[Content warning: graphic descriptions of violence and abuse]

Natyasha Demery is a criminalized survivor of intimate partner violence who has been incarcerated for 20 years for defending herself against her abusive girlfriend. Over the course of their relationship, Natyasha’s abuser threw her through a glass table, burned her with a lit cigarette, and once stomped on her with enough force to leave a Timberland boot imprint on her thigh. She punched Natyasha in the face, blackened her eye, and bruised her arms and legs. After months of abuse, Natyasha defended herself from one of her girlfriend's violent attacks, and her girlfriend died as a result. Instead of being recognized as a survivor of violence, Natyasha was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and sentenced to life in prison for felony murder, with the possibility of parole only after thirty years. She has not seen the free world since 2006.

Natyasha’s trial was marked by a series of injustices. The prosecutor lied repeatedly, weaponized racist-sexist stereotypes, and ignored undisputed expert medical testimony that Natyasha feared for her life when she shot her girlfriend. Evidence of the abuse that Natyasha endured (a photograph of her injuries and notes she had written over the course of the relationship that described her girlfriend’s violence) was not presented in court because it was lost or deemed ineligible. The jury that sentenced Natyasha was composed of mostly white men in a then-conservative county. They ignored the judge's instructions and chose to convict Natyasha of the crime they thought carried the strictest punishment. Natyasha will not be eligible for parole until she has served 30 years behind bars.

Now that the Georgia Survivor Justice Act has passed and creates a pathway for Natyasha's immediate release, the Georgia Survivor Defense Project (GSDP) calls on the Cobb County District Attorney to support Natyasha's petition for resentencing under the GSJA. Sign this petition to tell Cobb County to #BringNatyashaHome.

Please note: if you choose to sign, change.org provides an opportunity for you to 'chip in' money. This money goes to promote the petition on change.org so that it reaches more people, not to Natyasha. If you would like to financially support criminalized survivors in Georgia, you can donate to GSDP at https://tinyurl.com/GSDPDonation.