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Marissa Alexander has a trial date that is set for November 8th. While this is a small piece of good news, it’s still not the freedom she deserves, but it’s one step closer. A judge will decide if Marissa will be released from prison as she waits for her new trial after an incident in which she fired a warning shot at her abusive husband. No one was shot and or harmed in the scuffle, but the 33-year-old mother of two was slapped with a 20-year sentence.

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Marissa’s defense attempted to use the controversial Florida law, Stand Your Ground, but was denied that right. In a post Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman world, many people of color were outraged that Marissa had a legitimate reason to protect herself, no one was killed and she was jailed. The mandatory 20-year sentence under Florida’s 10-20-life law covers all crimes involving firearms, but it became a ridiculous display of the unbalanced scale of justice when race is involved.

An appeals court judge ordered a new trial for Marissa last month, not because of the Stand Your Ground ruling in the case, but because the “jury instructions on self-defense were erroneous” in her first trial. The new trial date has been set for March 31, 2014, according to the Florida Times-Union. We’re hoping the judge decides to let Marissa spend her time waiting on her trial out of prison. But given the track record of our justice system, it’s not looking good.

Marissa does, however, have the support of many organizations:

Support for Marissa Alexander | Facebook

Free Marissa Alexander – Radical Women

Stand Your Ground Marissa Alexander

Freeing Marissa Alexander – Truthout

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Related Stories:

‘Stand Your Grand’ Plea Failed Marissa Alexander With 20 Year Sentence, But Now She Gets A New Trial

BEAUTIFUL NEWS: Florida Senate Approves ‘Stand Your Ground’ Revisions

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