*Earlier this year, former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam commuted the sentence of Cyntoia Brown. Now, she is set to be freed next Wednesday (08-07-19).
Prior to her commutation, Brown, now 31, had been serving a life sentence for the murder of a 43-year-old man who solicited sex from her when she was 16 years old.
As part of the terms of her commuted sentence, Brown will have to report to a parole officer regularly for the next decade. She is also required to stay employed, participate in counseling, and perform community service with at-risk youth.
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Here’s more from Yahoo News:
Her case gained national attention after the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled last December that she would have to serve 51 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
The prosecution of minors has changed significantly in Tennessee and across the U.S. since Brown’s first trial in 2006. Back then, she was charged as an adult in the 2004 murder of real estate agent Johnny Allen. Allen purchased her for $150 in exchange for sex. At the time, Brown was only 16 and living with a 24-year-old pimp known as “Cut Throat.” She has said her relationship with Cut Throat was sexually, physically, and emotionally abusive, and eventually, he forced her into prostitution.
Brown has since then said she shot Allen in self-defense. She was not allowed to testify at her original trial, which meant that evidence of her traumatic childhood history, such as her time under the care of the state Department of Children’s Services, and her severe neurodevelopmental disorder wasn’t presented. The then-teenager was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences.
Over her 15 years in prison, Brown received her associate’s degree and has mentored other female inmates. Now, she’ll have a second chance at life.
“With God’s help, I am committed to live the rest of my life helping others, especially young people,” Brown said in a statement shortly after her sentence was commuted. “My hope is to help other young girls avoid ending up where I have been.”
As theGrio notes, Brown’s story has served to rally celebrities and lawmakers, juvenile justice reformers and critics of Tennessee’s harsh life sentences for teens, those working to expose child sex trafficking and others highlighting racial inequities in the justice system.
Her case made national news and prompted pleas from several celebrities, most notably Rihanna, Kim Kardashian West and Ashley Judd before a clemency hearing.
Netflix has acquired the rights to the Cyntoia Brown’s story, the company announced on last month.
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