A woman who was convicted of murdering her pimp was granted clemency by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. Her case was championed by many celebrities who took issue with her sentence.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam granted clemency Monday to Cyntoia Brown, an alleged sex traffic victim who was sentenced to life in prison when she was 16 after killing a man and whose case was championed by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian West, Rihanna and LeBron James.Haslam commuted her life sentence and Brown will be released to parole supervision on Aug. 7, he said in a statement. Brown had served 15 years in prison before the governor’s decision.
“Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16,” Haslam said. “Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life.”
Brown will be subjected to certain restrictions upon her release, according to The Tennessean. Brown must report to counseling sessions and will need to complete 50 hours of community service. Brown will also be required to work with at-risk youth and be required to get a job.
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 was the first grant of clemency from the Republican Governor who recently took office. It looks like the celebrity pressure to bring this case to the publics attention helped. Unfortunately, there are many stories like this that go unreported.
wpDiscuz