Marissa Alexander shot at her abusive husband in the state of Florida. The same Florida which initially allowed George Zimmerman to go free without charge after killing Trayvon Martin.
Alexander will now be going to jail for a minimum term of 20 years. Florida’s stand your ground law didn’t help her. Of course it didn’t. It was written to help white people only.
Besides, there is a war on black women and children in this country. They are being jailed and harshly punished, even if they and their children are victims of crimes.
The right to self defense does not exist for black people. It is too bad that Ms. Alexander and her lawyer were unaware of this fact. She might have pleaded guilty despite her innocence and gone to jail for a much shorter period of time.
All of which brings to mind another question. How many innocent people plead guilty because they fear, quite rightly, that the system will not give them justice? We have no way of knowing the number, but it must be thousands of people who languish in jails and prisons in this country, which of course has more people behind bars than any other on the planet.
Margaret Kimberley
