In the wake of the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial, there has been a renewed interest in repealing \u201cstand your ground\u201d laws in the state of Florida.<\/p>\n
No other case has garnered as much interest or illustrated the misapplication of the controversial law more than that of the case of Marissa Alexander.<\/p>\n
Alexander was sentenced to 20 years for firing a warning shot, that hit no one, during a confrontation with her then-husband who had a history of abusing her physically. The fact that Alexander, a domestic violence victim, was denied use of \u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 to facilitate her claim of self-defense has served as an example for some of how the law is not equally applied to all races and all genders.<\/p>\n
The Florida cabinet meets with Governor Rick Scott every Tuesday morning, and State Senator Dwight Bullard sent letters to three members of the governor\u2019s cabinet Monday, requesting that Alexander be granted a pardon and released from prison. The letter was sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi, the state\u2019s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Attwater, and the Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putman.<\/p>\n
In order for the governor to grant a pardon, two members of the cabinet must also support it. In the letter, Bullard writes, \u201c[Alexander] was denied a defense under Florida\u2019s \u2018stand your ground\u2019 protections, and was found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Surely Ms. Alexander had a clear right to defend herself and not retreat from the middle of an altercation in which her life and safety were at stake,\u201d Bullard says in the letter.<\/p>\n
According to the Florida constitution the governor has the authority to \u201csuspend collection of fines and forfeitures, grant reprieves not exceeding sixty days and, with the approval of two members of the cabinet, grant full or conditional pardons, restore civil rights, commute punishment, and remit fines and forfeitures for offenses.\u201d The state\u2019s constitution gives the governor \u201cunfettered discretion\u201d to deny clemency at any time for any reason.<\/p>\n
Despite the uphill battle, Senator Bullard told theGrio, he is optimistic about the chances Governor Scott will acknowledge public opinion and increased pressure, and grant Alexander\u2019s pardon. \u201cWhen [the Florida government] looks at the facts of the case it\u2019s obvious, and that\u2019s what gives me optimism,\u201d says Bullard, \u201cOpponents of \u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 didn\u2019t have much to look forward to [after the Zimmerman verdict] but between the success of the Dream Defenders who have been protesting for weeks in the capital, people are now doing a serious analysis of the flaws in \u2018Stand Your Ground\u2019 and this will carry over to Ms. Alexander\u2019s case. For the everyday citizen [it] is hard to understand how one person [George Zimmerman] goes free claiming self defense for killing an unarmed teenager and another person goes to jail for killing no one.\u201d<\/p>\n