Celebrities speak out in support of jailed sex trafficking victim Cyntoia Brown

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In 2004 Cyntoia Brown was sentenced to life in prison for killing a man who had paid her for sex when she was only 16. Her case is getting more attention of late with celebrities joining in the calls for her to be freed.

A social media post that detailed the horrifying life of repeated rape during the time she was being sex trafficked went viral yesterday. It was shared by stars such as Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and T.I. who all feel the sentence was unjust for a young girl who had such a terrifying childhood.

“Imagine at the age of 16 being sex-trafficked by a pimp named ‘cut-throat,’” the Instagram post reads. “After days of being repeatedly drugged and raped by different men, you were purchased by a 43-year-old child predator who took you to his home to use you for sex. You end up finding enough courage to fight back and shoot and kill him.”

The post then says that Brown was tried as an adult in Tennessee for killing Johnny Mitchell Allen, 43. At trial she was found guilty of murder and prostitution and sentenced to life in prison. She will not be eligible for parole until she is 69.

Daniel Birman made a documentary about the case in 2011 that revealed insights into what Brown was put through, how she was sexually, physically and verbally abused for years.

“We started the conversation (with Brown being) a young girl who’s at the tail end of three generations of violence against women,” he said. “She had no chance.”

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While on trial Brown testified that she was beaten, choked and often raped in her home. She was also threatened at gunpoint. Her lawyer attempted to argue that her environment and the trauma she endured as a child led her to shoot Allen.

In 2004, the fact that she was a child did not matter but in the years since the laws have changed. Now, a person must be at least 18-years-old to be charged with prostitution and kids are not automatically considered victims in sex trafficking cases.

Today, Brown is 29 and has been in prison for 13 years. During her years behind bars, she has completed her associate’s degree and is now working on her Bachelor’s degree while volunteering with the Juvenile Justice Association.

There is a MoveOn petition that is seeking freedom for Brown through a presidential pardon.