*Earlier this year, former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam commuted the sentence of Cyntoia Brown, who was serving 15 years of a life sentence for the 2004 murder of a Nashville real estate agent.
She was 16 at the time of her crime, which garnered national attention and inspired a public campaign for her freedom, which drew support from celebrities like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian.
Now, Brown is a free woman, having been released from prison on Wednesday from the Tennessee Prison for Women on parole, according to the state’s Department of Corrections.Â
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Here’s more from Yahoo News:
Brown 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.
Brown’s new life as a free woman comes with a book deal, according to Yahoo.
“Free Cyntoia” will be published Oct. 15, Atria Books announced Tuesday. Brown reportedly worked on the book during her 15 years in prison.
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