Celebrities are furious about the Cyntoia Brown ruling
In 2004, then 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown was arrested for killing 43-year-old Johnny Mitchell Allen in the state of Tennessee. Brown was living with a 24-year-old man named Cut Throat who had forced her into sex slavery and was selling her body for money. This was how she eventually found herself in Allen’s home, where the older man was allegedly acting scary and erratic.
Afraid for her life, Brown shot Allen with a gun she kept in her purse. And today, November 21st, Brown was sentenced to 51 years in prison. Brown — who was legally a child at the time and had faced years of sexual and physical abuse — will not be eligible for parole until she is 67 years old.
Now, many celebrities and everyday people alike are voicing their outrage over Brown’s sentence.
A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Nov 21, 2017 at 5:12am PST
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. #FreeCyntoiaBrown pic.twitter.com/73y26mLp7u
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) November 21, 2017
this is unfair #justiceforcyntoia https://t.co/j8kPRYXVQg
— Lana Del Rey (@kidsoflana) November 21, 2017
Free da GOAT #IGotSomethingOnTheApeal
A post shared by TIP (@troubleman31) on Nov 20, 2017 at 11:20pm PST
One day in jail, was one too many for #CyntoiaBrown. She was arrested in 2004 at 16, it's now 2017. pic.twitter.com/CJX566Of46
— JERREAU (@jerreau) November 21, 2017
The hashtags #FreeCyntoiaBrown and #JusticeForCyntoia are trending all over social media today.
Do y’all know who Cyntoia Brown is? She’s 16 years old who is a victim of sex trafficking. She is currently in prison for life for killing a 43 year old predator who bought her and repeatedly drugged, rapped and abused her. #FreeCyntoiaBrown
— Slim (@slimabrams) November 21, 2017
The Cyntoia Brown case began in 2004, poor girl is now in her 20s
. I remember watching her documentary back in 2012- it's now 2017 and people are JUST realizing about this case.
The attention is way overdue but better late than never, thank God.
— Princess Nelly (@_NellyEmGee) November 21, 2017
there's been a lot of misinfo about this case so lemme clear some things up:
-cyntoia brown is now in her late 20s.
-the murder happened in 2004 and she was put in prison in 2012.
-although this happened 10+ years ago, this woman still deserves justice.
#FreeCyntoiaBrown—
festive
(@nadearaxc) November 21, 2017
A documentary about Brown’s case, entitled “Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story” premiered in 2011 and even helped to change local Tennessee laws involving prostitution and the sentencing of minors — now only people over the age of 18 can be charged. However, many are arguing that the change in law came too little, too late. Kim Kardashian West has even said she would call her personal lawyer to see what can be done to bring justice to Brown.
We will be monitoring this situation closely.