Cyntoia Brown: Victim or Murderer?

You may have heard her name from celebrities like Kim Kardashian or Rihanna but just who is Cyntoia Brown? Well, she is currently serving a life sentence for killing a 43-year old man out of self-defense that paid to have sex with her when she was just 16-years old. Her story was so tragic that it prompted Tennessee to changes its laws banning mandatory life without parole sentences for teenagers stating that it is unconstitutional. Cyntoia was charged with first degree murder, first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery and has been in prison for over 13 years.

Her story has resurfaced in the news because she has been granted a new trial to be considered for clemency. Her new hearing will be May 23.

There is no doubt that Cyntoia, in fact, killed a man that night. The question is whether or not she was given a just and fair sentence for the crime she committed. Cyntoia was only 16 years old when her 24-year old boyfriend forced her into prostitution after she ran away from her foster home. She had been in the foster care system for years and her biological mother was addicted to alcohol had been drinking while pregnant with Cyntoia. So it's safe to say she didn't have the best upbringing or tools to properly discern healthy situations for herself. Although Cyntoia's childhood does not justify her actions, she was still just a kid herself and got caught up in a game not meant for her or anyone else.

Luckily, Cyntoia has been able to turn her tragedy into triumph and has received her associate's degree while in prison.

But what about the countless other women that may never get a new hearing for similar crimes. I have seen and heard about many women that grew up in abusive homes and turned to a life of prostitution or was forced into that life and committed a crime as a result and they are now spending the rest of their life in prison while their rapists and pimps walk free. Why is our criminal justice system so quick to punish those victims so harshly? Is it because many people feel like prostitution is a choice that women freely make so whatever happens to them they deserve? Or is it because our laws are so black and white that they don't take into consideration the plight of the poor and abused? I think both those reasons and many more are the reason why many men and women are sitting in prison cells for the rest of their lives for crimes they committed when they were teenagers.

How can we begin to prevent others from this same fate? 

EDUCATION

Changing the laws is a hard task and will take many people and many years. What we can do now is get more involved with our communities. We need to begin to educate young men and women about the world, the choices they have the ability to make and get them help if they are in abusive situations. Human trafficking has become a very serious problem here in the United States and we need more people educated on how to tell if a person is being trafficked so that we can get them the help they deserve. We need classes in our schools, our churches, and our workplaces to help educate us on these types of issues just in case we run into someone that needs our help.

We can't change the world in an instant, but we can begin to change our communities and the generations that follow.

Prayerfully Cyntoia can be released and be a motivation to many girls just like her.