A murder case from 2004 has been back in the news recently. Cyntoia Brown was convicted of the first degree murder of Johnny Allen in the American state of Tennessee. Don’t believe anything you read or hear about her innocence on social media.
In fact, don’t believe anything you read or hear about any murder case on social media until you have read the official findings of an appellate court, because there have been and are numerous such cases of convicted killers pleading their innocence and people lobbying on their behalf when the most cursory examination of the documented facts of the case reveals a trove of damning evidence.
This was the case with Troy Davis - executed in 2011; Linda Carty - currently on death row in Texas; and many others.
The appeal of Cyntoia Brown for most of the gullibles is her age. She was just sixteen years old in August 2004 when she shot and killed Johnny Allen. She was arrested shortly, and when she appeared in court, her legal team dressed her up like a thirteen year old, in pigtails. The story she gave the court was that she was a victim of sex trafficking and that she had been forced or virtually forced to shoot Allen because she was in fear of her life.
These claims were rejected by the jury in her 2006 trial and by the Tennessee Court Of Criminal Appeals in a lengthy judgment. Because of the gravity of her crime, she was tried as an adult; murder is seldom suitable for trying in juvenile court. That notwithstanding, the singer Rihanna and others have reignited this non-controversy by ill-informed posts on social media. They have been joined by CNN, National Public Radio, and many others who should know better but don’t. Many of them are not simply bending over backwards to excuse Brown but are literally making stuff up.
Cyntoia Brown: The Murderous Psychopath In Pigtails
According to Brown, she was forced into prostitution by a man known as Kut-Throat - spell that however you want. His real name was Garion McGlothen. She describes him as her pimp, claims he raped her multiple times, and forced her to have sex with other men. The reality is that although she had a terrible start in life, Brown was placed with a woman no reasonable person could fault as either a foster or adoptive mother. Even so, she chose to run away from home and seek out McGlothen or a man like him.
In Tennessee, the age of consent is eighteen; in most of the rest of the Western world it is sixteen, in a few places it is lower. Thus, although a man having sex with a sixteen year old in Tennessee is considered statutory rape, most people would regard it as no big deal. Brown’s victim, Johnny Allen, was forty three, ie old enough to be her father and then some, but plenty of women have had relationships including sex with much older men with no ill effect. The night he met Brown, Allen was in search of female company as much as sex. She says when he propositioned her she told him the price was $200; he offered half that, and they split the difference. We have only her word for this, but as the prosecutor pointed out, she felt comfortable enough in his company to go home with him, to eat with him, and to watch TV with him. Do “johns” normally take street whores home with them and treat them like this?
Johnny Allen was shot in the back of the head as he slept; the forensic evidence including the horrific crime scene photographs which in typical American fashion were released to the public, leave that in no doubt. Brown’s story that she was in fear of her life from Allen was and remains a lie.
In view of these lies, it is pertinent to ask what if any of what she says about her relationship with her alleged pimp is true? She murdered Allen with the pistol she carried in her purse. Sex trafficking victims - and they do exist - do not typically carry weapons of any kind, but prostitutes do. As for McGlothen, he died a violent death in March 2005 aged only 24, so is not talking, but the police had no interest in him at the time of Brown’s arrest either as an accessory after the fact or as a rapist in his own right. In short, Brown was with McGlothen of her own free will, so however odious he might have been, she cannot put the blame for her murderous actions on him.
Another point made by her supporters, including one psychiatric professional who should know better but doesn’t, is a 16 year old should not be judged by adult standards. This argument has merit when lesser crimes are considered. A 16 year old might not realise it is unlawful to attempt to bribe a government official, and may not understand the concept of joint enterprise, but surely every 16 year old, every 12 year old, knows and understands that murder is wrong.
All that being said, she and her supporters have looked around for another scapegoat. Brown’s white trash mother is said to have indulged in heavy alcohol use during her pregnancy, and Brown is said to have been born with foetal alcohol syndrome. The only problem with that argument is that if she was driven to commit a murder at sixteen by this condition, how much more dangerous will she be if paroled now?
Although Brown has learned to shed crocodile tears for the murder of Johnny Allen, this manipulative female psychopath is still happy to portray herself as a victim. Does this mean she should never be paroled? No, but it might not be a bad idea to keep her behind bars at least until the menopause, that way we can ensure she does not pass on her murderous genes to her offspring.
