Two Florida towns, 200 km apart. Two people firing weapons at unarmed aggressors, purportedly in self-defense.
George Zimmerman, the 29-year-old neighborhood watch commander, fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin but was acquitted by a jury that apparently concluded he was in fear for his life. Marissa Alexander, a 32-year-old mother of three, fired what she described as a warning shot in the direction of her husband — against whom she had a protective order — and two stepsons. No one was injured, but she was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years.
In the wake of the Zimmerman trial and the national debate on race and justice that it unleashed, Alexander's case — from 2010 — has drawn renewed attention, including an online petition seeking a pardon from Gov. Rick Scott.