Streaming giant Netflix is continuing its effort to produce content for the culture. Following the massive success of Ava DuVernay’s masterpiece When They See Us, Netflix is reportedly set to move forward with a full-length documentary feature about Cyntoia Brown’s incarceration and ultimate fight for clemency.
The currently untitled documentary will be directed by David H. Birman, who first caught a glimpse of Brown’s story courtesy of 2011’s Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story after it aired on PBS. Birman’s project will chronicle Brown’s case from its beginnings back in 2004 to all of the current updates surrounding her case, specifically her quest for clemency.
In case you need a refresher, then 16-year-old Brown was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 for the murder of a 43-year-old man who solicited her for sex. She was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. However, after years of legal battles and pleading for her release, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam didn’t officially grant Brown’s request for clemency until 2019. His decision was aided by a shift in the state for legislative change in juvenile sentencing laws. Gov. Haslam was also impressed by Brown’s maturity, education and good behavior as a prisoner.
Brown’s case has been a high-profile one from the start, but has gotten even more attention in recent years thanks to A-list advocates such as Viola Davis, Kim Kardashian West and Ashley Judd.
The Netflix feature is also set to document Cyntoia Brown’s release from prison in August 2019.
Roommates, are you here for a Cyntoia Brown documentary?
