A little girl has been found out to have killed her own father with his own gun, causing some stir in the area.
Bresha Meadows, a 15-year-old Ohio girl has been charged with fatally shooting her allegedly abusive father.
The girl killed the man with his oen gun.
She will be tried in a juvenile court.
According to Teen Vogue, Bresha Meadows was accused of killing her 41-year-old father, Jonathan Meadows, in July with the gun he reportedly used to threaten her entire family.
According to family members, including Bresha’s aunt, Martina Latessa, Jonathan violently abused Bresha’s mom, Brandi Meadows, for years.
And following her arrest this summer, Bresha’s attorney said Bresha witnessed her father “punch, kick, and stomp her mother.”
Bresha had spoken about the abuse for months, and shortly before the incident, ran away from home out of fear that her father would kill the entire family.
Bresha has been held in a juvenile detention facility in Warren, Ohio, since her arrest, and during her first court appearance in August, she pleaded “not true” (not guilty) to the charge of aggravated murder.
There was the possibility that her case would be transferred to adult court, but today Bresha’s lawyer, Ian Friedman, announced the prosecutor decided against that option.
“This is a monumental decision,” Friedman told Cleveland.com. “This is what we had hoped for since day one.”
The difference between being tried in juvenile court and adult court is huge: If tried as an adult, Bresha could have faced life in (adult) prison.
But if Bresha is convicted of aggravated murder as a minor, she’ll serve her time in a juvenile facility, and only until turning 21.
Latessa, a Cleveland police officer, told The Huffington Post that Brandi — who referred to her daughter as a “hero” — cried upon hearing the news, knowing that at least Bresha won’t be in jail forever.
“It takes a lot of pressure off of Bresha,”
Latessa said. “Now she has hope. She has a future. Now she knows this is not forever.”
But, while this news is a relief, it’s far from the best-case scenario. Friedman, as well as many domestic violence activists, believe Bresha should be released from the juvenile detention facility as soon as possible.
“This doesn’t change our position that this was a self-defense scenario and we will press on with our effort to get Bresha home with her family right away,” Friedman told Huffington Post.
And activists have been fighting for Bresha’s release since she was jailed four months ago, with protests, a petition, and a #FreeBresha campaign, which has been endorsed by more than 100 national and local domestic violence organizations.
“I continue to be concerned that she remains incarcerated which is only further traumatizing her,” Mariame Kaba, who works with the #FreeBresha campaign, told Huffington Post. “The #FreeBresha campaign calls on prosecutors to drop the charges against her and to release her now. She doesn’t deserve more punishment.”
As it currently stands, Bresha will have to remain in the juvenile detention facility until her next hearing on Jan. 20, but Huffington Post reported that Friedman is requesting an earlier, pre-trial release.
