Cyntoia Brown must serve 51 years before she's eligible for release, court says
33 replies, posted
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/07/us/cyntoia-brown-prison-release/index.html
(CNN) A woman who was 16 when she killed a Nashville man who solicited her for sex must serve at least 51 years in prison before she's eligible for release, according to the
Tennessee Supreme Court. On Thursday the court said defendants like Cyntoia Brown, who are convicted of first-degree murder committed after July 1, 1995, and sentenced to life
imprisonment, can't become eligible for release from prison before serving more than five decades.
The court's five justices were unanimous in their decision against Brown, who was convicted of killing a 43-year-old man in 2004 when he took her to his house for sex. Brown has said
she killed him after she feared he would kill her.
Thursday's ruling came in response to a lawsuit in which Brown argues her sentence is unconstitutional, citing a 2012 opinion by the US Supreme Court that said mandatory life
sentences without parole for juvenile offenders violate the US Constitution.
The Tennessee Supreme Court explained in a statement that "under state law, a life sentence is a determinate sentence of 60 years. However, the sixty-year sentence can be reduced by
up to 15 percent, or 9 years, by earning various sentence credits." A district court previously denied Brown's motion, per court documents, pointing out she hadn't been sentenced to life
in prison without the possibility of parole -- just a life sentence.
More than a decade after sentencing, Brown's case caught the attention of A-list celebrities like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian West who began advocating for mercy. Her story spread
on social media using the hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown.
Brown says she was forced into prostitution after a difficult childhood. At her trial, she said her victim, Johnny Mitchell Allen, solicited her for sex and drove her to his house.
There, Brown saw a gun cabinet in Allen's room, she said during her trial. She resisted him until he appeared to reach under the bed, at which point she believed he was going to kill her.
Brown took a gun out of her purse and shot Allen, killing him. Brown was tried as an adult. Prosecutors at that hearing said Brown killed Allen to rob him, not to defend herself.
Im confused with this story. She went over to his house to have sex with him but then began resisting when she noticed a gun cabinet.. in the state of tennessee where everybody owns guns? Is it really that unthinkable that she actually did murder rob the guy?
After looking more it seems that she didn't want to have sex and she panicked when he reached under the bed. She took a gun from her purse and shot him.
https://twitter.com/discomfiting/status/1071416548340981763
Epstein raped at least 50 underage girls and received 13 months in a county jail during which time he was allowed to leave 6 days a week for "work".
I mean, I don't disagree with her being convicted of murder. From what information I can gather from the wikipedia and other news stories, I can see why she was convicted, there's enough evidence to point to her murdering the guy in some capacity. I don't think she deserves 51 years of course, she was a minor at the time, she was on drugs, she was being forced into prostitution, and all other things around this event. Sans the fact she clearly killed a sleeping man who was not threatening her life at that moment, it points to her being in need of serious mental help to me. She should be put in a psyche ward with option of release once she's deemed safe for society, not put in prison.
Id imagine then the harsh sentencing is because shes probably not even fessed up to what she actually did or expressed remorse. At least going off the first article but i havent digged more into it myself as im currently phoneposting
I feel like you typically get less time for broad daylight murders. Seems excessive, even for murder.
The United States' justice system is a fucking joke.
Ryan Holle
That's the state level justice system being a fucking joke, four states don't have the felony murder rule and it's not used in federal court.
It makes a mockery of the US either way, states' rights my arse.
Yea its a long time but she killed a john in his sleep to rob him. Having a bad life doesnt excuse you from cold blooded murder. Especially if she plead not guilty and stuck to her false story.
I'd argue that at the age she was and the environment she came from there's a few mitigating factors there. At the least she deserves a chance at rehabilitation instead of having her life pissed away.
Jfc even the killers of James Bulger got less than she did and what they did was far worse.
The killers of james bulger deserved worse than they got. They should either be locked up for life or killed. Doesnt make much difference to me personally as long as they wouldnt have been able to rejoin civilization
I think this is bordering on irrational for the purposes of the justice system. What is the point of keeping them for 60 years? Keep them for less, or fix them. You're putting them in as a minor and releasing them when they're 70 fucking years old. Either they are literally never going to be fixed or they were fixed long, long ago, so the length is just weird to me.
She was a sex slave who killed someone who was exploiting her as a minor, she doesn't deserve a day in prison. At worst she should get counselling. She's not a threat to society in any way what so ever.
She is a cold hearted murderer who shot a sleeping man to death, what part of that is hard to understand?
She lied to the john about her age and killed him in his sleep. Buying a prostitute is exploitation now?
Prostitution of underage girls is always exploitation, his knowledge of her age is irrelevant.
It sort of isnt irrelevant actually
Her motive which she was charged for matters.
Prosecutors say Brown killed Johnny Allen, 43, in order to steal from him — she took several firearms and his pants, which contained his wallet. They also pointed to her past drug use and criminal juvenile record in an attempt to show a pattern in her life.
Allen was found dead in a pool of blood in his bed. Authorities say he was face down and had his hands under his head, as though he was sleeping when he was shot in the back of the head, court documents show.
Brown told Nashville police officers Allen picked her up at a Sonic Drive-In and took her back to his home and they got into his bed. He started touching her under the covers and Brown told police she thought he was reaching for a gun, so she pulled out a .40-caliber handgun from her purse and shot him in the head, court documents show.
Initially, she denied she was a prostitute and that they'd had sex.
Cyntoia Brown Wasn't A Victim, Stole Money After Killing Johnny ..
It seems like there are articles saying she was a "Sex-slave" and sold to Allen. Other articles state she was a prostitute and murdered her john. I get prostitution isn't a cut and dry subject, but from what I've read she was abused by her pimp named "cut-throat" and Allen was just a client.
While I have no doubt that what she been through may have had influenced what had happened, but she did murder a guy while he was a sleep, steal his belongings. I personally believe she should be held accountable, maybe not as harshly, but you seriously cannot argue self-defense considering the facts.
I didn't mean to imply I thought she was innocent of the crime, only that the client was not an innocent victim either.
Wasn't aware that soliciting sex was punishable by death.
So where did I say that exactly?
With your very vague response it could be implied. What I took from your statement is that he was guilty of a crime so it lessens the impact of the murder.
Yes, the john was guilty of soliciting sex, he is guilty of being ignorant of her real age, he is guilty of being ignorant about how his solicitation fuels sex trafficking. Doesn't mean that it was okay for him to be murdered in his sleep and robbed. He was a victim of murder and robbery, him buying a prostitute doesn't change that.
I think she should definitely get some punishment for killing the guy when he wasn't a direct threat to her at that moment. That isn't self-defense. 50 years is complete bonkers though. A 50 year sentence is bonkers in general imo. You would probably never receive anything like that in many other Western countries, for any crime. 20 years is already viewed as a very harsh punishment in many other parts of the world.
"If a person is convicted of first degree murder, he or she will receive a life sentence."
She got it easy by our legal systems standards. Not saying our system is with out faults, but she killed some one in their sleep and then lied about it. Our legal system isn't really big on
rehabilitation unfortunately
