For all our true crime story lovers, Netflix has come through again to give you your fix for the week, sprinkled with some public controversy. Because we all know there’s nothing like seeing an innocent person being wronged by the criminal justice system to solidify our indignation with the world.
Cyntoia Brown is a name many of us may have heard before, although if you don’t recognise her name you’ll certainly recognise her face. In 2019, many celebrities such as Rihanna and Kim Kardashian West used their celebrity status and large platforms to tell Brown’s story and plead with the US government to grant her clemency.
Kim Kardashian West, who has recently added prison reform advocate and law student to her long resume, begun using her high status influence and privileges to assist wrongly convicted individuals. Which, in true Kardashian fashion, was captured in a documentary film titled Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project.
While Mrs Kardashian West had her hand in assisting many heartbreaking cases of injustice, Cyntoaia Brown’s story is perhaps one of the more gut wrenching.
After living through a tough childhood and being adopted out by her drug addicted mother, Brown was in and out of the juvenile system and eventually left homeless. Lured into sex trafficking by her then-boyfriend, a pimp named Kut Throat, Brown shot and killed a 43-year-old man named Johnny Allen who had picked her up.
Despite pleading it was self-defence, the courts stated their belief that she had murdered him in cold blood while trying to rob him and sentence Brown to life in prison, which meant she would only be eligible for parole after serving at least 51 years in prison. Brown was just 16 years old.
Documentarian Dan Birman began recording Brown’s story just days after her arrest which will now premier on Netflix titled Murder To Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story, almost a decade later.
In a controversial twist, Brown has spoken out against the documentary by stating that she wasn’t included in the making of the documentary. Posting to her Twitter account, Brown said:
“While I was still incarcerated, a producer who has old footage of me made a deal with Netflix for an UNAUTHORISED documentary, set to be released soon. My husband and I were as surprised as everyone else when we first heard the news because we did not participate in any way.”
If that didn’t spark your interest, take a look at the trailer below.
Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story lands on Netflix on Friday 29th April.
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