A teenager who killed Johny Allen, a real estate agent in Nashville , was sentenced to 51 years to life for the murder. Cyntoia Brown, 16 at the time, supposedly committed the murder just for the “thrill of it†after she ran away from a group home.
A Nashville judge decided Tuesday that 51 years in prison before being eligible for parole is enough for a teenager who robbed and murdered a real estate agent.
In August a Nashville jury convicted Cyntoia Brown, 18, of first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery after siding with prosecutors who argued that the teen killed Johnny Allen two years earlier for the “thrill of it.”
…The first-degree murder charge carries an automatic life sentence of 51 years in prison before release eligibility. On Tuesday, Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Randall Wyatt sentenced Brown to 20 years in prison on the robbery charge, but ruled that it would be served simultaneously with the life sentence. via the Tennessean
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Some people are not what they seem to be. Media made this man out as if he were helping her. He wasn't. He had no intentions on helping her. Im not saying she was right but he wasn't either. I think for a person with a mental disorder she inhereited, 51 years is way too long. Any comments email me. Thanks
I am in total agreement with you.Last night a program i watched brought tears to my eyes; after viewing a profile on PBS concerning this young lady I think a committee in her behalf should be formed.Injustice all the way.
Ms. Newman,
Johnny Allen was a personal close friend of mine and I have known him a long time. It was his habit to help the homeless. He WAS trying to help her. I attended the week long trial and heard all the evidence. Johnny's intentions were honorable. Cyntoia did not have an inhereted mental disorder. 51 years is way too short.
I think is funny he was naked with a 16 year old and no one ever questioned why. No it was not right for her to kill him but really what was he planning on doing with her once he got undressed. The sad part the child was punished the rest of her life for a split second wrong judgement.
The man was a child molester. At 16 the girl looked like she was 12. Come on people.
Apparently they were that honorable screwing around with a teenager. I would have killed his ass to.
What's a man doing in bed naked with a teenager if he was so rghtus
Ms. Newman,
Sorry for the loss of your friend. I watched the documentary, and of course it doesn't contain all the evidence. The act of murder is premeditated, I'm not sure the Cyntoia was sentenced on her crime, I'm police officer and I realize that nowadays ppl get sentenced for the crimes that were committed before theirs. It looks like the DA and others made her pay for unsolved crimes that frustrated them over time. Here is a man who appears to be doing more than just helping people. He paid her to have sex with him, that's not right. That's statutory at the least. Who knows if they were ever younger. Cyntoia wasn't punished for that crime she was punished for all the frustration of society/DA's mistakes in past cases.
Anna,
For one Toia is my cousin. And she did inherite it. I know. She put herself out there but he took advantage. If he was trying to help her so much, why was he naked. Nobody wants to accept this fact but its the truth. Toia was not right by no means. She was not defending herself and Im sure he was not harming her. But 51 years is WAY too long. You will see others that are charged with the same crime that parole out in 15 20 years. Toia can not come up for parole until she does the 51 first. Im not taking up for her because what she did was wrong and she knows that. But the girl does have mental issues. Nobody up there knows her real family before she was adopted. They are mental. Seriously.
i like all this …except to keep in mind that she was in fact the only one there …and maybe he was in fact not reaching for a gun /knife…or anything like that …but she was definitely defending herself because she didnt know what he was doing exactly…just as an officer does when he guns a guy down because he is reaching in his pocket….and then come to find out he was going for his phone or something like that …we will never know what he was doing…nor will she…but she did see alot of uninviting situations in the house…and being that he took her to his home and was found naked after showing her all his guns and how good he is with them…hmmm…kinda sketchy..not actually really sketchy…. he was a real estate agent…if he wanted to show himself as accomplished to impress her ..he couldve just as well used that
but thats not what happened on top of all the pictures that were taken of where the guns were in the home….who has guns just laying around ready to go?? the man obviously had issues
I don’t know Cyntoia Brown personally, but however, I am doing a major research report of the murder she committed for my English 101 class. If anyone has any direct USEFUL insight, as in actually knowing Ms. Brown or the murder victim, Johnny Allen, please contact me via email at Ksgal14@yahoo.com. My report isn’t due until the first week of December, so there will be plenty of time to respond to me. Thank you.
