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To: Governor Bill Lee

FREE CYNTOIA BROWN

Victory! The creator of this petition declared the campaign a success. You can still sign the petition to show support.

Cyntoia could be your daughter. This petition needs as many signatures as possible so that it can be presented for consideration for clemency by the Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Why is this important?

In 2004, a 16 year old runaway named Cyntoia Brown was picked up in Nashville, Tennessee, by a forty-three year old man who planned to have sex with her in exchange for money. At the time, Cyntoia was living in a motel room with an adult male pimp, Cut-throat, who had been prostituting her and violently abusing her sexually, mentally, and physically, while also providing her with drugs.

Late that night, as Cyntoia was lying naked in the bed with the man who had picked her up for sex, her paranoia growing from the drugs and abuse she had suffered, Cyntoia became convinced that the man intended to cause her bodily harm. She fired one bullet at the man, killing him. She then picked up some items to bring back to her pimp so she would not be beaten. She drove the man's car to a Wal-Mart parking lot and walked back to her pimp's motel room.

Cyntoia was quickly arrested, charged as an adult, and convicted of first degree murder. She was sentenced to a life sentence (60 years in prison), and will be required to serve 51 calendar years before she can be considered for parole.

Since 2004, Cyntoia has been working diligently to make amends for her crime. Today, Cyntoia is an incredibly intelligent, compassionate, and resilient young woman.

She recently graduated with an Associates of Arts degree with a GPA of 4.0 from Lipscomb University's LIFE Program (Lipscomb Initiative For Education), and she will soon earn her Bachelor's degree from Lipscomb. As she has progressed in her rehabilitation, Cyntoia has served as a beacon of light in the prison environment.

She has helped other inmates earn their GEDs, worked in various meaningful jobs, and encouraged those around her to be their best selves. She has maintained meaningful relationships with positive mentors in the community, many of whom feel that they have become better people through their friendship with Cyntoia.

Watch this video clip: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/sentencing-children-cyntoias-story/

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Updates

2019-12-11 07:30:36 -0500

25 signatures reached

2019-12-10 20:59:18 -0500

10 signatures reached