black women’s lives matter: free marissa alexander

Marissa Alexander will be Prosecuted Again by the
State of Florida for Defending Her Life: 
The Free Marissa Now Campaign Vows to Keep Organizing until Marissa is Free

by Suey Park

Thousands of people in Florida, the US, and around the world sent letters, e-mails, and phone calls to State Attorney Angela Corey urging her to drop the unjust case against Marissa Alexander. Despite this powerful mass appeal, Angela Corey has once again decided to prosecute Marissa Alexander for defending herself from her abusive ex-husband who attacked her and threatened to have her killed, despite the fact that the original guilty verdict was overturned, and despite the fact that Marissa injured no one when she fired a warning shot and has no criminal record.

Marissa Alexander, an African American mother of three, has been victimized twice — once by her abusive ex-husband and again by the state of Florida, which has stolen nearly three years from her life for an act of self-defense that injured no one. While the Free Marissa Now mobilization campaign is deeply disappointed in the on-going targeting of this survivor of domestic violence by prosecutors, we remain steadfast and more committed than ever to keep organizing until we see Marissa Alexander freed from prison.

We stand with all of the incredible supporters who have written letters, organized teach-ins, created art, marched, made phone calls, made signs, tabled, sang songs, endorsed the call, written poetry, produced videos, debated haters, blogged, prayed, made donations, rallied in public and meditated in private. Your raised voices continue to be the key ingredient to secure Marissa Alexander’s freedom because you refuse to let this violence stay invisible, which it is for so many people who are abused behind closed doors and disappeared into prisons.

Our work together has brought broad awareness of how black women and other marginalized people are often criminalized, prosecuted, and incarcerated while trying to navigate and survive the conditions of violence in their lives.  Domestic violence survivors are frequently deprived of support and solidarity, particularly if they fight back. This is especially true for black women who are criminalized and subjected to racist stereotypes that paint them as overly aggressive and unworthy. In fact, black women face a disproportionate share of fatal domestic violence in America.

The systemic injustice of Florida’s mandatory minimum sentencing system is being fully exposed as a mechanism leading to the mass incarceration of black people, other people of color, and poor people. Mass incarceration must be dismantled. Transformative strategies to end domestic and sexual violence — including community organizing; culturally specific services to prevent violence; community-based efforts to promote accountability, healing, and redress; and efforts to achieve economic justice — must be meaningfully engaged in order for our communities to achieve real safety.

Marissa is no longer “guilty” in the eyes of the law, but she is still in prison. We demand that the state of Florida release her on personal recognizance immediately. Also, now that Marissa and her family face another trial, we will pivot to a major fundraising push for the rest of the year to help cover extensive legal costs. Marissa’s outstanding legal team is working pro bono, but there are still costs to cover such as flying in expert witnesses to testify, collecting and processing evidence, etc. We call on everyone around the world who has been moved by Marissa’s story to help raise $10,000 for the Marissa Alexander Legal Defense Fund by the end of 2013. We will launch this major fundraiser tomorrow, please stay tuned.

Finally, we call on feminist organizations, racial justice and civil rights organizations, and other social justice advocates to bring strong support and resources for this fight. We call on anti-domestic violence advocates everywhere to fearlessly defend those survivors who are targeted by police, prosecution, and prisons. We need your support more than ever in this next phase of the movement to free Marissa Alexander.

We stand with Marissa and send her and her family our love and support for this next phase of the struggle for freedom. Marissa’s bond hearing is scheduled for next Friday, Nov 8th and her new trial is scheduled for March 31, 2014.  We will be there.

We invite you to tell us where you’re at with Angela Corey’s decision and your vision for next steps.  We’ve organized a conference call for supporters on Monday, Nov 4th, 8pm ET, 5pm PT.  Send us an e-mail at [email protected] for more info. and connect with us and other supporters on facebook, tumblr, and twitter.

Our movement is strong and we will keep going!  We have a trial to help win and we will continue to organize for the end of domestic violence and mass incarceration.  Black women’s lives matter.  Free Marissa now!