JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -The Jacksonville woman who was previously sentenced to a mandatory 20-year prison sentence for firing what she insisted was a warning shot during a fight with her husband will remain in jail for now.
Following arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys Wednesday, a judge chose not to rule on whether 33-year-old Marissa Alexander should be freed on bail before her new trial. An appeals court ruled in September that the judge in Alexander’s case gave improper jury instructions.
Alexander says she fired a bullet at a wall in 2010 to scare off her husband when she felt he was threatening her. Nobody was hurt, but the judge in the case said he was bound by state law to sentence her to 20 years.
The Florida Times-Union reports that the next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15, and the new trial is set to begin March 31.
