Cyntoia Brown, was a teen hanging in the streets, when she was caught up in a situation that would have either ended her life or someone else’s. She decided to fight for her life, but ended up losing it to prison. Cyntoia was a sex trafficking survivor who was sentenced to life in prison at age 16 for killing her 43-year-old abuser, finally she will have a chance to plead for leniency in federal court this week, according to NBC News. A U.S. federal appeals court in Cincinnati has agreed to hear oral arguments in her case.
Cyntoia Brown, now 30 years old, was sentenced to life when she was 16 with no possibility of parole until she serves 51 years. As a teen, she was convicted of murdering Johnny Mitchell Allen, who she said paid her to have sex with him, and tried as an adult. She said she had been forced into prostitution and that she shot Allen in self-defense after they had sexual intercourse.
Brown has testified that she was a survivor of abuse from when she was growing up, and her attorneys showed evidence that she suffered from physical, sexual, and verbal abuse and had been beaten, choked, raped, and threatened at gunpoint.
“I have a college degree now. I have a family … a whole community of people who love me, who believe in me, who support me,” Brown told the parole board in the Tennessee Prison for Women on May 23. After many hours of emotional testimony, the parole board was divided on her case.
federal court
Many Celebs and community leaders rally for Cyntoia’s justice, including Rihanna, Lebron James and Kim Kardashian West. Kim went as far as hiring a team of lawyers to defend Cyntoia.
On social media, many are digitally campaigning with the hashtag #freecyntoiabrown. Almost 500,000 people have signed a petition to free Brown.
Her attorney Shawn Holley has confirmed that Kardashian West had asked her to find a way to help Brown. The reality star’s legal team has been in discussions with Brown’s team about how to help.
“The system has failed. It’s heart breaking to see a young girl sex trafficked then when she has the courage to fight back is jailed for life! We have to do better & do what’s right. I’ve called my attorneys yesterday to see what can be done to fix this,” Kardashian West posted on Twitter back in November.
