this is the person marissa alexander fired a warning shot. he said if my kids weren't there i knew i would probably have tried to take the gun from her. you know, i just don't know what would have happened. if my kids wouldn't have been there i probably would have put my hand on her. >> what do you men you would have put your hand on her? probably hit her. i got five baby mommas and i put my hands on every last one of them except for one. there is such a thick as discretion. you may think you have a certain kind of case but when this person says this to you. >> that was not evidence allowed in the first trial. >> but the evidence about his previous history was not allowed in the first trial. i think that they would have considered his history when thinking what was marissa's state of mind? did she think she was in danger of serious bodily harm? i think these issues are issues that a jury should have considered and they didn't get the chance to hear that evidence. >> quickly on this question of prosecutal discretion which includes prosecutal a

and she's getting a new trial. >> yes, marissa alexander, really an outrageous case. who was clearly a survivor of domestic violence in an argument with her abuser. >> right. >> fires a warning shot up into the air. no one was hurt -- >> that didn't hurt anyone. >> she tried to use stand your ground defense, she was convicted within a matter of hours. >> yeah. >> she was sentenced to 20 years, the mandatory minimum. the judge has now overturned that conviction. she'll get a new trial because the jury was not instructed properly on her self-defense. >> i was really happy to hear that. >> it's really amazing and there's a lot of fund-raising and activism around marissa alexander's case. go to atprison twitter feed and you can find information about marissa alexander's case. it's opportunity for an injustice to be righted. a new trial we'll watch carefully. richard kim. >> i know this is totally cliche on my part, but the primary victory of bill de blasio. just from a sheer political narrative level, this was a guy in single digits for most of the campaign. chris quinn h

marissa alexander was serving 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot.d who had a history of domestic violence was assaulting her, so she fired a warning shot that hit the ceiling of her house. no one was hurt. >> i believe when he threatened to kill me, that's what he was going to do. that's exactly what he intended to do. and had i not discharged my weapon at that point, i would not be here. this is my life i'm fighting for. this is my life. and it's my life. it's not entertainment. it is my life. >> the mother of three spent the last two years behind bars convicted of domestic violence against her estranged husband. how could that be justice in america? back in september we learned a florida appeals court ordered a new trial. and over the holiday weekend without cameras around, she was let out of prison the night before thanksgiving. reunited with her family after more than 1,000 days in prison. that is what i call a very happy holiday. her new trial is set to begin in march of next year. we'll continue to follow this story. ♪ stacy's mom has got it g

kerry, let's just be clear, you are not currently representing marissa alexander, but you are familiarith her case and also, again, a part of the organization that is free marissa now. >> absolutely. >> so let's get into how you understand marissa is doing. she was released, again, over the thanksgiving holiday. how is she faring right now? >> i spoke with her mother over the weekend, and her mother said that at this point marissa is trying to process just not being behind bars after being behind bars for almost three years. and she has three children, twins, okay, who are not connected with rico gray. they're not the children of rico gray. >> which is the estranged husband. >> yeah. so she's seeing them, they're at the house and spending time with them and reconnecting with them. she actually feels as if she's getting to know them again because she's been away from them for so long. she also has a 3-year-old who is the child of rico gray. she -- over the weekend she had not seen the 3-year-old yet, so that's something that she's working on. >> so in the backstory here, marissa alexand

that is the case of marissa alexander, which, in many ways, reflects this. i have often pushed back against the title of miss alexander's book, the idea of the new jim crow. something can be bad in its own way. it doesn't have to be the new old bad thing. book titles are almost never crated by the author. we've got to give her a pass on that one. that said, to bring back the slavery piece of it, i've also always pushed back around any attempts to make anything that is now that thing then, and one of the key aspects of why this thing now is not that thing then is simply what distinguished slavery in the u.s. south in the 17th, 18th, 19th century is the intergenerational nature of it. although there have been slavery in other places, the thing that made the slavery different and unique in human history is the idea that you could expect nothing more for your children either than bondage. as we have been doing this work, and also as i have learned more about the work you do, i am increasingly convinced i have made an error of judgment, and that in fact the curren

and so many ways, the marissa alexander case opens this up. from what we know about this case, this is a woman who had just given birth to a child who hurt -- with her abusive husband. it was very clear that he abused her as well as other partners. in her attempt to protect, shooting more than at the ceiling, she ends up with 20 g -- 20 years or more in jail in florida. she has been incarcerated already for three years. away from that infant who she was trying to protect. i invite all of you at this point to reflect on either the question of the intergenerational nature of incarceration around women and children, but also if you want to to reflect specifically on marissa alexander and what we have learned about the intersection of domestic violence, the intergenerational nature, the lack of interest in making sure that a black mother is at home to in fact parent her child. myi want to continue discussion about mass criminalization and give you an idea of why i cleaned it that way. safeooking at the adoption families act that passed in 1996 whe

and so many ways, the marissa alexander case opens this up. from what we know about this case, this is a woman who had just given birth to a child who hurt -- with her abusive husband. it was very clear that he abused her as well as other partners. in her attempt to protect, shooting more than at the ceiling, she ends up with 20 g -- 20 years or more in jail in florida. she has been incarcerated already for three years. away from that infant who she was trying to protect. i invite all of you at this point to reflect on either the question of the intergenerational nature of incarceration around women and children, but also if you want to to reflect specifically on marissa alexander and what we have learned about the intersection of domestic violence, the intergenerational nature, the lack of interest in making sure that a black mother is at home to in fact parent her child. myi want to continue discussion about mass criminalization and give you an idea of why i cleaned it that way. safeooking at the adoption families act that passed in 1996 whe

we see it in the case of marissa alexander.nced to 20 years in prison for trying to defend herself against her husband with a history of domestic violence. this year she got a new trial. that gives us hope. as does a victory against stop and frisk. new york city's new mayor bill de blasio was elected on a vow to end that. and president obama and attorney general holder have committed themselves to correcting the injustices of our legal system. a system which for too long has unjustly targeted the poor and communities of color. 50 years later, we keep moving forward. while honoring the past as we did in recreating the march on washington. >> we believe in a new america. it's time to march for a new america. it's time to organize for a new america. it's time to register and vote for a new america. we are on our way. we are on our way. we are on our way. >> the work they started is unfinished, but we must work in big ways and small ways to see it there u. 2013 was a year that showed yet again that regular people can do big things.

marissa meier in the shot, as well. the senate getting things done as we have been reporting on a two-year bipartisan budget deal today. nbc's peter alexanderhad the president huddling with the titans of silicon valley, obviously, and a lot on the table. the affordable care act, getting assists from a former microsoft exec, as well as a lot of discussion about what the surveillance ruling means for these companies that are integral to our national security when they turn over the information they're told to. what can you tell us about the meeting? >> yeah, ari, that's exactly right. frank underwood was not in the meeting, but as you noted, there were some significant tech leaders from across america who were present from yahoo! facebook, apple, all representatives there in that meeting today. one of the primary topics the white house wanted to focus on was health care. but the topic that really took over most of the conversation that lasted approaching three hours was the topic of surveillance. the president and his national security team right now are deciding what recommendations to adopt that they're being provided from an outside review