In 2004, a jury in Tennessee convicted Cyntoia Brown, a black 16-year-old victim of sex trafficking, to life in prison. Charged as an adult, despite being a minor, Brown was found guilty of murder and prostitution.
Brown, who had left her home where she endured frequent physical and sexual abuse, was picked up by a man who threatened her and her mother with death if she tried to prevent him from selling her for sex.
After she was sold to a wealthy white realtor, Brown says the man violently assaulted her. At one point, she believed he was reaching for a gun and, in self-defense, shot him dead.
In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that minors could not be given life sentences without parole. Seeking to overturn her sentence, Brown filed a lawsuit against Tennessee – which, this month, was unanimously ruled against by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Their reasoning? Brown has the option to seek parole – 51 years from now. To any rational person, this is clearly being used as a loophole to continue the punishment of a minor and victim who, at this point, has spent nearly half of her life behind bars.
But Cyntoia Brown can still find justice.
Call on Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam to use his legal privilege to commute Brown's sentence by adding your name to this petition!
