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FILE - In this July 12, 2008 file photo, a gavel rests on a judge's bench.<br>PHOTO:AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File

FILE - In this July 12, 2008 file photo, a gavel rests on a judge's bench.
PHOTO:AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File

Lawyers File Appeal for Teen with Life Sentence

By The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, TN - Lawyers for a Tennessee woman imprisoned for life after she shot and killed a man who solicited her as a prostitute are challenging her sentence.

The Tennessean reports 29-year-old Cyntoia Brown's lawyers filed the appeal Monday, after several celebrities recently called for her release.

Brown has been at the Tennessee Prison for Women since 2004, when she was convicted of killing the 43-year-old man who solicited her.

The appeal asks the court to consider both her sentence's constitutionality and her potential innocence, saying she lacked the mental capacity for a murder conviction at the time.

Brown's advocates say she was a 16-year-old sex trafficking victim wronged by the legal system, while prosecutors say Brown killed the man to rob him.

Brown isn't eligible for parole until she's 67.

Published 01:16 PM, Wednesday Jan. 10, 2018
Updated 12:08 PM, Wednesday Jan. 10, 2018

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- Name: Mike P.
  
  1/11/2018 8:31:12 AM
  
  Since we don't know all the details of the case unless you were here back in 2004, the best that she should hope for is that the judge will re-open the sentencing portion and look at the evidence again and evaluate based on whatever criteria needs to be included. Lets hope common sense prevails.
  
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  Name: Michael P.
  
  1/10/2018 8:20:53 PM
  
  Who cares about Hollywood idiots. This girl was 16 and a victim. Her sentence is not justified.
  
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  Name: Michael P.
  
  1/10/2018 7:30:58 PM
  
  This poor girl needs support. She was a trafficking victim and killed a guy trying to (legally) rape her. What does it hurt or look at it again?
  
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  Name: TolJaso C.
  
  1/10/2018 4:49:59 PM
  
  Exactly, I also like the right to bear arms, the right to freedom of religion and all the rest that protect against the Left's granting opposing rights to be tested in court. Our Bill of Rights and a SCOTUS that respects the document is a wonderful thing the Founders blest us with. A main reason to vote is the lifetime selection of judiciary that doesn't want to alter those protections by legislating from the bench. A Progressive hallmark of control.
  
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  Name: Gerald T.
  
  1/10/2018 4:31:48 PM
  
  I wasn't aware that people aren't allowed to express their opinion in this country because of where they're from. People from Hollywood have just as much right to express their opinion as anyone does on this comment section. It's what makes our country great. It's called the First Amendment. If you don't like it there are still a few countries out there that don't afford such privileges. They're called police states. Have a nice trip!
  
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  Name: Solon S.
  
  1/10/2018 1:48:32 PM
  
  Kim Kardashian being one of the Celebrities.
  
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  Name: crooked h.
  
  1/10/2018 1:41:30 PM
  
  Hollywood needs to stay out of the real world and get back to policing their own. Sorry for he plight, but she took a life.
  
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