On Thursday, Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Haslam granted clemency to 11 people. Cyntoia Brown’s name was not on that list.
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WSMV reports that Haslam said in a statement: “I am pleased to grant these acts of clemency. These individuals have made positive contributions to their communities and deserve pardons, or are individuals who will receive another chance to become contributing members of society by virtue of their commutations.”
Among those granted clemency by the governor, seven received pardons and four had their sentences commuted.
Last week after being questioned by a Black Lives Matter activist during a speaking engagement, Haslam said his office was considering offering clemency to Brown, who was a 16-year-old sex trafficking victim when she was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
In 2004, 43-year-old Johnny Mitchell Allen picked Brown up with the intention of paying her for sex. He took her to his home where Brown reportedly became afraid that Allen was going to kill her. She shot him once, then went back to her hotel and met up with “Cut-Throat” the pimp who had been trafficking her, supplying her with drugs and abusing her physically and emotionally.
Brown was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. On Dec. 6, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that she must serve 51 years before she can be considered for release.
Gov. Haslam is one of Brown’s last hopes for freedom. While there have been no reports of him actually denying her clemency, her name being absent from the list of those who received it is troubling.
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