https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fleeing-driver-crashed-pedestrians-dekalb-200310452.html

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/dekalb-county-expands-high-speed-pursuit-policy-amid-rising-crime-concerns

On April 16, 2026, an 18-year-old named Joseph Odeh with no criminal history was involved in a fatal car accident during a DeKalb County police pursuit. He is now charged with Felony Murder — carrying mandatory life imprisonment — and is being held without bond. This petition calls on District Attorney Sherry Boston to reduce the charge to vehicular homicide, grant a bond hearing, and demands that DeKalb County answer for the pursuit policy that put everyone in danger that day.

I have been Joseph's mother since before he took his first breath.

I know who my son is. He is not a killer. He is not a violent person.

He is a young man — barely an adult — who made a terrible decision in a moment of fear and panic, and now he is sitting in a jail cell without bond, charged with a crime that carries mandatory life imprisonment in the state of Georgia.

I wake up every morning knowing my child is in that cell. I go to sleep every night knowing he is still there. There are no words for what that feels like.

But I am not here just as a grieving mother. I am here because I have done my research. I have read the laws. I have read the policies. And what I have found is that my son is not the only one who made decisions that led to Antoinette Catchings' death on April 16, 2026.

DeKalb County changed its police pursuit policy in March 2025 — authorizing high-speed chases for any crime. A mother named Katrina Harris went on FOX 5 News and warned them it would get people killed. I watched that video. I cried watching that video. Because she was right. And nobody listened to her.

Now I am that mother.

I am not asking for my son to escape accountability. I am asking for a charge that tells the truth about what happened — a charge that reflects a car accident during a police chase, not a calculated murder. I am asking for a bond hearing for an 18-year-old with no criminal record who has lived in this community his entire life. And I am asking DeKalb County to look in the mirror and answer honestly for the policy decisions that put everyone in danger that day.

I will not stop until Joseph gets a fair chance. I will attend every Board meeting. I will knock on every door. I will stand in front of every camera.

I am his mother. That is what mothers do.

Please sign this petition. Please share it. Please help me make sure my son's story is heard.

— Renita Slappey

Rereslap0122@gmail.com

(678) 431-1138