Source: tweetbuzz.us

Following in the footsteps of Sybrina Fulton and her touching Mother’s Day PSA about Trayvon Martin and the problems with the “Stand Your Ground” law, Tracy Martin has put out his own PSA about his son, his first Father’s Day without Trayvon, and the need to combat “Stand Your Ground” laws and help prevent a Father’s Day where 30,000 fathers will be without their sons. Those were the statistics presented for the number of sons and daughters slain through gun violence just last year alone.

The video is one that tugs at the heart strings, especially when images of Trayvon and Tracy are presented (especially the one where Tracy is kissing his son on the cheek).The main point of the video seems to be that it’s important for people to contact their governors and ask them to re-examine the “Stand Your Ground” laws that stand across the country. There are about 25 in all. If you know anybody who has been killed by senseless acts of violence involving firearms, I’m sure you can understand Tracy’s pain, and can feel him when he says, “Life can be beautiful.” To help do your part, go to SecondChanceOnShootFirst.org to gain more information on the many reckless gun laws and what you can do to help put a halt to them. Until then, check out the video below and let us know your thoughts. Happy Father’s Day Mr. Martin.

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Source: IBtimes.com

The case against George Zimmerman, the Florida man who claims he killed teenager Trayvon Martin in self defense, is sure to be one of the most defining cases of justice of our time. Although many legal analysts can see just how the Stand Your Ground law may get Zimmerman off the hook, the Orlando Sentinel has just reported that Zimmerman’s self-defense case has weakened in light of recent accounts from witnesses.

Three of the witnesses have changed their original recollections of the February night in question and a fourth witness has completely “abandoned her story.” The Sentinel described how each of the witnesses changed their accounts:

Witness 2

A young woman who lives in the Retreat at Twin Lakes community, where Trayvon was shot, was interviewed twice by Sanford police and once by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

She told authorities that she had taken out her contact lenses just before the incident. In her first recorded interview with Sanford police four days after the shooting, she told lead Investigator Chris Serino, “I saw two guys running. Couldn’t tell you who was in front, who was behind.”

She stepped away from her window, and when she looked again, she “saw a fistfight. Just fists. I don’t know who was hitting who.”

A week later, she added a detail when talking again to Serino: During the chase, the two figures had been 10 feet apart.

That all changed when she was reinterviewed March 20 by an FDLE agent. That time, she recalled catching a glimpse of just one running figure, she told FDLE Investigator John Batchelor, and she heard the person more than saw him.

“I couldn’t tell you if it was a man, a woman, a kid, black or white. I couldn’t tell you because it was dark and because I didn’t have my contacts on or glasses. … I just know I saw a person out there.”

Witness 12

A young mother who is also a neighbor in the town-home community never gave a recorded interview to Sanford police, according to prosecution records released last week. She first sat down for an audio-recorded interview with an FDLE agent March 20, more than three weeks after the shooting.

During that session, she said she saw two people on the ground immediately after the shooting and was not sure who was on top, Zimmerman or Trayvon.

“I don’t know which one. … All I saw when they were on the ground was dark colors,” she said.

Six days later, however, she was sure: It was Zimmerman on top, she told trial prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda during a 21/2-minute recorded session.

“I know after seeing the TV of what’s happening, comparing their sizes, I think Zimmerman was definitely on top because of his size,” she said.

For witness 6, the Sentinel reported that the witness originally described a black man on top of a lighter-skinned man, throwing punches. Later, he told an agent that he wasn’t sure that Trayvon was throwing punches, as he could’ve been pinning him down to the ground.

As for witness 13, he is the one that spoke to a calm Zimmerman immediately after the shooting. He didn’t neccessarily change his story but he gave more detail as to the non-chalant attitude of Zimmerman’s demeanor following the shooting. “Zimmerman’s tone, the witness said, was “not like ‘I can’t believe I just shot someone!’ — it was more like, ‘Just tell my wife I shot somebody …,’ like it was nothing.”

Do you think these witnesses took the questioning more seriously now that the case is so high-profile or do you think they may be sympathizing with Trayvon Martin after allowing the news to penetrate?

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A few weeks ago we told you about Marissa Alexander, a Florida woman facing a 20-year sentence for what she considers standing her ground. In a 2010 altercation, Marissa fired a warning shot in the air in fear of her life when her reportedly abusive husband cornered her in the home. Though no one was shot or injured during the shooting, Marissa was charged and convicted on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and her case is quickly coming to a close.

