FREE MARISSA NOW

#FreeBresha DAYS OF ACTION: OCT 5 & 6 

Bresha Meadows has an important court hearing on Thursday, Oct 6th when the prosecutor will determine if Bresha will be prosecuted for a crime (possibly charged as an adult) instead of given the support & safety that she needs.

We take action in solidarity with Bresha and demand that she is returned home to her family and that all charges against her are dropped.  We call on #SayHerName/#BlackLivesMatter supporters, victim advocates, feminists, racial justice activists, young people, and people of faith to take action in solidarity with Bresha and all survivors of domestic & sexual violence who are criminalized for surviving.

Events are being planned across the US! Visit here and here for an updated list. We want to help promote your event! Please send us info about your action.

WAYS TO PARTICIPATE (Download as PDF):

1. TAKE DIRECT ACTION! On Oct 5th & 6th, organize a march & rally, a speak out, a vigil, a flash mob dance party, a concert, a block party, or a fundraiser. Use media! Create zines, short videos, postcards, music, and poetry.
2. DONATE to the fund to support Bresha Meadows’ freedom: https://www.gofundme.com/BreshaM
3. SIGN the petition to demand that Trumbull County Prosecutor, Dennis Watkins, drop the charges against Bresha and free her now: bit.ly/FreeBreshaNow
4. WRITE letters of encouragement and support to Bresha and send to: Bresha Meadows, c/o Ian N. Friedman, Esq., Friedman & Nemecek, L.L.C., The IMG Center, 1360 E. 9th Street, Suite 650, Cleveland, Ohio 44114
5. JOIN the “Open Letter to Dennis Watkins” project. Send us an open letter to Prosecutor Dennis Watkins who has the discretion to decide to drop charges against Bresha. https://freebresha.wordpress.com/open-letters/
6. EDUCATE communities about the criminalization of black girls and survivors of domestic violence! Organize discussions and workshops about domestic and sexual violence, explore community strategies for safety and support, resist the criminalization of our communities.
   Educational Resources:
   * #FreeBresha curriculum template
   *  fact sheet on domestic violence and the criminalization of girls
   * educational tools at survivedandpunished.org and No Selves to Defend
7. ENDORSE the call to free Bresha Meadows. Urge your campus, organization, union, faith community, or collective to endorse the statement posted by Love & Protect:  http://loveandprotect.org/bresha-meadows/
8. CONNECT WITH FAITH COMMUNITIES. If you are part of a faith community, join community prayer sessions for Bresha’s freedom and mobilize your community. More here: https://freebresha.wordpress.com/faith/
9. SPREAD THE WORD with friends, families, communities, co-workers, and via social media. Write letters to the editor to your local news media. Blog, tweet, and spread the word on social media. #FreeBresha

Let us know what you’re up to!  Stay in touch via e-mail at FreeBreshaMeadows@gmail.com or connect with us @FreeBresha on twitter and facebook. All updates can be found at freebresha.wordpress.com.

Bresha Meadows of Ohio was 14 years old when she was incarcerated and threatened with a charge of aggravated murder for defending herself and family against the unrelenting terror and abuse of her father.

We stand in solidarity with Bresha and demand that she is returned home to her family and that all charges against her are dropped. Join us for the twitter chat and follow #FreeBresha updates here: 

https://freebresha.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/freebresha/
http://twitter.com/freebresha

Donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/bresham

April 12, 2016

After defending her life from her abusive husband by firing a warning shot, Marissa Alexander was unjustly charged and convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm. Though she caused no injuries, Florida’s 10-20-Life mandatory minimum sentencing law required that she receive a sentence of 20 years.  The judge literally said the sentence was “out of my hands.”

The past couple of months have seen some important reforms to this law:  

• In February, Florida legislators REPEALED part of the 10-20-Life law, allowing judges to take into account mitigating circumstances (such as domestic violence) when determining sentencing in cases where a firearm is involved.
  
  
• After Marissa successfully appealed her conviction in 2013, State Prosecutor Angela Corey announced that she would re-try Marissa and this time pursue a 60 year sentence.  Marissa was charged with three counts of aggravated assault, and Corey argued that the mandatory minimum law required that multiple sentences must be served consecutively rather than concurrently. This past March, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that mandatory minimum sentences can be served concurrently according to judges’ discretion.
  

These reforms were, in large part, inspired by Marissa’s case. However, if Marissa had been convicted in a second trial rather than agree to a plea in 2014, the first reform would not have impacted her mandated sentence retroactively.

The Free Marissa Now Mobilization Campaign released a response:

“We welcome the weakening of mandatory minimum sentencing and congratulate all who organized to secure this hard-won legislative reform. As we have argued, mandatory minimums have been a major contributor to the hyperincarceration of black people and the warehousing of tens of thousands of people in the U.S.  They are also particularly dangerous for survivors of sexual and domestic violence who are prosecuted because the context of the violence they experience from their abusers can have no impact on sentencing decisions.

We continue to call for Marissa Alexander’s freedom with no further delay, the immediate end of all mandatory minimum sentencing laws, the dismantling of the prison industrial complex, and comprehensive support for all survivors of violence.  The vast majority of people in women’s prisons are survivors of sexual and/or domestic violence.  There is a definitive pipeline between gender violence and criminalization.  Survivors living within the intersections of domestic violence,  stalking, sexual violence, and police, court, and prison violence need and deserve our solidarity.”  #FreeMarissa #SurvivedAndPunished

blacklivesmatter:

Today’s #VisionsOfABlackFuture poster is honoring both survivors and those who have fallen to domestic violence. It was created by Sandra Khalifa sandra-nadine. 

#BlackFutureMonth #BlackLivesMatter

artistsagainstpoliceviolence:

By Megan Spencer

“This piece is a meditation on the violence against Black bodies that has always been a part of the U.S. settler state. I was thinking about how we carry these stories in our bodies and wondering how we can find beauty in the world amid anti-Black racism, transphobia, misogyny, and the many forces which perpetuate violence against Black people, particularly Black children, queer and trans people, and women.”

High-Res Download 

(Source: artistsagainstpoliceviolence, via prisonculture)

distractful:

#SayHerName

(Source: distractful, via scot-vs-time)

18mr:

BREAKING: NAN-HUI JO RELEASED FROM IMMIGRATION DETENTION!

Nan-Hui Jo, an undocumented survivor of domestic abuse, was released on bond from immigration detention on Friday, July 17. We celebrate her release and will continue to support Nan-Hui in her fight to be reunited with her daughter. After her release, Nan-Hui enjoyed a celebratory dinner of Korean food with friends, organizers and members of her legal team.

We celebrate Nan-Hui’s release from jail as an incredible, critical victory following nearly one year of incarceration. We know, however, that the struggle is not over. She still needs to rebuild her relationship with her daughter, who hasn’t seen her mother since July 29, 2014. Despite her release from detention, she is still fighting deportation in upcoming immigration hearings. She is still challenging her unjust criminal conviction for child abduction, which resulted from the actions she had taken to protect herself and her child.

Stand With Nan-Hui organizers

Full statement: http://standwithnanhui.org/nanhui_release/
Press release: http://standwithnanhui.org/press_breaking_nhjrelease/

Image credit: Keshy Jeong, Jio Im