Marissa Alexander, the Florida mother who was just released from prison after serving more than three years for firing a warning shot at her abusive husband, appeared on “Anderson Cooper 360” last night to discuss her ordeal.
After Alexander’s Stand Your Ground defense was dismissed, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Last November, however, Alexander accepted a plea deal. She was released from prison on Tuesday, and told Cooper what went into her decision.
“It ultimately boiled down to…I needed to guarantee my children that I would be home,” she said. “That is the primary reason why I made that decision.”
Acknowledging that she can’t change what has happened, she maintains her innocence and is ready to move on.
“I’m looking forward to the future, so I don’t really look back to what has happened,” she said. “It wasn’t easy, but I’m much stronger, and I am in a better place than I was.”