The fight to free Marissa Alexander continues. Alexander is an African American mother who was sentenced to 20 years for firing a warning shot to stop an attack by her abusive husband. In September, a Florida Appeals court overturned her guilty verdict and she secured the right to a new trial. The new trial is scheduled to begin March 31, 2014.

On Nov. 13, Judge Daniels failed to grant Marissa Alexander's request to be released on bond. He heard arguments, but said he will decide later, perhaps before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Marissa is still in jail. The national Free Marissa Now campaign statement on the hearing is below.

Get involved -- your ideas and involvement are needed! Radical Women continues to be a proud and active member of the Free Marissa Now campaign. Please contact me at RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com or 206-722-6057 if you are interested in being part of the dynamic, grassroots effort to keep Marissa's case in the public eye, build pressure for her release, raise funds for her legal defense and continue to address how Black women and other survivors of domestic violence are criminalized for defending themselves.

Free Marissa Now has launched a campaign to raise at least $10,000 by the end of the year. All of the proceeds go to the Marissa Alexander Legal Defense Fund which is administered by Marissa's family on her behalf. Marissa's lawyers are volunteering their time, but there are still many, many expenses to wage an excellent defense at her new trial. Donate at tiny.cc/freedomfundraiser. There is also information on that page about donating by check.

I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with you!

In solidarity,
Anne Slater
National Organizer
Radical Women

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Date: November 13, 2013
From: Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign
Contact: FreeMarissaNow@gmail.com

For Immediate Release


An appalling injustice took place today in Jacksonville, Florida when Judge James Daniel failed to grant Marissa Alexander's request to be released on bond until a verdict is reached in her new trial that begins March 31, 2014. At the end of September, a Florida Appeals Court threw out the guilty verdict against Ms. Alexander and ordered a new trial due to severe problems in the instructions to the jury. With the overturn of the original verdict, Marissa Alexander is no longer guilty in the eyes of the law, but she is still in prison.

Marissa Alexander, an African American mother and daughter, was sentenced to 20 years for firing a warning shot to stop an attack by her abusive ex-husband -- an act of self-defense that injured no one. She was denied a Stand Your Ground defense. She has already been separated from her young children and family for nearly three years. The youngest was only 9 days old when the domestic violence incident occurred.

Release on personal recognizance or bond is supposed to be allowed to defendants who present no risk of flight or danger to the community. This mother of three is firmly rooted in the Jacksonville community by her connections to family, children and friends. She poses no danger to the public. Or has the state of Florida decided that she is a danger for the sole reason that she is a black woman?

It is well documented that black women and other marginalized people are likely to be criminalized, prosecuted, and incarcerated while trying to navigate and survive the conditions of violence in their lives. This is especially true for black women who are subjected to racist stereotypes that paint them as overly aggressive and unworthy.

The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign is undaunted in our passion to win Marissa Alexander's release. We have launched the Marissa Alexander Freedom Fund campaign to raise $10,000 by the end of the year to help pay for legal costs of the new trial. Donors can give at tiny.cc/freedomfundraiser.

Our movement is thousands strong and we will keep going.

We have a trial to help win and we will continue to organize for Marissa's freedom and the end of domestic violence and mass incarceration. The world is watching and we will not rest until justice is won.

Other media coverage of the hearing is at:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/13/1255393/-Marissa-Alexander-Given-No-Bail-And-No-Decision

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/335054/483/No-bond-decision-for-Marissa-Alexander