well, as you pointed out, governor scott has not been to the capitol and really hasn t been seen around tallahassee since last week, unfortunately. i m looking forward to his response, and being an elected politician here in the state of florida, much like the governor, i expect to receive a response, even in the form of a letter. more importantly, i think there needs to be a call to the governor. actually, i think there are needs to be several calls to the governor from everyone who believes in rights and justice of marissa alexander. dwight bullard. joining me from the capitol in tallahassee, florida, executive director of dream defenders, the group that has been occupying the capitol. phillip, tell me about why you are sleeping in the capitol. explain to me why i shouldn t view you as a bunch of misguided idealistic kids who are expressing sour grapes over a verdict that didn t go their way? right. that s a great question, chris, and i appreciate you having us on. it s impor
i think that s a notion that young people have gotten for a little while, and i think it s misguided because we know what we re doing. we ve arrived at the seat of power. we re human beings. we re citizens of the state of florida who have a right to petition our government when a grievance has been committed and a wrong has been done to us. and we re presenting an option for the governor, an opportunity like senator bullard is as well, to right this wrong, to right this ship of a wayward ship that he s overseeing and to really give an opportunity for a young people in the state of florida, hopefully young people around the country, to produce something out of this injustice that really moves our community forward, and it s the trayvon martin civil rights act. tell me about the demand you re making. i understand there are between 30 and 90 members of your group that have been in the capitol full time for the past few days. you re asking for a trayvon martin civil rights act. what does
pardoned. dwight bullard, a democratic senator. also sponsored legislation to repeal the stand your ground law. senator, my first question for you, why have you become involved in this case? why are you making this appeal to governor rick scott? well, chris, i ve been convinced social justice is necessary for the people of florida. when we look at the plethora of things our governor scott has chosen to ignore, whether it s health care for the neediest floridian, or seeking justice for marissa alexander, there has to be a time when we draw a line in the sand and that time is now. watching the reaction to the verdict and watching things in florida right now, it s hard to get a sense of what the mood is in the state there and in the state capitol, particularly. do you think the governor is feeling any fallout from this verdict from his task force which he keeps pawning the stand your ground law on, from the mounting pressure for him to pardon marissa alexander? is the governor being h
0 concluded we didn t need to make a change to the law and i agree with their conclusion. so you re comfortable with it. yep. but tonight, it became clear that scott s defense of the law will absolutely not be the last word. because just hours ago, trayvon martin s parents appearing here on msnbc with reverend al sharpton discussed their plans to participate in vigils this weekend in support of a bill that would end stand your ground in florida as we know it. the trayvon martin amendment says that you cannot pursue, you cannot follow, chase someone, pick a fight with them, shoot and kill them and then say you were standing your ground. now, the focus on florida s stand your ground law in the wake of the zimmerman verdict has also put pressure on rick scott to intervene in the tragic case of marissa alexander, one we ve been highlighting on all in all week. a mother of three fired what she described as a warning shot at her allegedly abusive husband. she s now serving a 20-y
0 wake of the zimmerman verdict has also put pressure on rick scott to intervene in the tragic case of marissa alexander, one we ve been highlighting on all in all week. a mother of three fired what she described as a warning shot at her allegedly abusive husband. she s now serving a 20-year sentence despite attempting to invoke florida s stand your ground law. and now a state senator in florida is calling for scott to pardon alexander, as floridians turn their attention to her story in the wake of zimmerman s acquittal. right this minute, there s a push for a new trial for a mom sentenced to 20 years in jail for firing a gun. marissa alexander just starting her second year of a 20-year sentence doesn t get much to look forward to. criminal case involving a local woman is back in the spotlight in the aftermath of the george zimmerman trial. joining me from florida, the state senator calling for marissa alexander to be pardoned. dwight bullard, a democratic senator. also spons