A teenage sex trafficking victim who was jailed for life after a killing a man who solicited her for sex is to be freed from prison after nearly 15 years.
Cyntoia Brown was 16-years-old when she shot Nashville real estate agent Johnny Allen at his home in 2004.
Brown, who was a runaway and under the influence of a violent pimp, said she shot him in self-defence.
The prosecution said it was an act of robbery and a jury found her guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder and aggravated robbery.
The case was the subject of the 2011 documentary Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story.
Since then multiple celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Ashley Judd have pleaded for her release, arguing that she should have been treated as a traumatised child victim of sex trafficking.
ðŸ‘ðŸ¼ðŸ‘ðŸ¼ðŸ‘🼠Thank you Governor Haslam ðŸ‘ðŸ¼ðŸ‘ðŸ¼ðŸ‘🼠https://t.co/rAiru84fgn
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 7, 2019
In the film, Brown said 43-year-old Allen picked her up in Nashville and agreed to pay her €150 for sex.
She said that once she arrived at his home, he became violent and rolled over to the side of the bed. She said she feared he was attempting to get a gun so she shot him.
She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving at least 51 years.
Yes!!! Cyntoia Brown is granted full clemency!! Thank you, Governor Haslam! Thank you! https://t.co/4rJUH5Wiwd
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) January 7, 2019
Now Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has said Brown, who is now 30, had been given "too harsh" a sentence for the murder. She will be released on August 7th under the condition of a 10-year parole.
"Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16," Mr Haslam said in a statement.
"Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in light of the extraordinary steps Ms Brown has taken to rebuild her life."
The executive clemency order from Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam at a press conference 07-01-2019. Image: USA TODAY Network/SIPA USA/PA Images
In a statement released by her attorneys, Brown thanked her supporters and the governor and promised to "do everything I can to justify your faith in me."
"My hope is to help other young girls avoid ending up where I have been," she added.
Since being jailed Brown has earned a high school diploma and is on track to complete her college education this year.
In a joint statement her lawyers Charles Bone and J Houston Gordon said her "transformation, when given the opportunity, is nothing short of miraculous."
They added: "She is truly a remarkable young woman with so much to offer this world and will now have that chance."
