Date: Friday, August 1, 2014
From: Aleta Alston-Toure’ (904-631-6019) and Alisa Bierria (650-799-7741)
Time: 9:00am
Place: Duval County Courthouse Steps (501 W Adams St, Jacksonville, FL)

Marissa Alexander Supporters Close Successful Week of Action; Mark Four Year Anniversary of Alexander’s Self-Defense

On Friday, August 1st at 9 am, supporters of Marissa Alexander will meet on the Duval County Courthouse steps to mark the four year anniversary of Alexander’s action to defend her life from her estranged abusive husband. Supporters will also celebrate Alexander’s life and commit to press for her freedom in the coming months. This gathering wraps up the Standing Our Ground Week of Action, a successful convergence that drew hundreds of people from across the US from July 25 to August 1, 2014. Events included a march and rally in front of the Duval County Courthouse; community workshops on reproductive justice, domestic violence, mass incarceration, and legal rights; and a concert benefiting Alexander’s legal defense fund.

Sumayya Fire, an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and a participant in the week of action said, “This case has been about many things, including the fundamental right of women to be safe in their own homes, and the right of black women to survive at all. This prosecution punishes Marissa for saving her own life, and doing so without harming her husband who attacked her, strangled her, and threatened to kill her. Black women experience a disproportionately higher rate of fatal domestic violence,and are almost three times more likely to die at the hands of a current or former partner (Violence Policy Center). The rate that black women are dying because of domestic violence is an emergency situation, and Marissa could have easily been one of those statistics. Thankfully, she was able to defend her own life. No one should be facing not even one day of prison for surviving domestic violence, much less 60 years.

“Supporters say that they will continue to engage people in Jacksonville and around the world to support Alexander’s freedom in the months leading to her trial, currently scheduled to begin December 8, 2014. Local organizer, Aleta Alston Toure’, says, “This week has been about Marissa, but also about so much more. We look forward to the December trial and moving forward to meaningfully challenge domestic violence and mass incarceration in Florida and across the US.”
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