Bresha Meadows & Nailah Franklin

Bresha Meadows had run out of options. She’d tried talking to the police. She’d tried running away from home. She tried everything she could think of to get away from her abusive father. Nothing seemed to work. So, in July of 2016, when she was 14 years old, Bresha took her father’s gun and killed him in his sleep. 

Then Kristin tells us about Nailah Franklin, a pharmaceutical sales rep who seemed to be living the good life. She had a big, loving family, close friends, and a new relationship with a handsome lawyer. There was just one thing that wasn’t right -- her douchebag ex-boyfriend, Reginald Potts. 

And now for a note about our process. For each episode, Kristin reads a bunch of articles, then spits them back out in her very limited vocabulary. Brandi copies and pastes from the best sources on the web. And sometimes Wikipedia. (No shade, Wikipedia. We love you.) We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the real experts who covered these cases.

“Smoke and Mirrors,” episode of Dateline

“Man Convicted in 2007 Killing of Pharmaceutical Sales Rep Nailah Franklin Sentenced to Life in Prison,” by Charlie Wojciechowski for NBC Chicago
“Reginald Potts guilty of murder in 2007 death of Nailah Franklin,” by Michelle Gallardo Rob Elgas for ABC News
“Woman called Reginald Potts 'pathological' in email before killing,” by Steve Schmadeke for the Chicago Tribune

“Remembering Nailah Franklin,” by Dawn Turner for the Chicago Tribune

“Nailah Franklin’s Boyfriend Says He Sent Her An Email Asking: ‘Are You Alive?’” CBS Chicago
“Sentencing begins for man in 2007 murder of Nailah Franklin,” by Steve Schmadeke for the Chicago Tribune

“Reginald Potts found guilty of killing Nailah Franklin,” Fox 32 Chicago
“After wrenching week of hearings, judge to sentence Franklin’s killer,” by Steve Schmadeke for the Chicago Tribune
“Testimony concludes in trial of man charged with killing Nailah Franklin,” CBS Chicago
“Reginald Potts Sentenced To Life In Prison For Murder Of Nailah Franklin,” CBS CHicago

“Bresha Meadows Thought You’d Understand” by Melissa Jeltsen, The Huffington Post

“Bresha Meadows' cousin says he also was abused by Jonathan Meadows” by Andrea Simakis, The Plain Dealer

“Murder or self defense? Bresha Meadows accused of killing father” by John Caniglia, The Plain Dealer

“Bresha Meadows Returns Home After Collective Organizing Efforts” by Mariame Kaba and Colby Lenz, TeenVogue

“Who is Bresha Meadows? 16-year-old, who killed her allegedly abusive father, released from custody” by Najja Parker, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Bresha Meadows, Ohio Teenager Who Fatally Shot Her Father, Accepts Plea Deal” by Jonah Engel Bromwich, The New York Times

“Alumni Story: CMLaw HOF Member And Friedman Reflects On The Bresha Meadows Case” Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

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