Anna, You knew Johnny, or so you thought you did. You know nothing about Cyntoia or her biological family. I am her mother. The woman who gave birth to her and I can go ahead and inform you that she inherited severe mental issues. Don't you remeber the testimony the lady gave at Toia's trial about being raped by Johnny Allen. There are lots of people in this world that have several personalities. Johnny had one as well as Cyntoia. Sorry for the loss of your friend and I feel his own mother's pain. I have lost a child to the system. So from here on you should speak on the facts that you can back up. You can't speak on Toia because you don't know her. You only know she took your friends life. What if your child had committed this act? I am pretty sure you would feel differently.
I watched the show earlier about this whole situation…and its absolutely rediculous that she was sentenced at all in my opiniom….exactly what that is suppose to teach someone who didnt exactly know how to handle the situation she was in at that time…well i really dont know…its a screwed up system just like public school…and for someone to say the man had good intentions is mentally unstable…anyone can be nice in your face and go home having someone tied up in the basement and youd never know about it…seems those saying his intentions were good need to first recap on the fact he was found naked …AT HIS OWN HOUSE! where he apparently brought her hmmm theres a big piece of HELLO right there…then go watch unsolved mysteries for a few weeks and let those stories simmer for awhile…then rethink this sentencing
anyway..id like to write her in prison if possible ..keep her company and maybe be able to help her if any…my email is mike_arceneaux@yahoo.com if you want to contact me
Greetings Anna, I believe your daughter is a victom of unjust punishment by the court system in your state. Also I truely believe if she had a good laywer, not a publice defender. She would have had a better chance of a not guily verdic.
Rob in Western New York
I saw the Cyntoia Brown documentary last night and was very moved. I agree wholeheartedly with R.J Moore. The problem was that this child didn’t have adequate legal representation when her case went to trial. If there was a strong lawyer to effectively argue her case, rather than a lame court-appointed attorney, she must likely could have been tried as a juvenile, which is what should have occurred, or at least had the criminal charge mitigated to manslaughter.
I suppose we will never know whether this was an act of self-defense or murder on Cyntoia’s part, but to say that “Johnny’s intentions were honorable” when this 43-year-old-man brought a child to his home and committed the crime of statutory rape is far beyond me.
So does she go up for parole in four Years ? I herd that can someone help me with the qts pleases email me at massingtonkrystal@yahoo.com
Anna, you express that Johnny was simply trying to help Cyntoia, and that his intentions were honorable.
Is nearly-forcing a teenager into sexual acts really honorable? Was he truly there for her?
I doubt it. Even though Cyntoia sold her body via prostitution, doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have the right to defend herself when a man over 30 years older than herself approaches her sexually.
Granted, I know that what Cyntoai did was wrong; killing Johnny, but again, it was merely an act out of self defense.
Its funny how at the appeal more girls show up to show this man was no saint…. once again he had intentions on helping her….. the majority of her life in prison but she is not the only who had to pay….
I just saw the documentary last night, and if Mr. Allen was really trying to help her he would not have taken her to his home and gotten in bed with her. That's not how you help a 16 year-old.
Helping would have meant taking her to get a cup of coffee and talking in a neutral place, maybe driving her to a youth center.
That's all propaganda for the system. Everyone should know that he did not have honorable intentions. That doesn't excuse her actions, but don't portray her as a devil. It is nothing but another chapter in the book of sorrow. I hate it for their families.
All I know is that at 15 years old you have no concept of how the real world works. A 40+ year old man does. I am sure that his intentions were NOT at all Honorable. He took advantage of a very young pretty girl. I am not defending what she did but to charge a CHILD as an Adult is wrong. 51 years is four times her age at the time of the crime. Pretty extream justice if you ask me.
I was going to type a lot of bitter stuff about ex-Marines picking up teenage girls and paying them for sex and about the abuse of POWER that runs rampant in this country, but I will refrain. It’s all painfully obvious to some of us.
I’m sorry Cyntoia Brown received the sentence she did, and my heart truly goes out to her.
