Tennessee governor considering clemency for sex trafficking victim Cyntoia Brown
Source: NBC News
Source: NBC News
Rihanna and Kim Kardashian-West were some of the first celebrities to shed light on Cyntoia Brown's case.
This past week has seen Cyntoia Brown's case return to headlines after the Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously agreed that she has to serve 51 years in prison before she's eligible for release. Since then, people from across the country have called on Gov. Bill Haslam to grant Brown clemency, from a Nashville Black Lives Matter group to celebrities including Meek Mill, Kerry Washington, Amy Schumer and Ashley Judd.
"Free this girl!!!!!!!! We come from the same circumstances...trying to save your own life could get you life in prison!" Meek tweeted recently.
"We encourage Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to grant #Clemency4Cyntoia. Cyntoia Brown was a victim of child sex trafficking, raped and forced into prostitution to stay alive," Schumer also tweeted. "She deserves our empathy and your mercy."
Haslam said that he will make his decision about clemency within the next six weeks when his tenure is up. The governor made the comments at an event for education on Monday (December 12th). Justin Lang, a member of Black Lives Matter Nashville division, asked Haslam about Brown.
"...why has Cyntoia Brown been incarcerated for 14 years for enduring harm?" Lang said to Brown. "And so I say, Governor Haslam, you have the power and ability to grant clemency to Cyntoia Brown, and so I ask when will you grant her clemency, I ask what will be your legacy as you leave office, and how will you answer to this human rights violation that the state of Tennessee is committing by keeping her incarcerated?"
There is currently a petition urging Haslam to grant Brown clemency. The petition has over 500,000 signatures.
