TN Supreme Court: Cyntoia Brown To Serve At Least 51 Years Before Release
The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued a ruling saying that Cyntoia Brown must serve a minimum of 51 years in prison for murdering a Nashville man (Johnny Allen) when she was 16 years old after being initially sentence to life. She had been tried as an adult.
Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion saying that Brown must serve at least 51 years in prison for Allen’s murder.
“The Sixth Circuit requested the Tennessee Supreme Court to answer the question of whether a defendant convicted of first-degree murder committed on or after July 1, 1995, and sentenced to life in prison will become eligible for release and, if so, after how many years of imprisonment. Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 23 permits the Court to answer requests that involve questions of Tennessee law that are determinative of the cause of action and about which there is no controlling Tennessee precedent.
In today’s unanimous decision, the Tennessee Supreme Court explained that, under state law, a life sentence is a determinate sentence of 60 years. However, the sixty-year sentence can be reduced by up to 15 percent, or 9 years, by earning various sentence credits. Therefore, the Supreme Court concluded that a defendant serving a life sentence for a first-degree murder committed on or after July 1, 1995, may be eligible for release after serving at least 51 years of the sentence.”
If you aren’t familiar with the case, check this out.
News via Via NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) and CNN.