, and charged toward me. In fear and desperate attempt, I lifted my weapon up, turned away and discharged a single shot in the wall up in the ceiling. As I stood my ground it prevented him from doing what he threatened and he ran out of the home.” Alexander says

No one was hurt when Marissa fired the weapon in the air to prevent her husband from attacking her. Her husband called the police and falsely reported she shot at him and his sons. Her attorneys says she acted in self-defense, that she was in fear of her life, defending herself with deadly force as permitted by Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

Despite her well-documented previous claims of domestic abuse, and her husband citing he was an aggressor, a judge dismissed Alexander’s immunity under Florida’s stand your ground law.

Marissa Alexander was not only arrested, but she was convicted. Next week, her family and attorney will ask for a new trial saying the justice system has failed her.

Alexander says that she is a “law abiding citizen” and just wants her voice heard in the hopes of bringing attention to her case.

“A step further and more importantly is in light of recent news, is justice for all include everyone, regardless of gender, race or aristocratic dichotomies,” she explains. ” I simply want my story heard, reviewed and the egregious way in which my case was handled from start to finish serve as an eye opener for all and especially those responsible for upholding judicial affairs.”

To read more on the Marissa Alexander’s story and her account, visit here.

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Chenelle R. Covin

Chenelle Covin is the Editor-in-Chief of the award winning online magazine, Unheard Voices.

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Crime & Justice

Arrests made for fatal shooting at Delaware State University

Camay Mitchell De Silva was shot and killed on April 21 while visiting her best friend at Delaware State University.

Published

2 hours ago

May 13, 2024

Unheard Voices Staff

Camay Mitchell De Silva (Photo Source: GoFundMe)

Authorities have announced arrests have been made for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Camay Mitchell De Silva last month at Delaware State University.

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Arrests made in Delaware State shooting of Camay Mitchell De Silva

De Silva was shot and killed by a stray bullet on April 21 while visiting her best friend who attended Delaware State University.

Police announced in a press release that 20-year-old Destry Jones and 18-year-old Damien Hinson, both from Dover, are being charged with the murder of Camay Mitchell De Silva.

The pair are also charged with the attempted murder of two other young men in connection with the April 21 shooting.

Jones was arrested in Brooklyn, New York and Hinson was arrested later that day in Dover, police said.

According to authorities, neither of the suspects in this case are enrolled at or affiliated with Delaware State University.

Police claimed Jones and Hinson were involved in a fight with two other men before shots were fired. Investigators do not believe De Silva was the intended target or involved in the altercation.

Beloved taken too soon

De Silva was a 2023 graduate of Concord High School who graduated with a 3.0. She spent her first semester of college at Morgan State University in Baltimore but decided she wanted to come home to Delaware.

She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.

Crime & Justice

Paramedic involved in Elijah McClain’s death sentenced to probation, work release and community service

Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 28, 2024

Unheard Voices Staff

Elijah McClain's family to receive $15 million from the city of Aurora

Elijah McClain and Jeremy Cooper (CBS News)

Jeremy Cooper, a former paramedic who injected Elijah McClain with a fatal dose of ketamine, has been sentenced to probation and community service.

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Paramedic Jeremy Cooper sentenced

He had faced up to three years in prison but was sentenced to four years probation, 14 months of work release and 100 hours of community service.

Cooper and another paramedic, Peter Cichuniec, were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in December in the death of McClain, 23, who was subdued by police and injected with ketamine on August 24, 2019.

Both paramedics had pleaded not guilty to the felony charges. Cichuniec was sentenced in March to five years in prison, the minimum.

Police stop turns fatal

McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him. When Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec arrived, they injected him with ketamine.

He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.

The McClain family sued the city of Aurora for Elijah’s wrongful death and received a $15 million settlement.

Crime & Justice

Honor student killed by stray bullet while visiting Delaware State University

A shooting at Delaware State University has claimed the life of 18-year-old honor student Camay Mitchell De Silva.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 26, 2024

Unheard Voices Staff

Camay Mitchell De Silva

Camay Mitchell De Silva, of Wilmington, Delaware, was shot and killed Sunday, on the Delaware State University campus.

The 18-year-old was visiting her best friend, a Delaware State student, when the tragic shooting occurred.

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She was an honor student

She then attended Delaware Technical Community College and planned to attend DSU in the fall to pursue a degree in Computer Science, with the goal of working in cybersecurity.

De Silva often hung out on campus with her best friend to get comfortable before attending DSU.

Delaware State shooting

The family said De Silva was visiting that friend at DSU on Saturday, April 20, and attended a party on campus that night. Around 1:40 a.m. on April 21, DSU Police received a report of shots fired on campus. The responding officers found De Silva in a residence hall suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body. The officers administered aid and then took her to a nearby hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries.

Police say De Silva was not the intended target. Dover Police Department Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. told NBC10 there was a dispute that she was not involved in and she was hit by a stray bullet.

The suspects were seen fleeing the area and no arrests have been made, said authorities.

Dover Police released a statement from De Silva’s family requesting time to grieve and to plan for her celebration of life.