Cyntoia Brown, a Tennessee woman who was tried as an adult for a murder she committed at 16, in 2004, is back in national news. Our system has failed, especially with the case of an underage sex slave who was sentenced to life in prison and has spent the last thirteen years in jail. Brown testified that she was regularly beaten, choked, dragged, raped, and threatened at gunpoint in her home while growing up, Newsweek reports.  According to DailyNews.com, Cyntoia Brown was sixteen years old when she was sex trafficked by a pimp named Kutthroat. Her pimp sold her to a 43-year-old Nashville realtor named Johnny Allen. Brown is now 29 and serving a 60 year sentence, with no possibility of parole until she serves 51 of those years. Cyntoia Brown finally snapped and was “convinced Johnny Allen was going to kill her” so she shot him in the head, killing him. When this case occurred, minors could still be convicted for prostitution. This prompted a change in the law – it is no longer legal to charge a minor with prostitution. Now, only people aged 18 and up can be charged with prostitution, while persons under the legal age of consent are considered victims of sex trafficking.

This case recently came to surface after so long because a photo of  Cyntoia was posted with the hashtag “#FreeCyntoiaBrown”. Kim Kardashian and Rihanna have taken matters into their hands and are fighting for justice for Brown. Kim Kardashian tweeted,”It is heart breaking to see a young girl sex trafficked then when she has the courage to fight back she is jailed for it! We have to do better and do what is right. I have called my attorneys to see what can be done to fix this. #FreeCyntoiaBrown.” Others are realizing the wrong in this situation and hopefully Brown will soon see justice.