Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story

Violence was a huge part of Brown's life starting at the earliest age. Her mother drank through the pregnancy. She was drunk through Brown's first two years of life until she gave her daughter up for adoption. When Brown was 16, under pressure from her pimp, and her judgment marred by drug use and a history of physical and sexual abuse, Brown feared a john would harm her and shot him to death. Her biological mother and grandmother both describe being raped and beaten by men. Brown's pimp would beat her and raped her if she didn't return from working with enough money.

In 2004, when Brown was charged at age 16, she was labeled a "prostitute." Years later, when her case was reevaluated, she was re-labeled an underage victim of sex trafficking by adults. She describes being in bed with a john but avoiding having sex with him.

"F--k," "s--t," "bitch," "slut," piss," and "hell."

Alcoholism and crack cocaine use are discussed. A 16-year-old girl says she drank and used cocaine through her childhood.

Parents need to know that Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story is a 2020 documentary about a 2004 juvenile murder case tried in Tennessee in adult criminal court. Despite evidence that the 16-year-old Brown was a victim of sexual abuse and coerced into sex trafficking/prostitution, the trial resulted in a life sentence. The filmmaker, who followed the case for years, credits the unrelenting work of several dedicated defense attorneys over many years, coupled with the more recent national attention the case received on social media, with putting Tennessee's actions in the spotlight and resulting in Brown's early release in 2019. Sex-trafficking, rape, prostitution, crack cocaine use, alcoholism, and generations of mental illness and physical abuse are discussed broadly. Language includes "f--k," "s--t," "damn," and "bitch."

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