STATEMENT TO THE PRESS
February 16, 2014
From: Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign
[email protected]
www.freemarissanow.org
The fight for justice for Jordan Davis has just begun
Today, on what would have been Jordan Davis's 19th birthday, Free Marissa Now and our more than 17,500 supporters send love and support to Jordan Davis' parents, family, and community. Although Michael Dunn was found guilty of attempted murder of three black teenagers who survived his racist entitlement and violent attack, a guilty verdict was not reached for his murder of Jordan Davis. Yet again, we believe that Angela Corey has failed the constituents of Florida and a pattern of institutional racism in Florida's justice system continues to devastate. Corey has once again proven incapable of obtaining a murder conviction against a white man who took the life of a black teenager. Yet, Corey somehow continues the unjust prosecution of Marissa Alexander, an African American woman from Jacksonville, FL who defended her life from a violent act of rage and power from her estranged husband, and who caused no injuries. We are outraged that once again a white man's fear is judged more worthy than a black youth's life, while a black woman's fear was rendered invisible or impossible, as was the case in Marissa Alexander's Stand Your Ground hearing. We continue to advocate for justice for Jordan and his family, and call for immediate and transformative responses to the racism woven throughout the US criminal justice system.
Cece Littlejohn, a Jacksonville activist with Free Marissa Now and New Jim Crow, took part in a late night march to Corey's office on the night of the Dunn verdict. Littlejohn is another black woman survivor of domestic violence who met Alexander while both were in jail. Says Littlejohn:
"Get ready, Jacksonville, because Free Marissa Now, New Jim Crow, and many other civil rights groups are fighting back. No longer will society knock us down.
"We're fighting for our kids and their freedom, we're fighting police brutality and in defense of the elderly. We're standing up for Marissa Alexander, Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Cristian Fernandez and his mama Bianela Susana. I'm fighting for Daniel Holloway, who was accused of a carjacking that never happened. So come on! We have to keep marching and protesting. We have to let them hear us roar. No longer will they defeat us. Martin Luther King, Jr. did his part, now it's up to us to do ours with the tools and the wisdom that he gave us.
"Happy birthday, Jordan Russell Davis, and may you forever rest in peace. Jordan, just know the fight isn't over for you. It has just begun."
The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign has been working for the last two years to win freedom for Marissa Alexander and other criminalized survivors of domestic violence. After being denied a Stand Your Ground defense, Alexander received a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence for firing a warning shot to stop an attack by her abusive, estranged husband. She caused no injuries and she used her registered weapon responsibly. The case has become a rallying point for opponents of domestic violence and mass incarceration.
Free Marissa Now is working to raise $30,000 for Alexander's legal fund by early March. The cost for Alexander's new trial, scheduled for July 28, is expected to be over $250,000. Donations can be made athttp://igg.me/at/freemarissa2.
The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign is an international grassroots campaign led by a core of organizers representing the African American/Black Women's Cultural Alliance, New Jim Crow Movement - Jacksonville, Radical Women, INCITE!, and the Pacific Northwest Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander. For more information, see www.FreeMarissaNow.org.
February 16, 2014
From: Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign
[email protected]
www.freemarissanow.org
The fight for justice for Jordan Davis has just begun
Today, on what would have been Jordan Davis's 19th birthday, Free Marissa Now and our more than 17,500 supporters send love and support to Jordan Davis' parents, family, and community. Although Michael Dunn was found guilty of attempted murder of three black teenagers who survived his racist entitlement and violent attack, a guilty verdict was not reached for his murder of Jordan Davis. Yet again, we believe that Angela Corey has failed the constituents of Florida and a pattern of institutional racism in Florida's justice system continues to devastate. Corey has once again proven incapable of obtaining a murder conviction against a white man who took the life of a black teenager. Yet, Corey somehow continues the unjust prosecution of Marissa Alexander, an African American woman from Jacksonville, FL who defended her life from a violent act of rage and power from her estranged husband, and who caused no injuries. We are outraged that once again a white man's fear is judged more worthy than a black youth's life, while a black woman's fear was rendered invisible or impossible, as was the case in Marissa Alexander's Stand Your Ground hearing. We continue to advocate for justice for Jordan and his family, and call for immediate and transformative responses to the racism woven throughout the US criminal justice system.
Cece Littlejohn, a Jacksonville activist with Free Marissa Now and New Jim Crow, took part in a late night march to Corey's office on the night of the Dunn verdict. Littlejohn is another black woman survivor of domestic violence who met Alexander while both were in jail. Says Littlejohn:
"Get ready, Jacksonville, because Free Marissa Now, New Jim Crow, and many other civil rights groups are fighting back. No longer will society knock us down.
"We're fighting for our kids and their freedom, we're fighting police brutality and in defense of the elderly. We're standing up for Marissa Alexander, Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Cristian Fernandez and his mama Bianela Susana. I'm fighting for Daniel Holloway, who was accused of a carjacking that never happened. So come on! We have to keep marching and protesting. We have to let them hear us roar. No longer will they defeat us. Martin Luther King, Jr. did his part, now it's up to us to do ours with the tools and the wisdom that he gave us.
"Happy birthday, Jordan Russell Davis, and may you forever rest in peace. Jordan, just know the fight isn't over for you. It has just begun."
The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign has been working for the last two years to win freedom for Marissa Alexander and other criminalized survivors of domestic violence. After being denied a Stand Your Ground defense, Alexander received a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence for firing a warning shot to stop an attack by her abusive, estranged husband. She caused no injuries and she used her registered weapon responsibly. The case has become a rallying point for opponents of domestic violence and mass incarceration.
Free Marissa Now is working to raise $30,000 for Alexander's legal fund by early March. The cost for Alexander's new trial, scheduled for July 28, is expected to be over $250,000. Donations can be made athttp://igg.me/at/freemarissa2.
The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign is an international grassroots campaign led by a core of organizers representing the African American/Black Women's Cultural Alliance, New Jim Crow Movement - Jacksonville, Radical Women, INCITE!, and the Pacific Northwest Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander. For more information, see www.FreeMarissaNow.org.
