A Florida judge Wednesday chose not to rule on whether Marissa Alexander, a Florida woman who was sentenced to 20 years of prison for firing a shot during an attack from her husband, would receive freedom before her trial.  

Another hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2014, before the trial begins in March. Alexander's lawyers argued that she should be released because she poses no threat to her community nor her estranged husband, Rico Gray. They are finalizing their divorce.

Her attorney, Bruce Zimet, also presented evidence to the judge of text messages that Gray sent her asking for sex after she was arrested a second time for a domestic dispute involving him. Zimet argued that if Alexander's husband is not afraid of her, then there is no reason for her to be in jail.

This recent hearing was Alexander's first court appearance since her case to obtain immunity through Florida's Stand Your Ground law, which allows citizens to use deadly force if they feel their lives are in imminent danger, was thrown out. 

During that trial, Alexander testified that she had received threatening texts from her husband. She said she fired a bullet at a wall to scare him off, as he threatened to kill her just before. 
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(Photo: Florida Department of Corrections)