Dear Dennis Watkins and Stanley Elkins, As the daughter of someone who survived physical and emotional abuse at home, I am appalled that Bresha Meadows is being threatened with punishment for simply trying to survive. After finally escaping the tight grip of her abuser at such a young age, you are now trying to deny … More Open Letter to Prosecutors #31

Dear Mr. Watkins, Ever since I became aware of Bresha Meadows I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. I was nearly her age when my parents finally divorced, my bother just a few years her senior. She doesn’t leave my thoughts because her life mirrors mine too much. I can’t imagine what it … More Open Letter to Prosecutors #30

Dear Dennis Watkins, As a human being (not as a prosecutor) as a human being, are you really willing and considering charging (at the time) a 14 year old with murder? considering the abuse has been documented? It was real it was not a figment of her imagination. She lived in fear, can you imagine … More Open Letter to the Prosecutors #29

Prosecutor Dennis Watkins Trumbull County Administration Building, 4th Floor 160 High Street, NW Warren, Ohio, 44481 Dear Mr. Watkins; I am writing to you regarding Bresha Meadows. Your office’s decision to detain and prosecute Bresha is morally reprehensible and a miscarriage of justice. You are abusing your power. You are directly responsible for endangering Bresha’s … More Open Letter to the Prosecutors #28

I am writing this letter to urge prosecutor Dennis Watkins to drop all charges against Bresha Meadows. I have been avidly following this case and it has been heartbreaking to watch the situation with this child unfold. Bresha has already had enough of her childhood taken away due to the violence she suffered. She should … More Letter to the Prosecutors #27

Dear Prosecutors Watkins and Elkins, As a legal professional, I am disappointed and frustrated with the ways our criminal legal system treats people who look like me. District attorneys have the discretion and power to bring forth charges. However, charges should reflect the benefit of the greater society, the harmed communities, and the effected family … More Open Letter to Prosecutors #26

Dear Dennis Watkins, I’m writing to you to join advocates across the world in their support of Bresha Meadows. We demand that all charges against Bresha be dropped immediately. The implications of further criminalizing and punishing Bresha Meadows are ones that will continue to erase a childhood which has already been shortened due to the … More Open Letter to the Prosecutors #25

Dear Dennis Watkins, I’m writing to you as a member of Black and Pink Chicago, an open family of LGBTQ people who are incarcerated and free world allies, to say that Bresha Meadows should be released and allowed to heal along with her family. Like Bresha, queer and trans people all too often are criminalized … More Open Letter to Prosecutors #24

Dear Dennis Watkins, My name is Ashley Williams and I am writing to demand that you release Bresha Meadows from jail immediately and drop the charges against her. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina in a community that has been negatively impacted by youth being removed from my community as a result of over policing. … More Open Letter to Prosecutors #23

Chicago Community Bond Fund Supports Bresha Meadows September 19, 2016 Dear Dennis Watkins and Stanley Elkins: Chicago Community Bond Fund joins domestic violence advocates, anti-violence groups, and defense organizations around the country in demanding that all charges against Bresha Meadows be dropped immediately. If charges are not dropped, Bresha should be released from pretrial detention … More Open Letter to Prosecutors #22