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Fourteen-year-old Bresha Meadows took the life of her father in July. She is currently behind bars on charges of aggravated murder.

But Bresha’s family is calling her a “hero,” who saved them all from the verbally and physically abusive Jonathan Meadows.

Police allege Bresha shot her father as he slept in their Warren, Ohio home, using the same gun with which he threatened to harm the entire family.

Ian N. Friedman, Meadows’ attorney, said the teen “lived an absolute nightmare for her years in that home and the abuse between her mother Brandi at the hands of her father Jonathan obviously predated her birth, just went on since the time they were dating.

“Every day this young girl had to live a nightmare witnessing her father beating her mother.” 

According to Friedman, hospital records that signify a cycle of abuse will be presented to the court.

NewsOne Now panelist A’Shanti Gholar said Bresha “was a victim pretty much her whole life and she had to resort to what she felt she needed to do to protect herself and her family.

“The state kind of knew about this and still didn’t do anything to protect her and now she’s in this vulnerable situation. It’s very upsetting.

“We have been having this conversation slowly about mental health in the country and I think this is another example of that – making sure that our young people do have the support that they need.”

Guest host Joia Jefferson Nuri said that Bresha’s now-deceased father “never got the mental health treatment he needed. He obviously would have signs that he was unstable long before he was beating his family.”

As it relates to Bresha’s mental well-being, Nuri explained that as a culture, African-Americans historically “have no pieces in place for children that exhibit these behaviors.”

The CEO of In The Public Eye Communications questioned why someone didn’t intervene and remove Bresha from the abuse she was experiencing prior to the tragic events that unfolded on July 28th.

Watch guest host Joia Jefferson Nuri, Attorney Ian N. Friedman, and the NewsOne Now panel discuss the Bresha Meadows case in the video clip above.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

Watch NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, in its new time slot on TV One.

SEE ALSO: 

Attorney: Years Of Abuse Caused Girl, 14, To Fatally Shoot Father