Florida prosecutors are seeking a 60-year prison sentence for Marissa Alexander in her retrial after she fired a gun in the direction of her allegedly abusive husband, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
Alexander, 33, was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in 2012 and sentenced to 20 years in jail. An appeals court later threw out her conviction but said she must prove beyond reasonable doubt that her husband was a threat.
Her case added fuel to the national debate over Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law, famously used in the murder case of Trayvon Martin -- especially after she was denied the ability to use that defense.
"It's unimaginable that a woman acting in self-defense, who injured no one, can be given what amounts to a life sentence," Free Marissa Now spokeswoman Helen Gilbert said. "This must send chills down the spine of every woman and everyone who cares about women and every woman in an abusive relationship."
However, Assistant State Attorney Richard Mantei told the Florida Times-Union that prosecutors are simply following sentencing laws.
"Absent a plea agreement, if convicted as charged, the law of the State of Florida fixes the sentence," Mantei said. "At this time, Ms. Alexander has rejected all efforts by the State to resolve the case short of trial."
An attorney for Alexander claims it would be unjust to place his client behind bars for what essentially equates to a life sentence.
Alexander claims her husband, Rico Gray, accused her of having an affair and threatened to kill her. After she locked herself in a bathroom, Gray allegedly broke the door down, prompting her to run to the garage where she obtained the gun and shot at the ceiling.
