Kim K, Rihanna and Cara Delevingne are demanding justice for a woman who has spent the last 13 years in jail for killing a man who held her captive as a sex slave when she was just 16 years old.
Cyntoia Brown was sex trafficked by a pimp named Kutthroat who was physically, sexually and verbally abusive and eventually sold her to 43-year-old Nashville realtor Johnny Allen, a court heard during her trial in 2004.
Brown, who feared that former Army sharp shooter Allen planned to kill her, eventually grabbed one of her captor’s guns and killed him, Fox 17 reports.
But when the case came to court, she was sentenced to life in prison. She won’t be eligible for parole for at least 51 years.
The case is getting new attention after a tweet showing Brown in court and detailing her case with the hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown went viral on Monday.
Now celebrities, including Kim Kardashian and Rihanna, are using their fame to call for Justice for Brown.
Cyntoia Brown (pictured in court) was just 16 when she was sex trafficked by a pimp named Kutthroat who was physically, sexually and verbally abusive
Kim K (pictured) Rihanna and Cara Delevingne are now demanding justice for her
Kim K said she has even called her own legal team to see if they can help fight Brown’s case.
‘The system has failed. It’s heart breaking to see a young girl sex trafficked then when she has the courage to fight back is jailed for life!’ she tweeted.
‘We have to do better & do what’s right. I’ve called my attorneys yesterday to see what can be done to fix this. #FreeCyntoiaBrown’.
British model Cara Delevingne was also horrified, writing in an Instagram post: ‘The justice system is so backwards!!! This is completely insane #freecyntoiabrown.’
Kim K (left) said she has even called her own legal team to see if they can help fight Brown’s case, while Rihanna (right) said something had gone ‘horribly wrong’ for a sex trafficked, 16-year-old girl to be jailed for life for shooting her abuser
‘We somehow change the definition of #JUSTICE along the way??’ Rihanna demanded to know in an Instagram post
British model Cara Delevingne was also horrified, writing in an Instagram post: ‘The justice system is so backwards!!!’
Delevingne slammed the lengthy sentence as ‘insane’ in her post on Instagram
Singer Rihanna said something had gone ‘horribly wrong’ for a sex trafficked, 16-year-old girl to be jailed for life for shooting her abuser.
‘We somehow change the definition of #JUSTICE along the way??’ she wrote in an Instagram post, ’cause….. Something is horribly wrong when the system enables these rapists and the victim is thrown away for life!
‘To each of you responsible for this child’s sentence I hope to God you don’t have children, because this could be your daughter being punished for punishing already!’
Singer Lauren Jauregui also tweeted her fury, demanding the courts ‘stop punishing and shaming victims, telling them it is their fault is untrue.’
The case is getting new attention after this tweet showing Brown in court and detailing her case with the hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown went viral on Monday
Rapper Tip wrote ‘Free da GOAT’ with a picture of Brown on his Instagram
Singer Lauren Jauregui also tweeted her fury, demanding the courts ‘stop punishing and shaming victims, telling them it is their fault is untrue’
During her trial, it was revealed Brown was a runaway who was forced into prostitution by Kutthroat.
She testified that she was repeatedly hit, choked, and dragged, and almost always had a gun pointing at her.
Before she was sold to Allen, she’d repeatedly been raped and given drugs, which she said made her paranoid.
Brown, now in her 20s, said that when she arrived a Allen’s home she found it was full of guns and became convinced he was going to kill her.
Her mother also testified in court that she had drank heavily while pregnant with Brown who had fetal alcohol syndrome which can cause mild to severe mental birth defects.
But prosecutors said that the motivation for murder had been robbery as the teen had taken Allen’s wallet and guns after shooting him.
Brown was sentenced to 51 years to life for first degree murder and prostitution at the Tennessee Prison for Women.
Cyntoia Brown of the Tennessee Prison for Women delivers a commencement address before receiving her associate degree from Lipscomb University in 2015
The shocking sentence actually helped change the laws surrounding child sex slaves and today, minors cannot be charged with prostitution.
Wendy Tucker rubs Cyntoia Brown’s back during closing arguments in her trial in Nashville
Derri Smith, the Founder of End Slavery, told Fox News: ‘She did kill someone, she deeply regrets it, but she was a child and she was being exploited.’
Brown’s case was featured in Daniel H. Birman’s 2011 PBS documentary, Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story, which revealed she came from three generations of horrific abuse against women as her grandmother and mother had been raped.
The documentary revealed that Brown has been at risk since before she was born.
At her trial, her mother testified that during her pregnancy with Brown, she drank at least a fifth of a gallon of liquor a day.
Her lawyers argued to the court that Brown’s judgment was impaired because she contracted Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
The attorneys presented scans of her brain which they said showed the effects of the illness.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is known to adversely affect impulse control and cognitive abilities.
Her biological mother, Georgina Mitchell, also engaged in prostitution, according to Nashville Scene.
Her family was known for having a history of suicide and mental illness.
Brown’s adopted father was also an alcoholic who beat his wife in front of her.
Cyntoia Brown also drank alcohol when she was as young as nine.
‘She had no chance,’ Birman said of Brown.
Brown, now 29, has completed her associate’s degree behind bars and is reportedly working on her bachelors.
She also works as an unpaid consultant for the Juvenile Justice system.
‘I myself can create opportunities to help people [behind bars],’ Brown said.
In 2011, Birman’s film led Tennessee to enact a new law which grants immunity to children who are forced into prostitution before the age of 18.