Petition demands release of incarcerated New Iberia 11-year-old girl
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- A petition was created to demand the release of the incarcerated New Iberia 11-year-old girl involved with the murder investigation of Kameron Bedsole.
While the petition is close to reaching the goal of 500, signatures News 10 sat down with the civil rights organization The Village 337 who explained their next steps once meeting their goal.
Devon Norman, president and director of The Village 337, said the petition was created to show the courts, specifically Judge Roger Hamilton and the Office of Juvenile Justice, the community is concerned about the condition of this 11-year-old girl who was impacted by this “unfortunate event.”
“The 11-year-old child is in a position now where she is beginning to become institutionalized and now we have to make sure that she has the help that she needs to reverse the damage that could have potentially been done by being incarcerated as a child,” Norman said. “Our goal is to get her out of the institution and then after that secondary would be to make sure that her mental health and physical health are where they need to be and her education, of course.”
The 11-year-old girl’s trial date is set for May 8 at 1p.m., at the New Iberia Courthouse. Norman said it is important for the community to show support.
“We cannot stress how important it is for individuals to send emails to Judge Hamilton. For individuals to send emails to OJJ and call them and let them know your concern about this 11-year-old child being incarcerated for an incident that the state is at this point conceding that she did not commit,” he said.
In November 2023, the 11-year-old girl was arrested acting on a warrant from the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested her. She was initially charged with first-degree murder, but then the charges were changed to second-degree murder and accessory after the fact. In March, both charges were dropped and she was given a charge of obstruction of justice.
“This 11-year-old has been in the detention center for just under 150 days at this point. The impact that we know it has already had on her is that she is starting to deal with situations," said Norman. “She feels like nobody is going to come to get her because any child that would be in a situation where they can't get to their family and they can go to court and see their family in court, but there these men with guns and this man in a big black robe that comes to tell her her destiny. She feels trapped”
Sabrina Washington, the child's mother, was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact when she and her son, 15, were discovered in Houston, Texas. The 15-year-old boy is booked and charged with first-degree murder.
“It's unfortunate, but we see three people arrested initially for the same crime, and while I understand the need for justice, justice cannot be done by committing injustice to another and this 11-year-old child is receiving severe injustice,” said Norman. “If we're not careful because of what's happening on the state level, because we see what's happening with the policies that are being passed through at the state legislature, this could be every one of our children. Our nieces and nephews, our great nieces and nephews, those kids that are out in the streets, and even the ones that are innocent. So please be privy to those laws and don't think that because it's happening to this child it can't happen to yours.”
Washington's pretrial date is June 26 and her trial is July 15. You can sign and learn more about the petition here.