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This collection broadly documents online sources related to Delaware policy, politics and government, including websites and social media sites of current and former members of Congress; Delaware political parties; Delaware individuals who represent leadership in diplomatic or political arenas, domestic or foreign, at the local, state, and national levels; institutions, organizations, or groups concerned with public policy or civic affairs in Delaware; and Delaware political campaign websites. ||||| The system has failed. It’s heart breaking to see a young girl sex trafficked then when she has the courage to fight back is jailed for life! We have to do better & do what’s right. I’ve called my attorneys yesterday to see what can be done to fix this. # FreeCyntoiaBrownpic.twitter.com/73y26mLp7u ||||| Celebrities have come in force to support sex trafficking victim Cyntoia Brown. In 2004, Brown was sentenced to life in prison when she was 16 years old for killing the man who paid her for sex. 
  
 A photo that carried a caption loosely detailing Brown’s controversial trial surfaced online on Monday and went viral. It was shared by stars like Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, T.I and several others. 
  
 The image originated from filmmaker Daniel Birman’s 2011 documentary following the Tennessee-native’s case. The film gave insight on the physical, sexual and verbal abuse Brown suffered as a child before she was solicited for sex by 43-year-old realtor Johnny Mitchell Allen. Brown shot and killed Allen after being taken to his home. 
  
 Speaking with Tennessee’s Fox17 Nashville on Thursday, Birman explained Brown came from a family with a long history of sexual and physical abuse toward women. 
  
 “We started the conversation [with Brown being] a young girl who’s at the tail end of three generations of violence against women,” he said. “She had no chance.” 
  
 During Brown’s trial in 2004, she testified that being beaten, choked, dragged and raped was a regular occurrence in her household. She was often threatened at gunpoint. Her legal team argued the trauma of her childhood is essentially what led her shoot Allen after engaging in intercourse with him, which he paid for. 
  
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 Even though Brown was legally a child when Allen paid her for sex, she was given a life sentence on murder and prostitution charges. She is eligible for parole after serving 51 years behind bars. 
  
 Birman’s documentary helped change sex trafficking and prostitution laws in Tennessee. Now only adults 18 years and older can be charged for prostitution. Children are deemed victims of sex trafficking in the state. But the new law didn't pertain to Brown. 
  
 Brown, now 29, has already spent nearly 13 years in prison. She completed her associate's degree behind bars and is reportedly working on her bachelors. She also serves as an unpaid consultant at the Juvenile Justice system. 
  
 A number of Tennessee residents rallied for Brown’s freedom, launching a clemency petition. So far, it has received more than 100,000 signatures. 
  
 Celebrities in the hip-hop community took to Instagram and Twitter to advocate against the unfair sentencing of people of color. In early November, a number of music industry elites launched a rally to fight the “unfair and unjust” sentencing of rapper Meek Mill, who was ordered to serve a 2 to 4-year prison sentence for violating his parole. ||||| In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was arrested for murder. There was no question that a 43-year-old man is dead and that she killed him. What mystified filmmaker Daniel Birman was just how common violence among youth is, and just how rarely we stop to question our assumptions about it. He wondered in this case what led a girl — who grew up in a reasonable home environment — to this tragic end? MORE 
  
 Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story explores Cyntoia’s history and her future. Without attempting to excuse her crime as youthful indiscretion nor to vilify her as an example of a generation gone off the rails, Birman simply follows Cyntoia through six years of her life after the crime, and searches for answers to persistent questions. 
  
 The camera first glimpses Cyntoia the week of her arrest at age 16 and follows her for nearly six years. Along the way, nationally renowned juvenile forensic psychiatrist, Dr. William Bernet from Vanderbilt University, assesses her situation. We meet Ellenette Brown, Cyntoia’s adoptive mother who talks about the young girl’s early years. Georgina Mitchell, Cyntoia’s biological mother, meets her for the first time since she gave her up for adoption 14 years earlier. When we meet Cyntoia’s maternal grandmother, Joan Warren, some patterns begin to come into sharp focus. 
  
 Cyntoia wrestles with her fate. She is stunningly articulate, and spends the time to put the pieces of this puzzle together with us. Cyntoia's pre-prison lifestyle was nearly indistinguishable from her mother's at the same age. History — seemingly predestined by biology and circumstance — repeats itself through each generation in this family. 
  
 Cyntoia is tried as an adult, and the cameras are there when she is convicted and sentenced to life at the Tennessee Prison for Women. After the verdict, Cyntoia calls her mom to tell her the news. 
  
 In the end, we catch up with Cyntoia as she is adjusting to prison, and struggling with her identity and hope for her future. 
  
 The Filmmaker 
  
 Daniel H. Birman is the producer and director of Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story. Previously, Birman produced the highly acclaimed documentary Brace for Impact: The Chesley B. Sullenberger Story, which aired on TLC and the Discovery Channel. LESS |||||
What is a summary?
– If the name Cyntoia Brown isn't familiar, that could change soon thanks to the advocacy of Rihanna and other celebs. An Instagram post by Rihanna caused the hashtag FREECYNTOIABROWN to go viral Tuesday, reports the Tennessean. The 29-year-old Brown is serving a life sentence in Tennessee for a murder she committed at age 16. She's not eligible for parole until age 69, which advocates call an outrage because they say Brown had been a victim of child sex trafficking when the killing took place. In 2004, a 43-year-old realtor named Johnny Mitchell Allen picked up Brown in his truck and brought her back to his home for paid sex. While there, she fatally shot him in bed, though Brown says she thought Allen had been reaching for a gun. "Did we somehow change the definition of #JUSTICE," wrote Rihanna. "Something is horribly wrong when the system enables these rapists and the victim is thrown away for life! To each of you responsible for this child's sentence I hope to God you don't have children, because this could be your daughter being punished for punishing already!" Fellow celebs including Kim Kardashian West have echoed the message. Brown, who has gotten her associate's degree in prison and is considered a model prisoner, was the subject of a documentary that changed the state's laws on prostitution and sex trafficking, though the changes came too late for her benefit, per Newsweek. Now, a 16-year-old would be considered a victim of sex trafficking, not a prostitute. The film also documented the years of physical and sexual abuse Brown suffered, as a child and teen.