House Arrest No Deal

Marissa Alexander, the Florida woman who fired a gun into the air to ward off her abusive husband and who was arrested in spite of her claim that she was acting under the rubric of Florida’s “stand your ground laws” will be free today.

But not really.

Marissa has been in jail for three years. Florida prosecutor Angela Corey- the woman whose office could not and did not win the case against George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin, decided that Marissa should have the book thrown at her for firing the warning shot. Her bullet hit nobody; nobody was injured.

But Corey went for blood and Marissa was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Twenty years! She fired a warning shot! She was in fear for her life! Nobody was hurt!

Marissa entered into a plea deal and walks out of prison today. That sounds like the plea deal must have been good, right?

Wrong.

The deal includes Marissa being on house arrest for two years. That means that for two years she will basically be confined to her home. She will wear an ankle bracelet. Her every move will be monitored. According to an article by Maya Schenwar in “Truthout,” she will have to pay the state of Florida $105 per week to pay for monitoring fees. As she is on house arrest, she will lose basic rights of privacy that most of us take for granted. Writes Schenwar: “In prison, the loss of one’s civil liberties is glaringly apparent. The strip search, the cell sweep, and the surveillance of letters, phone calls, and visits are givens. For those whose homes have been “prisonized,” however, basic constitutional rights also crumble. Probationers and monitorees are subject to warrantless searches and drug tests; probation officers have ready access to their homes. In fact, though seldom thought of this way, the ankle monitor is essentially a constant, warrantless search.” (https://wordpress.com/post/8280873/new/?optin)

She might as well remain in jail.

When I read Schenwar’s article it hit me that our “justice system” is little more, in too many cases, a hustle for funding for police departments and prison systems. Our police department depend upon us stepping outside of the law – or maybe not – in order to fill their coffers. I was floored when, not long ago, I read on the back of a police car in front of me that it had been purchased with proceeds from drug arrests.

“We the people” are the primary funding sources for our men and women in blue.

But it’s not just the police departments and justice system that benefit from our missteps. According to Schenwar’s article, private, for-profit companies benefit as well. Schenwar writes: “As Marissa Alexander discovered in Florida, private companies often exact fees from the people they’re imprisoning. They average around $10-$15 per day — in addition to installation costs and fees imposed for drug tests or other “services.” Those unable to pay may be re-incarcerated in a cycle that harkens back to debtor’s prison.

If one gets a ticket for speeding, even if that person was not in fact speeding, he or she can get out of it – once a hefty fee is paid.

“We the people” are cash cows for the police.

But back to house arrest: Marissa Alexander is out of jail as of today, or will be, but she will be confined to her house for two years. Schenwar writes that by the end of her house arrest, Alexander will have paid over $16,000 for being free; she will have paid for her monitoring and surveillance.

While she is on house arrest, officers or parole officers have the right to enter her home at any time, without a warrant. They can do drug tests at any time, and, of course, the cost of those tests will fall on Marissa.

This all seems not only wrong but immoral. Yet, it is our justice system, unfettered and unregulated.

Marissa is out of jail, but she is not free. House arrest…is really no deal at all.

A candid observation …

That is not freedom.