Story highlights
NEW: Thrilled supporters cheer Marissa Alexander's release
Alexander was released Wednesday night and is with her family
A court ordered that she can get a new trial
Her case has drawn national attention from civil rights leaders
A Florida woman who was sentenced to 20 years for firing a gun to scare off her allegedly abusive husband has been released from prison as she awaits a new trial, her attorney said.
Marissa Alexander was released Wednesday night, attorney Bruce Zimet said.
Last month, an appellate court ordered a new trial for Alexander. The case will be retried because the jury had incorrect directions, the court ruled.
Alexander’s case gained the attention of civil rights leaders, who say nobody was hurt and the sentence for the mother of three was too harsh.
The case shined the spotlight on Florida’s “stand your ground” law after she unsuccessfully argued before her 2012 trial that she was immune to prosecution because of the law.
According to court paperwork filed in Duval County, Florida, Alexander was granted a pretrial release with special conditions and a $150,000 bond.
Alexander will be under electronic monitoring at all times and on home detention until the completion of her case, the documents state.
A campaign supporting Alexander said that she was back home with her family.
“We hope the decision means that the Florida justice system has relented in its vindictive, hostile and racist legal assault on this African-American mother of three,” the statement by the Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign said.
Thrilled supporters in Jacksonville, Florida, cheered Alexander’s release Thursday, but also said they were prepared to keep fighting.
“We do know this is temporary joy. … This is a victory, but the battle’s not over yet. The battle will be won in court,” said Anthony Heard of Free Marissa Now. “We’re all just happy that she’ll be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we’re going to focus on that right now.”
‘Stand Your Ground’ laws up to states, not Obama or Congress