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According to a sworn deposition taken in November 2010, Marissa Alexander's husband, Rico Gray, 36, said that on August 1, 2010, he and Alexander began fighting after he found text messages to Alexander's first husband on her phone...
...Gray began calling her names, saying "If I can't have you, nobody going to have you," and blocking her from exiting the bathroom.
Alexander pushed past Gray and went into the garage where she got her gun from her car's glove compartment.
Gray told prosecutors in the deposition that Alexander came back into the house holding the weapon and told him to leave. He refused, and what happened next is somewhat unclear. In his deposition, Gray said "she shot in the air one time," prompting him and the children to run out the front door. But when Gray called 911 the day of the incident, he said "she aimed the gun at us and she shot."
Testimony here:
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She left, went and got the gun, and came back. That is NOT self defense. If she truly thought her life was in danger, she should have gotten in to the car and got the hell out of there.
This turns out to be a typical media non-story, chewed up to create "outrage".
A women's gets into an argument with a husband in a bar, goes back to a car, brings the firearm into a bar, fires a shot later claiming it was a warning shot. No wonder she got 20 years for attempted murder.
No "warning shot" story, no outrage at oppressive government. Waste of time.
No, it's the law. Florida has very conservative laws. If you live I Florida DO NOT pick up a gun unless you understand the law. There is no such thing as "warning shot" in Florida. There is also no such thing as "parole" in Florida. There is a thing called "mandatory sentencing guidelines" which are very strict on gun violations, and if the guidelines say 20 years, it means 20 years and the judge has no say in it.
*Correction: If you live in Florida and are black, do not pick up a gun.
If someone truly feels in danger for his or her life or feels that the life of another is in danger and that feeling is reasonable, they should be able to use a gun. Period.
I would prefer, however, laws that didn't discourage people from using means as drastic as taking someone's life to defend oneself or others. A warning shot, or shooting someone in the leg or something for that matter, is vastly preferable.
*Correction: If you live in Florida and are black, do not pick up a gun.
Yes, this is my take as well. On any other website except for City Data and Stormfront it wouldn't take 50 posts before we confront the 800lb gorilla of race bias. If there is a white woman in FL serving 20 years for firing a warning shot we would know about it. And the other 49 states would not rest until she was freed. Instead this woman is being intimidated into taking the 20 on the chin by the threat of 60 if she goes ahead with a new trial. Not even her ex thinks she should serve 20 years. Anyone who really thinks this is about justice... ...Right...... anywho, just another in a long list of atrocities by southern (mostly) states. SSDD.
No disagreement there, but 60 years? The rest of your natural born life, considering that no one was harmed?
Just a wee bit excessive, no?
Florida enacted the 10-20-LIFE mandatory sentencing legislation to combat the high amount of firearms offences, shootings and murders that were plaguing the state. Under 10-20-LIFE, the sentencing structure works like this when a firearm is used during the commission of a felony:
Pulling a gun - 10 years.
Discharging a gun - 20 years.
Shooting someone - 25 to Life.
These laws were combined with a stipulation that during elections, each county in Florida can vote on whether to be even more strict on firearms offences. If the county votes to, all sentences for crimes involving a firearm are doubled. Since this was done, firearms offences in the State of Florida have dropped by 30%.
It's not like this isn't common knowledge. I live in Canada and while crossing the state line to vacation in Florida, there were huge signs warning those from out of state that gun crimes would not be tolerated. Personally, I'd like to see something similar up here in Canada, rather than the expensive gun registry that was enacted by the ruling Liberals in following the Marc Lapine massacre of 14 women on 6 December 1989.
Basically, all this means is if you do something stupid with a gun in Florida, you are going to be locked away for a long time. The woman in this case left the scene of an (alleged) assault and rather than drive away and/or call the police to file a complaint, she decided to retrieve a firearm and return to the scene to threaten her attacker with it, while firing a "warning shot" in the process. Under 10-20-LIFE, she is now looking at quite a stint in the state lockup.
In other words: Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. It really is that simple.
It's not like this isn't common knowledge. I live in Canada and while crossing the state line to vacation in Florida, there were huge signs warning those from out of state that gun crimes would not be tolerated.
Basically, all this means is if you do something stupid with a gun in Florida, you are going to be locked away for a long time. The woman in this case left the scene of an (alleged) assault and rather than drive away and/or call the police to file a complaint, she decided to retrieve a firearm and return to the scene to threaten her attacker with it, while firing a "warning shot" in the process. Under 10-20-LIFE, she is now looking at quite a stint in the state lockup.
In other words: Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. It really is that simple.
What about those in state? Look, I challenge you to find me the account of even one of your fair haired sistren (or brethren) living in the state of FL serving one of those 20 year sentences. I've been to Florida several times. My parents retired there. I know that the white population of Florida includes people who have pulled guns in anger and fired them as well. Should be a whole lot of WINO's doing hard time in Florida's penal colonies. You only have to find me one of them. Piece o' cake then. Meet you back here in 24 hours.
What about those in state? Look, I challenge you to find me the account of even one of your fair haired sistren (or brethren) living in the state of FL serving one of those 20 year sentences. I've been to Florida several times. My parents retired there. I know that the white population of Florida includes people who have pulled guns in anger and fired them as well. Should be a whole lot of WINO's doing hard time in Florida's penal colonies. You only have to find me one of them. Piece o' cake then. Meet you back here in 24 hours.
Are you suggesting that because this women is black, that she shouldn't be prosecuted? You do know that a jury ruled that she wasn't acting in self defense, and that she didn't fire a warning shot, they believed that she was trying to shoot her husband.
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