Marissa Alexander spent Thanksgiving Day with her family after being released on bail Wednesday night while she awaits a new trial in a case that drew national attention from civil rights leaders.
"She's extremely grateful to be with her children and her family, and she's incredibly appreciative of the analysis and the attention that the judge gave to the briefs that were submitted by both sides," her attorney Bruce Zimet said Thursday.
Alexander, 33, posted $200,099 bond and will be under house arrest while wearing an electronic ankle bracelet, according to Duval County jail and court records.
State Attorney Angela Corey's office had opposed any bail being set for Alexander while she waits for a retrial.
Supporters of Alexander -- a mother of three -- rejoiced that she was out of jail.
"I am so pleased and happy that Marissa can spend this holiday and hopefully many more to come with her family and children," U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, said.
The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign said in a statement that Alexander had been released on bail whose conditions include wearing an electronic ankle monitor.
"We are thrilled that Ms. Alexander will be able to prepare for her new trial amid the support and love of her children and family from whom she has been separated far too long," the campaign said on its Facebook page.
A Duval County jury convicted Alexander in March 2012 of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for firing a shot that hit a wall during a confrontation with her estranged husband inside a home. The guilty verdict triggered a mandatory 20-year prison sentence under Florida law.
Alexander has maintained she fired a warning shot to avoid being attacked by her husband.
The NAACP, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Martin Luther King III were among those who criticized the trial and the sentence. Jackson visited her in jail in July and contrasted her 20-year sentence with George Zimmerman's acquittal on all charged for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
Both Zimmerman and Alexander said they were acting in self-defense.
Copyright 2013 - The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
