TIMELINE FOR MARISSA ALEXANDER'S LEGAL CASE
  • August 1, 2010: Nine days after giving birth to a premature daughter, Marissa Alexander was attacked by her abusive estranged husband at their shared home. She writes, “In an unprovoked jealous rage, my husband violently confronted me while using the restroom. He assaulted me, shoving, strangling and holding me against my will, preventing me from fleeing all while I begged for him to leave.” He attacked her while his sons were in the home. Marissa retrieved her lawfully registered gun and fired a warning shot upwards into a wall to prevent him from beating her to death. No one was injured by her warning shot.  
  • February 10, 2011: Alexander's incarceration begins.
  • August 17, 2011: Alexander was denied Stand Your Ground immunity from prosecution.
  • May 11, 2012: Alexander was found guilty of three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and received a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.
  • July 10, 2013: Marissa Alexander was denied bond pending her appeal of the guilty verdict.
  • September 26, 2013: Marissa Alexander successfully appealed the 2012 trial, the guilty verdict was overturned, and she was given the right to a new trial.  The appellate court ruled that the jury instructions put too much of a burden on Alexander. “The defendant’s burden is only to raise a reasonable doubt concerning self-defense,” a three-judge panel ruled. “The defendant does not have the burden to prove the victim guilty of the aggression defended against beyond a reasonable doubt.” However, the appellate court did not overturn the 2012 court decision to deny Marissa Alexander a Stand Your Ground immunity from prosecution.
  • October 31, 2013: Alexander's re-trial was scheduled for March 31, 2014.
  • November 27, 2013: Alexander was released on bond the night before Thanksgiving.  She spent 1,021 days in prison. She is currently under house arrest with special conditions, including requiring her to post a $200,009 bond, remain under the supervision of the Pretrial Service Program (PCP) at all times, be subject to 24/7 electronic monitoring, and remain in home detention until the completion of her case.
  • January 7, 2014: State Prosecutor Angela Corey filed a motion to revoke Alexander's bond release, claiming that Alexander violated the conditions of her release.  Alexander's legal team filed a response to the motion stating that the correctional staff supervising Alexander's bond release confirmed that Alexander complied with all of the conditions of her bond release and is not in violation of her bond.  The hearing is scheduled for January 10, 2014.
  • January 10, 2014: State Prosecutor Angela Corey's motion to revoke Marissa Alexander's bond release was denied and Marissa remains on "home detention," but with more restrictive conditions.
  • January 30, 2014: Alexander's trial was postponed to July 28, 2014.
  • March 1, 2014: The Florida Times-Union reported that Angela Corey is seeking a 60 year sentence for Marissa Alexander if Alexander is found guilty in the July 28th trial.  Corey argued that the mandatory minimum statute required Alexander to serve three 20 year sentences consecutively rather than concurrently, tripling the mandatory minimum to 60 years.
  • March 14, 2014: Alexander's legal team filed a motion requesting a new Stand Your Ground hearing.  
  • May 16, 2014: Judge James Daniel did not issue a ruling on Alexander's motion for a new Stand Your Ground hearing. He said he would do so in June and he is accepting written arguments through the month of May.  Alexander's trial is still scheduled for July 28, 2014.
  • June 10, 2014: Judge Daniel postponed Marissa Alexander's trial to December 8, 2014, with jury selection beginning on December 1st.  The reason given was that the judge and her defense team wanted more time to see how the recent changes in the Stand Your Ground law will impact her case. Marissa’s next court date is scheduled for August 1st when the judge is expected to render a decision about whether she will get a new Stand Your Ground hearing.
  • June 21, 2014: Changes to Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law went into effect.  Changes include expanding the law to cover warning shots.  Marissa Alexander's case is cited as an inspiration for the reform.
  • July 21, 2014: Marissa Alexander was denied a new Stand Your Ground hearing, which means she will not receive immunity from prosecution and must defend herself again in a new trial. Her new trial is scheduled to begin December 8, 2014, with jury selection beginning on December 1st. 
  • November 24, 2014: Marissa Alexander accepted a plea deal with the State of Florida.  The plea deal includes time served (1,030 days), an additional 65 days in Duval County Jail which will begin today, and two years of probation serving house detention while wearing a surveillance monitor.  Read Free Marissa Now's official statement.  She will be in jail until January 27, 2015, which is the date of her next hearing.
  • January 27, 2015: Marissa Alexander was released from prison today. The State Attorney's office tried to extend Marissa Alexander's sentence to an additional two years probation on top of the two years of house detention in the plea agreement, but they failed.  Alexander intends to go to school to become a paralegal.