Tag Archive for "Florida"

Posts Tagged Florida

Marissa Alexander now could face 60 years in prison for defending herself

The state of Florida seems determined to punish Marissa Alexander for defending herself.

You may recall that in the fall, the black mother who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot into a wall to scare off her abusive husband, was granted a retrial. She was released, after three years in jail, in time to spend Thanksgiving with her family, but then the Florida State Attorney Angela Corey moved to revoke her bond.

Now Corey–who has the power to reduce the charges or drop the case entirely–says they’ll try to triple Alexander’s original prison sentence from 20 to 60 years if she loses the retrial in July.

The state of Florida seems determined to punish Marissa Alexander for defending herself.

You may recall that in the fall, the black mother who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing a ...

By zerlina • 10 years ago

Why is Florida State Attorney Angela Corey trying to put Marissa Alexander back in jail?

Sigh. Marissa Alexander was finally released after years in prison, but State’s Attorney Angela Corey just moved to revoke her bond on the grounds that she left her home in violation of the terms of her release to go shopping with friends and family. Alexander’s attorney maintains that she had the permission of the supervising corrections officer, but Corey, who seems to have it out for Alexander, is going ahead with the motion.

By Verónica Bayetti Flores • 10 years ago

Federal judge strikes down Florida’s welfare drug testing law

Great news: On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven struck down the Florida law mandating the compulsory drug testing of recipients of cash assistance!

By Alexandra Brodsky • 10 years ago

Daily Feminist Cheat Sheet

#fuckcispeople is trending on Twitter. Read it.

The Ohio “heartbeat” bill to ban abortion after six weeks is back.

Dream Defenders leave capitol: “our work has grown too big for these halls.”

A NARAL intern went undercover at a crisis pregnancy center.

Six facts about Harriet Tubman that have nothing to do with Russell Simmons.

Keeping with the theme: six things to know as a queer freshman.

Letters from black men (including our own Mychal) in response to #blackpowerisforblackmen.

#fuckcispeople is trending on Twitter. Read it.

The Ohio “heartbeat” bill to ban abortion after six weeks is back.

Dream Defenders leave capitol: “our work has grown too big for these halls.”

A NARAL ...

By Chloe Angyal • 10 years ago

End your day right with this amazing speech from Dream Defender Phillip Agnew

Transcript below the jump.

By Vanessa • 11 years ago

Not So Slick, Rick: Department of Justice suing Florida over voter purge

Finally. On the same day Rick Scott announced that Florida will be suing the Dept. of Homeland Security to access a database believed to hold information about the citizenship status of Florida voters, the Department of Justice announced that they will be suing the state over violating the National Voter Registration Act and the Voting Rights Act:

In a five-page letter, however, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said Florida is not complying with federal laws aimed at “ensuring that state efforts to find and purge ineligible persons from voter registration lists do not endanger the ability of eligible U.S. citizens to register to vote and maintain their voter registration status.”

“The federal statutes that the department has called ...

By Vanessa • 11 years ago

Florida Gov. Rick Scott begins voter disenfranchisement tactics, targeting Latinos

Many of us know what an exceptionally heinous human being Florida Governor Rick Scott is, and he’s won that title pretty easily over the past few years: vetoing funds for rape centers during Sexual Assault Awareness month, cutting funding to programs for people with disabilities (while conjunctively calling for billions in corporate and property tax cuts), supporting immigration legislation that would exempt white people — these are just a few of the gems he’s brought to the state of Florida.

So what is his new pet project? To disenfranchise potentially thousands of voters in efforts to win Mitt Romney the presidency. Think Progress reports:

Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) has ordered the state to purge all “non-citizens” from ...

By Katie Halper • 11 years ago

Florida: You can kill an unarmed teen but can’t defend yourself against an abuser

What happens when you have a criminal record, fatally shoot a teenager armed with nothing more than a pack of skittles and an ice-tea and argue you were justified under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Laws? Nothing. The police believe you and it takes a national media campaign to actually get the criminal justice system to look into the case.

What happens when you have no criminal record, don’t harm anyone, but fire shots to scare off an abusive husband, who has choked and punched you, and just threatened to kill you? You get sentenced to 20 years of prison, of course. This is justice in Florida, where Marissa Alexander was sentenced to 20 years of jail time on Friday. ...