Cyntoia Brown Gets Support From Celebrities, #FreeCyntoiaBrown Petition Initiated To Reopen Her Case
Cyntoia Brown is receiving massive support from A-list celebrities as they take to social media to express their support for the #FreeCyntoiaBrown campaign, a petition that advocates the reopening of her case in a quest to reverse her 51-year prison sentence.
Based on a report from the New York Times, the jailed teen’s tale has now reached popular personalities in Hollywood, as Kim Kardashian West, Rihanna, LeBron James, Cara Delevingne, Bella Thorne, and many others take to social media to express their opinion about her incarceration.
Sharing the same image of young Cyntoia with a short description of her plea, the celebrities expressed their support for the campaign and called for the reopening of the jailed teen’s case as well as her release.
“The justice system is so backwards!!! This is completely insane #freecyntoiabrown,” Cara Delevingne wrote on Instagram.
“What’s really going on here man!?!? Like seriously though. Guess she didn’t have the RIGHT to finally defend herself huh?!? GTFOH,” LeBron James said in his post.
“Cyntoia should be getting a award, medal of courage of sort instead of being locked up. But not only locked up, convicted as an adult and won’t be eligible for parole til 69 years of age!!”
Moreover, Rihanna questioned the very definition of justice while Kim downright declared that the “system has failed” when Cyntoia Brown was incarcerated for defending herself, both using the hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown.
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! 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 pic.twitter.com/73y26mLp7u
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) November 21, 2017
Meanwhile, Bella Thorne expressed her disgust at the justice system in the country and apologized to “everyone wronged by our government.”
According to BBC News, Cyntoia Brown was 16-years-old when she allegedly killed 43-year-old Nashville estate agent Johnny Allen after he picked her up for sex. She has since explained that it was self-defense.
Brown was reportedly beaten and raped several times by her “boyfriend,” identified only by his moniker “Kutthroat,” who also prostituted her for profit. After picking up the 16-year-old, Allen brought her to his home and showed her his gun collection while revealing his previous job as an Army sharpshooter. This made the teenager nervous particularly because of her history of mental, emotional, and physical abuse.
They ate dinner and watched TV before getting to bed, which was when the unfortunate happened.
“He grabbed me in-between my legs – he just grabbed it real hard,” she explained during her court trial.
“I’m thinking he’s going to hit me or do something like it…”
When Allen turned over to reach to the side of the bed, Cyntoia Brown panicked because she thought he was reaching for a gun. At that point, she took out the .40 caliber weapon Kutthroat gave her and shot him in the head.
At the time of her trial, Cyntoia was tried as an adult despite her young age because she allegedly fled the scene, taking his wallet and guns with her.
“She wasn’t just somebody who made one mistake,” said Assistant District Attorney Jeff Burks on the Cyntoia Brown case.
“She was a very dangerous person. The choices she made were hers. She’s pretty and smart and articulate so people have decided to take up her cause. Let’s not forget her crime.”
The jury found her guilty of first-degree felony murder, aggravated robbery, and first-degree premeditated murder.
More than a decade later, the #FreeCyntoiaBrown petition has been created for her release, something that gained momentum and support on social media after celebrities rallied to support her.
[Featured Image by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images]