Initially, Marissa was offered a plea deal of three years but decided not to take it, and during her first trial, she was denied protection under the “Stand Your Ground Law” when her husband said he “begged and pleaded for my life when she had the gun.” It took a jury 12 minutes to find her guilty. Prosecutor Nick Lake said following the hearing:

“The jury decided she was not in fear when she fired the gun. She went back to his house, alone, and committed a domestic battery on him (ex-husband).”

On Thursday, Marissa went before the judge in a pre-sentencing hearing and when her lawyers requested a new trial it was denied. Now, on May 11 she will stand before the judge again to be sentenced. Under the state’s mandatory sentencing guidelines, she faces a 20-year prison sentence with no chance of early release. Knowing the odds, Marissa’s lawyer has said he plans to file an appeal after her sentencing. In an interview with CNN, Marissa told Gary Tuchman:

“This is my life I’m fighting for. If you do everything to get on the right side of the law, and it is a law that does not apply to you, where do you go from there?”

Check out the full clip of her interview segment here. Do you think Stand Your Ground should apply to Marissa?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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After seeing the effect public outcry and activism had in the Trayvon Martin case, a black Florida woman is pleading for support as she faces a 20-year sentence for firing  a shot in the air with a gun she had a permit for and was trained to use after her husband assaulted her—i.e., standing her ground.

JusticeforMarissa.blogspot.com is the site where Jacksonville resident Marissa Alexander’s story is being told via Lincoln B. Alexander, Jr., and according to the site, the following events which occurred in August 2010 led to Marissa’s current situation:

“My name is Marissa Alexander, I am a mother of three children, but at the present time, I am not able to be with them due to the following circumstances.  I am currently sitting in the Pretrial Detention Facility in Jacksonville FL, Duval County awaiting a sentence for three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon with no intent to harm.  Before my life changed drastically on that August afternoon, I was in the perilous position of leaving an abusive relationship with my husband who has history of violence and documented domestic abuse towards women.  Our history included one which required me to place an injunction for protection against violence and was active during the month of August 2010.

“In an unprovoked jealous rage, my husband violently confronted me while using the restroom.  He assaulted me, shoving, strangling and holding me against my will, preventing me from fleeing all while I begged for him to leave.  After a minute or two of trying to escape, I was able to make it to the garage where my truck was parked, but in my haste to leave I realized my keys were missing.  I tried to open the garage but there was a mechanical failure. I was unable to leave, trapped in the dark with no way out.  For protection against further assault I retrieved my weapon; which is registered and I have a concealed weapon permit.  Trapped, no phone, I entered back into my home to either leave through another exit or obtain my cell phone.

“He and my two stepsons were supposed to be exiting the house thru the front door, but he didn’t leave.  Instead he came into the kitchen that leads to the garage and realized I was unable to leave.  Instead of leaving thru the front door where his vehicle was parked outside of the garage, he came into the kitchen by himself.  I was terrified from the first encounter and feared he came to do as he had threatened.  The weapon was in my right hand down by my side and he yelled, “Itchbay I will kill you!”, and charged toward me.  In fear and desperate attempt, I lifted my weapon up, turned away and discharged a single shot in the wall up in the ceiling.  As I stood my ground it prevented him from doing what he threatened and he ran out of the home.  Outside of the home, he contacted the police and falsely reported that I shot at him and his sons.  The police arrived and I was taken into custody.”

Beyond the account of that day’s event, several concerns about the why the stand your ground law was not applied in this instance were outlined, including:

• In November 2010, Marissa’s husband, who was arrested for domestic violence twice—once in an altercation that sent Marissa to the hospital—admitted in a sworn statement that he was the aggressor and threatened her life.
• Marissa’s injunction against her husband and admission that she was in fear of her life prior to the arrest was ignored.
• After a hearing in July 2011, a judge denied Marissa’s motion, saying that she could have exited the house thru the master bedroom window, front door, and/or sliding glass back door, despite the fact that the law specifically states: No duty to retreat.
• Under Florida’s 10-20-life sentencing guideline, Marissa’s felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to harm carries a twenty year mandatory sentence.

The idea that firing a warning shot in the air in self-defense without harming anyone has placed Marissa in this predicament has caused her family to ask people who hear her story to send letters of support to Judge James Daniel pleading for justice in her case. For more details you can also check out her website here.

What do you think about this case?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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