A Florida woman who became a cause celebre for civil-rights activists after she received a 20-year prison sentence for firing a warning shot has been released on house arrest as she awaits another trial.
Marissa Alexander’s supporters said she was at home for Thanksgiving with her children Thursday after she was released on $200,000 bond following a judge’s ruling on Wednesday.
Alexander’s sentence, which she received after she unsuccessfully invoked Florida’s “stand your ground” law, came to prominence after the nation was gripped by the Trayvon Martin case.
Alexander, like Martin, is black, and advocates like the Rev. Jesse Jackson have argued for her release, calling Florida’s self-defense laws unfair and unevenly applied to people of color.
During an argument, the mother of three had fired the warning shot in the direction of her estranged husband, against whom she had a protective order. She was convicted of aggravated assault in 2012.
Given that she used a gun, Florida’s minimum sentencing laws required that she be sentenced to 20 years in prison.
