Saturday, 8 December 2012
Teenage Killer’s Attorneys Seek New Trial
A woman convicted of murder as a teenager was in court Wednesday seeking a new trial. NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A woman convicted of murder as a teenager was in court Wednesday seeking a new trial. When Cyntoia Brown was just 16 years old she shot and killed real estate agent Johnny Allen. They'd met at a Sonic restaurant and gone back to his home for sex. She was found guilty of murder during her trial. Now, Cyntoia is 23-years-old and she has new attorneys who took her case pro bono after seeing a film about her case. Her new attorneys said she suffered from a fetal alcohol disorder when she committed the murder. "What we really want is for her to be found to have some type of sentence or finding that she should not be in prison for life," said Charles Bone, Attorney. USC Journalism Professor Dan Birner discovered most of the time Cyntoia's mother was pregnant she was drunk. "I interviewed that mother and when you take a look at the documentary you'll see the mother talking on camera how she was drinking a fifth a day," said Birman. In court since Monday, experts have testified Cyntoia suffered from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. "Brain damage that she has through no fault of her own, occurring when she was in the womb," said one psychologist. The condition never came up at her murder trial. Now her attorneys hope to get a new trial by proving Cyntoia received ineffective counsel. Cyntoia's attorneys believe her condition might convince a jury to at least give her a shorter sentence. Right now it's 51 years. "We think she can become a valuable member of society whether it's at age 25 or age 35 or whatever age it is," said Bone. NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather http://www.newschannel5.com/story/20099619/teenage-killers-attorneys-seek-new-trial
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