A Clemency Decision For Cyntoia Brown Could Be A Year Off

As a result of Cyntoia Brown‘s case recently resurfacing, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is now looking into the 29 year old’s case.

READ: The Story Of Cyntoia Brown, A Child Sex Slave Imprisoned For Killing Her Abuser, Has Resurfaced

Haslam’s administration has begun gathering information on Brown but said that a decision to grant her clemency is unlikely to come until next year, according to a report from Nashville Public Radio.

“I would be really surprised by the end of the year,” he said. “I think we’re just starting to gather the information.”

The incident that resulted in Brown’s incarceration occurred back in 2004 when she was picked up by Nashville, Tennessee, real estate agent Johnny Mitchell Allen. As the Associated Press reports:

He drove her back to his house where his strange behavior frightened her and made her want to escape. When she couldn’t sneak away, she said she wanted to nap. He lay down with her but didn’t fall asleep. He kept getting up and standing over her. She became more panicked, convinced something was going to happen to her. Finally, she shrugged off his advances and, as he rolled over, she took a gun from her purse and shot him once in the head.

Brown admitted that she shot and killed Allen but did so because she feared he would kill her. However, prosecutors argued that Brown robbed Allen after she killed him, with his pants, wallet, and some guns in her possession when apprehended. Ultimately, she was sentenced to life in prison, only eligible for parole after serving 51 years.

Brown’s story resurfaced recently because of social media, with everyone from Rihanna to Kim Kardashian sharing Brown’s story. Kardashian has even recruited her lawyer Shawn Holley to assist in Brown’s case.

“…Kim has championed the cause of Cyntoia Brown and asked me to help her get involved in that effort as well,” Holley said.

Source: nashvillepublicradio.org