Crime
Marissa Alexander Released from Jail
Marissa Alexander, who was sentenced in 2012 to 20 years in prison for firing warning shots at her abusive husband, was released from jail last week but will remain on house arrest awaiting a new trial.
She went home on Wednesday last week, released on a $200,000 bond in time to spend the holiday with her three children.
Alexander was convicted in 2010 of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting into a wall near her estranged husband, Rico Gray, and two young children at their home in Jacksonville, Florida.
Gray testified that he saw Alexander point the gun at him and looked away before she fired the shot. He also claimed that she was the aggressor and that he had begged her to put the weapon down.
The judge and jury disagreed that Alexander was protected under Florida’s Stand You Ground Law, which allows people wide discretion in using deadly force to defend themselves.
The 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that Alexander deserved a new trial because the trial judge did not properly instruct the jury regarding what is needed to prove self-defense.
The appeals court also ruled that she would not be able invoke the “stand your ground” law.
Alexander has maintained that she was not trying to hurt anyone and was trying to keep from being attacked by her abusive husband.
Alexander did not have a criminal record before the shooting, but was still convicted of felony assault with a gun.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 6 – 12, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Bay Area
Alameda County Judge Blasts Defendants Over Delay in West Oakland Fire Trial
Judge Kimberly Lowell excoriated the RadiusRecycling/SchnitzerSteel defendants in court for causing delays in prosecuting this case. Since the defendants first appeared in court on July 23, they have obtained three extensions of the arraignment date.
Special to The Post
District Attorney Pamela Price announced that a hearing was held on October 30 in the criminal prosecution of the Radius Recycling/Schnitzer Steel involving a fire at the West Oakland facility on Aug. 9-10, 2023.
The Alameda County criminal Grand Jury indicted radius Recycling and two of its corporate managers in June 2024.
Judge Kimberly Lowell excoriated the RadiusRecycling/SchnitzerSteel defendants in court for causing delays in prosecuting this case. Since the defendants first appeared in court on July 23, they have obtained three extensions of the arraignment date.
The court clarified that the defendants will not receive more extensions on their arraignment and plea.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price agreed with the court that defendants should not get preferential treatment. Price and her team appreciated the court for clarifying that future delays by Radius will not be tolerated.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) public data shows that during and after the fire, the smoke plume traveled across Alameda County with high levels of PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter) detected around Laney College in Oakland, Livermore, Pleasanton, and West Oakland.
PM2.5 is particularly harmful to infants and children, the elderly, and people with asthma or heart disease.
“This fire posed a great health hazard to the people of Alameda County,” said Price. “High, short-term exposures to a toxic smoke plume have been shown to cause significant danger to human health.
“Additionally, in this case, Oakland firefighters battled the blaze under extremely dangerous conditions for 15 hours with assistance from a San Francisco Fire Department fireboat and a fireboat from the City of Alameda Fire Department,” Price observed.
The team prosecuting the case from the DA’s Consumer Justice Bureau looks forward to resolving any future motions and having the defendants arraigned in court on Dec. 9.
The media relations office of the Alameda County District Attorney’s office is the source of this report.
-
Alameda County3 weeks ago
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price Announces $7.5 Million Settlement Agreement with Walmart
-
Activism2 weeks ago
‘Jim Crow Was and Remains Real in Alameda County (and) It Is What We Are Challenging and Trying to Fix Every Day,’ Says D.A. Pamela Price
-
Bay Area3 weeks ago
In the City Attorney Race, Ryan Richardson Is Better for Oakland
-
Activism2 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024
-
Business4 weeks ago
Harris Promises 1 Million Forgivable Loans for Black Businesses
-
Business4 weeks ago
Study Confirms California’s $20/Hour Fast Food Wage Raises Pay Without Job Losses
-
Activism3 weeks ago
“Two things can be true at once.” An Afro-Latina Voter Weighs in on Identity and Politics
-
Arts and Culture3 weeks ago
MacArthur Fellow Jericho Brown’s Poetry Reflects Contemporary Culture and Identity