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12 May, 2014

Benton overturns sentence

Judgement0 Comments

Judge Robert T. Benton, IIThe appellate court finds Judge Daniels gave improper jury instructions and overturns Alexander conviction. Judge Robert T. Benton II makes no mention of the Stand Your Ground law in his 12-page order, but of the trial court’s error he says:

That is not proper. The judge should’ve instructed the jury that when Alexander makes a self-defense claim, then the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it is not self-defense.

Judge T. Kent Wetherell, who also sits on the appeals courts, stated in his opinion piece that although the case should be reversed, there are still fundamental problems that should be considered. He wrote that the evidence showed that Alexander had the option of exiting either the front or back doors, which were unobstructed, and said that there was no evidence that the garage door did not work. According to the judge, Marissa Alexander had ample opportunity to leave the home without harm.

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