Cyntoia Brown’s Freedom

Story by Zhiyah Anderson. Picture from www.pressform.com

MAR. 27, 2019: The story of Cyntoia Brown is a very popular and interesting one. When Cytonia was just 16 years old, she murdered and robbed a man named Johnny Michael Allen, because she was forced to have sex with him by a pimp who had taken advantage of her because she was homeless. She feared for her life during that time because she was being mentally and physically abused by Mr. Allen. She ended up pleading guilty and sentenced to 51 years to life in prison. This was almost 15 years ago which is how many years Cytonia has been in jail just for defending herself at only the age of 16.

But in 2018, Cytonia now 31 years old, has finally been granted clemency and will be released on August 7, 2019. This day has been long awaited and if I were in Cyntoia Brown’s shoes I would be grateful. This finally happened because her situation received a lot of public support from many celebrities such as Rihanna, Kim Kardashian as well as many activists. She was featured in a documentary in 2011 called “Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story”. Cyntoia had a very difficult life, especially when she was a victim of sex trafficking and this year is her time to finally get the justice that she rightfully deserves.

Zhiyah Anderson is a 10th grade scholar at Friendship Tech Prep Academy.