Drop the case against Marissa Alexander!

National Action: Send letters now! Drop the case against Marissa Alexander!   Radical Women urges you to take part in the national Free Marissa Now letter-writing campaign that is swinging into action today. Please take a moment to send a note calling on Florida State Prosecutor Angela Corey to drop the case against Marissa Alexander, an African American mother who is serving a 20-year sentence for self-defense.   In late September, the Florida Appeals Court threw out the guilty verdict against Marissa Alexander case because of serious errors in jury instructions that deprived her of a fair trial.   Now it's up to State Prosecutor Angela Corey to drop the case or set a new trial date. We say drop the case now!   Please write or call Angela Corey today or as soon as you can. Send copies of your message to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Governor Rick Scott so that they know the strength of public opinion on this issue.   The sample letter below may help you get started. Addresses for where to send your letter are at the bottom of this message.   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Name __________________________ Address_________________________ _______________________________ Email __________________________     Dear Ms. Corey:   You have an opportunity to allow an innocent person to go free without further cost to the state of Florida and without further trauma to this woman and her family. I encourage you to drop the charges against Marissa Alexander, rather than pursuing a new trial which, if justice is served, will result in a not-guilty verdict.   Marissa Alexander was a victim of domestic violence who acted in self-defense by taking the only action she saw possible at that moment - an action that injured no one. Her case shines a light on how black women in domestic violence situations are often doubly victimized when they seek justice. Ms. Alexander has experienced at least two traumatic events: the first is being repeatedly abused by her husband, the second is being prosecuted and sentenced to prison for defending herself from that abuse.    Ms. Alexander's experience bears out the fact that women of color are arrested more often than white women when police arrive on the scene of a domestic violence incident. For this reason, fewer than 17% of black women call the police for fear they will be further victimized by the police or the courts. By allowing Marissa Alexander to be sentenced to 20 years for self-defense, you have given the message to women everywhere that if they defend their lives, they will be also targeted by police and prosecutors.   There is a widespread stereotype that survivors who fight for their lives, particularly if they are black women, are "too aggressive" and not genuine victims. This stereotype was carried out to such an extent in Marissa Alexander's case that the whole premise of innocent until proven guilty was reversed, as the Appeals Court found.   Please do the right thing by stopping any further prosecution of this innocent mother and daughter.  Drop the case, dismiss all charges, and free Marissa Alexander!       ______________________________ Signature   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Send your letter to the following addresses (Hard copies make more of an impact!)   Angela Corey, State Attorney Courthouse Annex 220 East Bay Street Jacksonville, FL 32202 Phone: 904-630-2400 Fax: 904-630-2938 Email: sao4th@coj.net   Office of Attorney General Pam Bondi State of Florida The Capitol PL-01 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050 Phone: 850-414-3300 or 850-414-3990 Fax: 850-410-1630 Email: http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.nsf/contact?Open&Section=Citizen_Services   Office of Governor Rick Scott State of Florida The Capitol 400 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 Phone: 850-717-9337 or 850-488-7146 Email: rick.scott@eog.myflorida.com   Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Join Radical Women — you are needed! Connect with the Bay Area chapter near you or contact the national office at RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com. You can learn more about RW through The Radical Women Manifesto, an exhilarating exploration of Marxist feminist theory and organizing methods, buy a copy or read it onGoogle Books. Find other fiery Radical Women writings at www.RadicalWomen.org. Donations are appreciated! As a grassroots group, Radical Women is sustained by support from people like you. Please contribute online or mail a check, payable to Radical Women to 747 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109. Radical Women747 Polk Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 Phone: 415-864-1278 * Fax: 415-864-0778 BARadicalWomen@earthlink.netwww.RadicalWomen.org