Marissa Alexander walks by her dad Raoul Jenkins and surrounded by her legal team and supporters after her sentencing in Jacksonville, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. Alexander, who claimed self-defense after prosecutors say she fired a gun at her estranged husband and his two sons, will be released from prison as part of a plea agreement for time served. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack)
A Florida woman who faced as many as 60 years in jail for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband was released from prison Jan. 27 after accepting a plea deal.
Marissa Alexander, 34, agreed to a deal which would limit her time in prison to the three years she had already served as her case made its way through the court system, Reuters reported. Under the deal, Alexander will serve two years of house arrest and wear an ankle monitor.
Alexander pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault for firing a shot in the direction of her estranged husband, Rico Gray, during a 2010 argument, according to Jacksonville, Fla. television station WJXT.
Alexander was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012, but that conviction was later overturned, Reuters reported. In the retrial, District Attorney Angela Corey—who also prosecuted George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin—threatened to jail Alexander for up to 60 years, leading Alexander to accept the plea deal in November.
“I look forward to the full-time challenge of getting my two teenagers through high school and into college, as well we preparing my 4-year-old daughter for nursery school,” Alexander said in a prepared statement after leaving the courthouse.
“My goal is to continue my education beyond my master’s degree and to continue my professional career,” she added. “Also, I will continue to learn lessons from the events of the past, but I will not live in the past. At the age of 34, life is too short and there’s too much I have to accomplish in the years ahead. It’s my hope and prayer that everyone associated with this case will be able to move on with their lives.”