Photo: Lacy Atkins/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK
A 30-year-old Tennessee woman who has controversially been imprisoned since she was a teenagerfor murdering a man who solicited her for sexmust remain behind bars for at least 51 years, the state’s supreme court said this week.
The decision, issued Thursday, is a blow to Cyntoia Brown’syears-long efforts to overturn her sentencein the 2004 shooting of Johnny Mitchell Allen, a 43-year-old real estate agent.
Brown, now 30, argued that her lifelong imprisonment was unconstitutional under a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which found that juveniles could not receive mandatory life sentences without parole.
That appeal was rejected, and Brown subsequently contended her punishment was “cruel and unusual” under the same 2012 ruling.
This second appeal remains under the consideration of the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which, characterizing existing state law as unclear, asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to weigh in with its opinion on whether Brown could be paroled for her murder conviction.
The state supreme unanimously agreed that under Tennessee law Brown can only become eligible for early release after serving at least 51 years of her sentence, when she will be 69.
Shelley Mays/The Tennessean/AP
Brown’s case has attracted the attention of celebrities such asKim KardashianWest and Rihanna, and it was covered in a 2011 PBS documentary.
“The system has failed. … I’ve called my attorneys yesterday to see what can be done to fix this,” West tweeted last year.
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In May,Brown appeared before the Tennessee Board of Parolefor a clemency hearing. The six-member board was split, with two members voting to release her while two others voted to deny her request for freedom.
The remaining two members suggested her sentence should be significantly shortened to make her parole eligible in 2029, after Brown she has served 25 years. The decision to free Brown ultimately rests with Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
“The governor thoughtfully reviews any clemency application and recommendation from the Board of Parole,” a spokesman said in May,according to theTennessean.
source: people.com
