Sex Trafficking Victim Who Killed Man As A Teenager, Cyntoia Brown Released After Serving 15 Years In Prison

Cyntoia Brown, who was handed a life sentence as a teenager for killing a man she said had hired her for sex, has been released from a Tennessee prison.

The 31-year-old has spent 15 years of her life behind bars for the murder.

She walked free on Wednesday, seven months after being granted clemency and was released on parole, according to the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDC).

Brown was 16 when she shot and killed Johnny Mitchell Allen, 43, in 2004 after he allegedly paid her for sex. She said that she shot Allen, of Nashville, when she saw him reaching for what she believed was a gun while they were in bed at his home.

Prosecutors have argued that the motive was not self-defense as she claimed, but robbery.

At the time of the crime, Brown was a runaway and living with her 24-year-old boyfriend, a pimp known as “Kut Throat,” who she said raped her and forced her into prostitution.

The teenage Brown was tried as an adult and convicted of first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder, and aggravated robbery. Two years after the crime in 2016, she was sentenced to life in prison.

Under Tennessee law, Brown would not have been eligible for parole until she served at least 51 years behind bars. Her story led celebrities such as singer Rihanna, actress Alyssa Milano, and reality television star Kim Kardashian West to advocate on her behalf and is cited as an example of the need for criminal justice reform.