*Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam says his office is reviewing the case of Cyntoia Brown, the young woman serving life in prison for killing a man when she was 16.
The Tennessee Supreme Court last week ruled that Brown would have to serve at least 51 years in prison for the 2004 killing before she’s eligible for release. But after outrage on social media and support from celebs like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian, Gov. Haslam is now reviewing her case and says he will have an answer before he leaves office in six weeks.
“We are in the midst of reviewing Cyntoia’s case,” Haslam said at an event Monday night.
“We’ll hopefully have a decision — I’m just here for six more weeks, so it’ll be before that,” he said, according to a video of the event posted online by The Tennessean. “But we’re doing our best to review every aspect of that, talking to everybody involved, just like we are with several other — I wouldn’t say exactly similar cases — but somewhat similar cases.”
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Cyntoia Brown may be pardoned by the outgoing Governor Bill Haslam. Watch the segment on the #RolandMartinUnfiltered youtube channel at https://t.co/wD8rzmPLGD pic.twitter.com/buCFj23uaF
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) December 14, 2018
When Brown was 16, she was raped and forced into prostitution by a pimp and that’s how she met 43-year-old Johnny Mitchell Allen. He took her back to his house after soliciting her for sex. Prosecutors argued that Brown intended to rob Allen when she killed him, but her lawyers insisted that she shot him in self-defense because she feared he was going to hurt her.
Brown claims she only took money from Allen’s wallet because she was afraid of returning to her pimp boyfriend without it. She was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison.
Haslam’s office is reviewing “a lot” of clemency cases, and last week’s ruling by the state Supreme Court won’t affect his decision, he said.
Per CNN:
In Tennessee, clemency decisions rest solely with the governor, though the state’s Board of Parole can make recommendations. That also could help Brown.
The parole board in May split three ways on the question of clemency for her: Two members supported it, two opposed it, and two favored making Brown eligible for parole after serving 25 years.
The unanimous ruling came in response to a lawsuit pending with the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to weigh in.
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