Cyntoia Brown, now 29, was 16 years old when she was sentenced to life in prison. In 2004, she shot and killed a 43-year-old man who had solicited her for sex, Essence reports. Though the Tennessee native was just a child at the time of her trial, she was sentenced as an adult. (Sentencing a child as an adult was not uncommon in 2004, but the practice is under major scrutiny now.)
On Tuesday, Rihanna posted an image of Brown from a 2011 documentary, Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story, centred on her case. From there, Kim Kardashian, Cara Delevingne, and other celebrities shared the same picture and caption, renewing public attention on the case. Kardashian added "I've called my attorneys yesterday to see what can be done to fix this."
In the documentary, filmmaker Daniel Birman delved into Brown's past and the physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse she'd suffered as a child. Brown had already been a repeated victim of sex trafficking when she was solicited, at the age of 16, by 43-year-old realtor Johnny Mitchell Allan, the man she killed.
According to Newsweek, Brown testified in her 2004 trial that being beaten, choked, dragged and raped was a regular occurrence in her household. She was often threatened at gunpoint. The defense argued it was this repeated trauma that caused Brown to kill Allan.
"She was being sex trafficked. The pimp's name was Kutthroat," said Kathryn Sinback, Davidson Co. Juvenile Court Administrator.
Also during her trial, Brown waived her Miranda rights and told the Nashville PD Allan showed her his guns before having sex with her. Brown stated while they were in bed, Allan reached over and that she thought he was reaching for a gun, so she shot him with a gun she was carrying before taking money from his wallet and driving away in his truck.
The jury did not rule she was acting in self-defence, PEOPLE reports. Instead, she was found guilty of premeditated murder, felony murder, and aggravated robbery.
Birman told FOX 17 "This is a young girl who's at the tail end of three generations of violence against women. She had no chance."
Birman's documentary helped change Tennessee law for children like her in 2011. Now anyone 18 or younger can't even be charged with prostitution. If Brown's case went to trial today, the court would treat her as a child human trafficking victim.
Brown has already served 13 years of her sentence and will be eligible for parole when she is 67 years old. Newsweek also reports Brown has earned her associate's degree while imprisoned and is currently working toward a bachelor's of arts degree.
"She has used her experience to be able to make things better, juvenile justice, human trafficking and safety and security for youth and so I think what she has to offer is invaluable," Sinback said.
A MoveOn.org petition aiming to make Brown eligible for a presidential pardon has garnered more than 200,000 signatures to date.