Just saw it too and we all know killing a man is wrong but you have to at least look at the circumstances she was 16 a troubled child she had problems and all of this were overlooked not even noticed according to the plot till she was locked up.
As for the man who died all I know is he was a real estate agent but a sick one indeed I wish he didn't die wish he had served time for sexually molesting, harassing,statutorily raping her and all the charges that come with that because he was also wrong too but no one is addressing this only cause it's the truth.
Open your hearts people she was a child who didn't deserved to be tried as an adult and she deserves a second chance .
Iwas so moved when i saw this story, and just over all shocked that a child can be tried as an adult in the United States of America. The way this child was treated and mistreated from conception to her teenage yrs by not only her mother but by countless men over and over again. No sense of who she is, not knowing what real love and effection is or feel likes from anyone who was supposed to protect her and keep her safe. Then to only be punished further with spending the rest of her adolesance along with her adult life behind bars. does anyone see how this child was failed. The cycle of abuse is real, teenage pregnancy is real, mental disorders within the Afican American community is also real, and many times go undiagnosd and untreated. Until we take the blinders off, we will see that we have only begun to scratch the surface and reveal that there are many "Cyntoia's" in this world ……
This was just a very sad case. Such a beautiful girl who will not even get a chance to live the life that God intended for her. This world is filled with so much pain, and I just pray that she finds Jesus because He is the ONLY ONE who can bring her peace in the time of turmoil. At 23yrs I am around the same age as her, and in being a youth pastor I see youth getting into all sorts of trouble, and some are even killing off eachother. Everybody makes mistakes and yes murder is not your everyday regular mistake, but everyone deserves a second chance and I believe that the lesson could've been learned with a lesser sentenced time or punishment. Forgiveness is key, she needs to forgive everyone that has done anything against her, and forgive herself as well, and then ask Jesus for forgiveness. I wish I knew her, I would tell her how much Jesus loves her and that He would accept her just the way she is, no matter what she has done, whether mental or not mental she is still His child and that He loves her so so very much.
We all have committed wrongs in our lives. At the tender age of this young woman she will never realize her potential. and this is sad.. I'm not here to judge her and the man who lost his life had a right to live. Satan has minipulated the minds of our tender children and enticed our men to make tragic decisions. His decision destroyed not only the man who is dead, but also the child who is imprisoned, Many lives are forever impacted and their hearts are broken as well. May God have mercy on both of these souls and may his tender affection be present for those left to greive.
A mother, a child, and a imperfect person I am
does anyone know the address to the correctional facility that cyntoia is in? I think we should write her words of encouragement
YOU CAN WRITE CYNTOIA AT:
Ms. Cyntoia Brown #410593
Tennessee Prison for Women
Unit 1 West, D-49
3881 Stewarts Lane
Nashville, TN 37218
Im absolutely defending what she did….it balls down to every action has a consequence and at 15 yrs old as stated above by others…she had no idea how things work…not to mention the fact that her improper upbringing helped her irrational decisions in life very much! so as a 40+ yr old man who should know better by now…his actions reaped its consequence…just as a drunk driver goes off the road and gets killed…shouldnt have been drinking and driving…harsh sounding ..but the truth hurts…as a norm…any woman of legal age isnt going to just go to your home after meeting you at a sonic drive through..yea it just doesnt happen!! lol people wake up….he saw a young venerable girl that he could take advantage of…..yet his actions of showing her guns and proclaiming how he was good at using them scared her with her life …and young girls getting raped and killed by local upstanding citizens has happen before..so this shouldnt sound to be an exaggeration….if so you should watch more unsolved mysteries people….she did what she had to do…and as I know it…in the action that this was commited…where does 1st degree murder come in??? this was a last minute self defense situation….that man shouldve known better and shouldnt have been trying to take advantage of a 15 yr old girl..bottom line …..i think everyone who believes she has been wrongly convicted should get together and start fighting for this young girls rights ! seriously heres my email mike_arceneaux@yahoo.com
My question is where were all the black interest and civil rights groups while this case was going on? Is there an NAACP chapter anywhere in Tennessee? I say this because I agree with many of the other posters. Given the highly controversial and complicated circumstances surrounding this case, this child should have had strong and adequate legal representation, rather than some court-appointed attorney.
