"Celebrities including Rihanna, Cara Delevingne and Kim Kardashian West are calling for freedom from prison for a woman who was 16 years old when she killed a man who hired her as a sex worker.
In Tennessee in August 2004, Cyntoia Brown shot and killed Johnny Mitchell Allen, 43, who had paid to have sex with her. At the time, Brown was living with her abusive boyfriend who sold her for sex.
She was tried as an adult and, despite arguing that she acted in self-defense, was convicted of first-degree murder. She will be eligible for parole when she is 69.
Over the past few weeks her story has been taken up by a host of high-profile celebrities in an effort to win her clemency.
On Tuesday, singer Rihanna posted on Instagram about Brown’s plight, using the hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown. 'Something is horribly wrong when the system enables these rapists and the victim is thrown away for life!' she wrote."
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