Bresha Meadows, Teen Who Killed Allegedly Abusive Father, Is Finally Free

Bresha Meadows and her family were allegedly abused by their father for years.

Meadows protected her family as much as she could.

But one day the Ohio teen snapped.

The then 14-year-old, shot her father in the head as he slept. Her case attracted national media attention and opened up a conversation about domestic violence.

It also prompted a debate into how black women and young females are treated by the criminal justice system.

On Sunday, Bresha’s family received some good news.

The young woman, who is now 16, was released from the residential mental health facility where she has spent the last six months.

Bresha fatally shot her father, Jonathan Meadows, 41.

She alleged he was physically and verbally abusive toward her, often threatening her siblings with the same gun Bresha used to kill him.

Bresha’s mother, Brandi called her daughter a hero.

She told reporters that her husband beat her ruthlessly in front of the children.

“I believe that she saved all of us,” she said.

Prosecutors charged Bresha with aggravated murder, and sought to try her as an adult.

If she has been convicted it meant a potential life sentence.

Ultimately, she was tried as a child. Last May, she pleaded true to a charge of involuntary manslaughter, the equivalent of guilty in juvenile court.

She was sentenced to a year in juvenile detention, with credit for time served, as well as six months at a mental health facility and two years of probation.

On Sunday, she was released into her family’s care.

Her record will be sealed and expunged when she reaches adulthood.

“She lived a life no child, no adult, no human being should ever have to endure,” her attorney Ian Friedman said in court.

“She grew up in an environment where every adult failed her. … This did not have to happen.”

Bresha’s case was propelled into the national spotlight thanks to the work of a small collective, dubbed #FreeBresha.

The group organized book drives and letter-writing campaigns to the prosecutor.

They also started a petition to demand Bresha’s immediate release.

A fundraiser for Bresha has raised over $150,000.

“Bresha should never have been incarcerated, but it is a win nonetheless,” two of the organizers, Colby Lenz and Mariame Kaba, wrote in an op-ed welcoming the teen home.

“The punishment system was unsuccessful in disappearing this young Black woman.”