A strong defense attorney could have convinced a judge to try her as an adult, which would have been appropriate. Or even if tried as an adult, it's highly likely that a strong defense argument could have mitigated the criminal charge to negligent homicide. The NAACP Legal Defense could have, and should have, subsidized an ample defense for this young woman. Where's Al Sharpton when you need him!
Ive seen the documentary twice and feel so bad for Cyntoia.I know murder is etting but I dont think she should have received no 51 years..thats crazy.
I think many are overlooking a very significant fact in this case. Cyntoia was convicted not only of murdering Allen but ALSO of aggravated robbery at Allen's premises. Assuming there was sufficient evidence to prove this, then I would think this would automatically nullify her claim that her shooting of Allen was an act of self-defense. Most likely she shot him as a way of preventing him from stopping her when she stole items from the household.
So many try to portray this young woman as an naive and innocent child, but on the basis of the responses she gave during this documentary, she was far from such. If anything she shows maturity and experience far beyond her teenage years. That said, she had to be mature enough to know that murder is an extremely serious criminal offense and that there are grave consequences to pay for committing such a crime. Like just everyone else, I think this is a very tragic case, and it is sad that such a young, beautiful, and bright young woman such as Cyntoia will most likely spend the rest of her behind bars. Nevertheless, she did commit a very heinous crime and has to pay her debt to society like anyone else.
I think this tragedy calls attention to the larger issue of how drug abuse leads to the ruination of life. At one point of this documentary, while Cyntoia was in jail, she says that she had just cut off all of her hair because she believed that her looks was what caused her to get into the trouble she got herself into. But the truth is that she wasn't a victim of her beauty, rather she was a victim of drug abuse. Cyntoia, like her mother and many individuals who are currently incarcerated, just fell victim to the pitfalls of drugs. Sad.
I wonder if everyone would have been so moved by her story if she weren't so cute. Anyway, a tragic story for all involved. What's wrong with our society?
I saw the documentary, and did research about her. She is going to be the subject of my presentation in criminology class.
Why is it that our justice system was too eager to just place juveniles behind bars and trow away the key? Our justice systems sees these kids as lost cause and a danger to themselves and others. At the age where their thought of process is not fully develop. To make matters worst combine it with long term of abuse, drugs and alcohol, rapes and sex abuse with a family history of suicides and mental dysfunctions, you have here a perfect ingredients of a child or an adult that is outrage, angry that every one is failing her, low self steam, eager for acceptance, labeled, long term drug use, alcohol misused, confused and mentally disturbed. At any given time will act as walking time bomb. A reaction that will brand them for the rest of their life.
These are the kids that are asking for help! and they just do not know how to go about it. All we know is they committed a hideous crime, as punishment, they are tried as an adult, incarcerated with out possibility of any parole. What do you think these young minds going to end up as? While behind bars they are meet with the same harsh reality? The everyday struggles of "how do you stay alive"? Is incarceration really is the deterrence to crime in this case and why 51 yrs? What ever happened to rehabilitation?
If and when we do put them back out in the community, how are they going to survive if the only life they ever grew up with is behind bars? How are they going to survive if the community they are going to face outside is just as cruel and dangerous as the one's he or she just got out off? How exactly justice served?
It is very sad what happened to Cyntoia, it seems like her trial is very unfair and with discrimination. I understand she killed someone, but why is her sentence that long? She will have to undergo some serious psychological evaluations and rehabilitation. And spending them 51 yrs. behind bars is not exactly the answer. She has to be strong, because it will not be easy.
Mr. Allen is not exactly a saint man as someone proclaimed him to be. Why is he picking up a 16 year old and he is 27+ her age in the middle of the nigh and then take her back to his house and show her all those guns? Why is he found naked if he is so called a Samaritan? According to a witness, this is not the first time that Mr. Allen picked up someone and brought her back to his house and she claimed he “raped her”. How many more are there that we are not aware off?
This is a very troubling case….Please read the whole documentary about her…..