Stand Your Ground March & Rally In Tallahassee, Florida, March 10th, 2014.

Jueseppi, thanks so much for blogging this. The photos are wonderful! The message goes forth.

The Alexander and Giles SYG Cases

Good news for Marissa Alexander.

Marissa Alexander

On August 1, 2010, State Attorney Angela Corey filed aggravated assault charges against Alexander that carries a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence when a gun is involved.  Marissa Alexander was convicted on three counts of aggravated assault after firing a warning shot at her ex-husband inside their home in August 2010.   In a 12-page decision, on September 26, 2013, the First District Court of Appeal in Florida wrote that it rejected Alexander’s contention that the trial court erred in declining to grant her immunity from prosecution under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, but it found that “the jury instructions on self-defense were erroneous” and ordered a retrial.  The decision reverses a May 2012 lower court decision that denied a retrial.

Airman, Michael Giles

By comparison, The First District Court of Appeal entered a 2-page decision in Michael Gile’s case, affirming his conviction without comment,  but reversed and remanded on an error of fines applied by the State.

While on active duty with the Unites States Air Force and stationed in Tampa, Florida, on February 6, 2010, Michael Giles, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, was invited by a friend to a party in Tallahassee, Florida. Shortly after arriving at their destination the group found themselves in a volatile atmosphere.  The entire club of patrons was pushed outside by security and Michael was separated from his friends, who were the only two people he knew in the area.  Witnesses on the scene stated there were between 20-40 people fighting, describing it as mayhem, dangerous, and even deadly.