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Cyntoia Brown’s story is coming to Starz. According to Deadline, Brown’s book, Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System, will be adapted into a limited series, The Case of Cyntoia Brown, and will be executive produced by 50 Cent and LaLa Anthony. The series will be written by Santa Sierra, who is currently working on Power Book III: Raising Kanan as well.
“We’re honored to be entrusted with Cyntoia’s story, which shines a light on the injustice of a system that tried and sentenced an at-risk minor as an adult when she was a victim herself of sex trafficking,” Christina Davis, President of Original Programming for Starz, said in a statement. “This limited series from Curtis, La La and Santa chronicles Cyntoia’s long journey to freedom and furthers our #TakeTheLead programming mandate centered on narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.”
Cyntoia Brown was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery at 16-years-old. She was being sex-trafficked by her boyfriend at the time and was accused of killing a man named Johnny Michael Allen, who was paying her for sexual favors. She was sentenced as an adult even though she was a minor and had to serve 51 years in prison before being eligible for parole. In 2019, she was granted clemency after serving 15 years.
This isn’t the first time Brown’s story has been told but this is the first time she will be involved behind the scenes. In 2020, Netflix released a documentary about Brown called Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story, which she said was unauthorized.
“While I was still incarcerated, a producer who has old footage of me made a deal with Netflix for an UNAUTHORIZED documentary, set to be released soon,” she wrote on Instagram in a now-deleted post according to Decider. “My husband and I were as surprised as everyone else when we first heard the news because we did not participate in any way. However, I am currently in the process of sharing my story, in the right way, in full detail, and in a way that depicts and respects the woman I am today. While I pray that this film highlights things wrong in our justice system, I had nothing to do with this documentary.”
Brown’s husband, Jamie Long, will also be involved in the series.
