Posted on 08/07/2019 2:31:07 PM PDT by Ennis85
Cyntoia Brown has been granted clemency after serving 15 years of her life sentence — but she never should have had to spend so much time behind bars in the first place.
As a condition of her release, Brown will remain on parole supervision and be required to follow state and federal laws, hold a job, and go to counseling sessions.
In case you aren’t familiar with Brown’s story, she was just 16 and an alleged sex-trafficking victim when she shot and killed a real-estate agent, Johnny Allen, who was intending to pay her for sex. According to Brown, she had been living with abusive man named “Kut Throat” after running away from her adoptive family, and had been engaging in sex work on the street at his urging. Before meeting up with Allen, Brown says that Kut Throat had hit her and demanded that she bring back some money.
When Allen brought Brown back to his home, Brown said that she was afraid of some of his behavior. For example, she alleges that Allen kept standing over her after she said she wanted to go to sleep, and that Allen had aggressively grabbed her by the genitals. When he eventually reached for something under the bed, Brown said she believed he was reaching for a gun and shot him with her own. She then left, taking two of Allen’s guns and his money — which prosecutors claimed proves that she had gone to his house with the intention to rob him. Her defense, however, argued that Brown had suffered brain damage due to her mother drinking while Brown was in the womb, which gave her the decision-making capacity of a ten-year-old.
Make no mistake: Brown’s life at the time that this incident occurred was a difficult one. While she was in prison, however, she worked hard to turn things around. She earned a GED and an associate degree with a 4.0 GPA, as well as a bachelor’s degree. She also mentored other women in her prison. Clearly, Cyntoia Brown today is not the same Cyntoia Brown who was arrested all those years ago, and it is absolutely wonderful and just that she has been freed.
The thing is, though, Brown should have never had to spend so much time behind bars in the first place. Anyone can see that Brown was not so much a danger or threat to society as she was a lost soul, a child, just looking for some help and direction. All too often, though, our legal system tends to focus on punishing people rather than rehabilitating them — and that’s wrong, wrong, wrong.
Brown, of course, was lucky enough to be released because her case had garnered so much public attention and support. Many other women have not been so lucky. According to the ACLU, women “are the fastest growing segment of the incarcerated population,” despite the fact that only 36 percent of arrested women were arrested for violent crimes, and the fact that women make up only 8 percent of convicted violent felons. Draconian drug laws, unfortunately, are what have placed many of them behind bars — and it costs the U.S. taxpayer $25,000 per year to keep them there, plus an additional $25,000 per year for each of their children. It’s true: In addition to incarceration for nonviolent drug crimes, in my view, flying in the face of our values as a “free country,” it’s also a hell of a waste of taxpayer money.
What’s more, many of these women are, like Brown, just people who really need some help. In fact, according to the ACLU, “79% of women in federal and state prisons reported physical abuse and over 60% reported past sexual abuse.” In other words, the vast majority of them have been victims — just like Brown was. The ACLU also reports that almost 23 percent of female prisoners in this country have a mental illness.
It is great that Brown has been freed, but unfortunately, we are still pretty clearly dealing with a larger, more systemic issue. The bottom line is, we need to take a long hard look at the way we view criminal offenses — particularly nonviolent drug crimes — in this country. The current system disproportionately punishes women of color, as well as trauma survivors. What’s more, it’s often putting people behind bars, away from their families, who are really no threat to society. We have tried the punitive approach; and it’s proven to be both expensive and unjust — and we’d be better served by trying a more humanitarian one instead.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/dgreenfield/freeing-drug-dealers-is-not-a-conservative-solution/#.VQhsE_-dpcU.twitter
Prostitute kills john. Is convicted for murder.
Not seeing the injustice here
But you arent a Never Trumper like timpf woman.
And you dont write for national pukeview.
She should have killed the guy who forced her into this, not the guy who was “buying” her favors and most likely had no idea of the situation.
She served 15 years. She was legally a child herself when she robbed and killed that john.
Seems about right.
“Her defense, however, argued that Brown had suffered brain damage due to her mother drinking while Brown was in the womb, which gave her the decision-making capacity of a ten-year-old.”
And yet...
“While she was in prison. . . She earned a GED and an associate degree with a 4.0 GPA, as well as a bachelor’s degree.”
I see where you’re going with this.
Maybe they should KEEP her in prison. She’ll have a Masters in no time.
Maybe a PhD.
NR is picking a case of arguable self defense — a pure issue of fact — to advance its soft on crime, too-many-people-in-jail policy agenda. Her release may have been justified because the jury was wrong on the facts, but not because we are being too mean to criminals.
Judging from all the criminals which the left says shouldn’t be in prison, just who do they believe should be in prison? Only white males? Even though blacks commit a disproportionate amount of the violent crime committed, per their percentage of the population? But apparently the left believes that if anyone should be in prison, it should only be white males? And especially non-violent, white collar crime white male criminals?
I agree.
I don't see the connection to national drug policy, though. If a person wants to make an argument for drug legalization (or "decriminalization"), then he should make it with real research on that topic, not a lot of "poor children in prison" hand-wringing.
So we was 16 when she enticed, robbed and killed a man, but it’s all ok now. Why didn’t she get the death penalty so we don’t have to have this discussion now?
And this guy is making the argument that her robbing the guy is an example of her having the arrested development mental level of a 10 yo? When robbing someone you just murdered is exactly what a cold-blooded murderer would do? He has that “argument” exactly ass-backwards.
We should have capital punishment for drug dealers.
They only care about too many “people of color” (ie colored people) being in jail. They’d throw us whites in prison for thought crimes in a heartbeat, if they could.
On the other hand, if a person wants to make an argument for capital punishment for drug dealers, he can do that.
after running away from her adoptive family, and had been engaging in sex work on the street at his urging
Killed the John “with her own gun”
Then took his two guns and money
Such an innocent angel
Article makes it sound like she was a victim of trafficking and forced into prostitution, yet she had her own gun
Towards the end of the article, we see what it’s really about for libertarian Timpf. Legalize drugs
Why did you shoot him?
He was reaching under the bed.
How do you know it wasn't for shoes, or dirty socks, or a sex toy?
After you killed him, you stole HIS guns and all his money...why?
Because my mother drank while I was in her womb and I got "brain damage."
ONLY A COMPLETE MORON BELIEVES THIS CRAP!
I would even go further and say that being incarcerated saved her life! I would imagine that the life expectancy statistics for a child leading the life that she was aren’t good. It seems jail got her off of drugs, away from prostitution and educated her. If not for that jail she would likely be dead by now.
“....The thing is, though, Brown should have never had to spend so much time behind bars in the first place. Anyone can see that Brown was not so much a danger or threat to society as she was a lost soul, a child, just looking for some help and direction....”
What is Timpf smoking?
... Brown had suffered brain damage due to her mother drinking while Brown was in the womb, which gave her the decision-making capacity of a ten-year-old.... She earned a GED and an associate degree with a 4.0 GPA, as well as a bachelor’s degree. She also mentored other women in her prison.
A lot of unknowns. It may have been aggravated murder during a robbery - the author claims she was being pressured to get money for her pimp. The alleged attacks "standing over her while she tried to sleep" and "grabbing her parts" do not seem to warrant lethal force. And if they did, stealing the victims property and fleeing the scene don't bolster such a claim; they suggest knowledge of guilt. Personally, I don't see 15 years for 2nd degree homicide aggravated by robbing the dead man as cruel or unusual.
Glad she tried to improve herself and help others.
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