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AT the age of 16 Cyntoia Brown was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of an adult who had allegedly paid her for sex.

Netflix, which has been churning out a string of true crime series, has documented the high profile, controversial case which has the world talking.

 Cyntoia Brown was sentenced to life for murder at the age of 16
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Cyntoia Brown was sentenced to life for murder at the age of 16Credit: Reuters

When is Murder To Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story out?

Netflix's latest true crime series premieres on Friday, April 29, 2020.

Murder To Mercy follows the success of other documentaries in the genre such as  How to Fix a Drug Scandal and Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez.

Who is in the cast?

Murder To Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story is a real life, crime documentary based on Cyntoia Brown's experience after she was charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison.

It features interviews with people who worked on the case and were closest to it.

The story is also told with footage of the court case.

 Celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Lebron James came out in support of granting Cyntoia Brown clemency
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Celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Lebron James came out in support of granting Cyntoia Brown clemencyCredit: Netflix

What is it about?

After a rocky early life with an alcoholic murder, Cyntoia Brown was given up for adoption.

As a runaway teenager, she met a man who began trafficking her sexually.

She was often abused and beaten by her trafficker.

In 2004, Cyntoia Brown was charged with the murder of Johnny Allen in Nashville.

Allen, who was 43, had allegedly paid $150 to have sex with Cyntoia.

She claimed the murder of Allen was an act of self defence as she had feared for her life.

But prosecutors claimed the death was premeditated with an intention to rob him.

At the age of 16, she was forced to stand trial as an adult after a judge ruled that keeping her in the Juvenile Court System was a significant risk to the community.

She was eventually found guilty of first degree murder, felony murder, and aggravated robbery.

Cyntoia was sentenced to life in prison.

 Cyntoia claimed she had feared for life and acted in self defence when she killed 43-year-old Johnny Allen
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Cyntoia claimed she had feared for life and acted in self defence when she killed 43-year-old Johnny AllenCredit: Netflix

A campaign to grant her clemency brought her case into the public eye.

High profile celebrities such as Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Lebron James lent their support to the campaign, causing it to go viral.

In the documentary, her case is analysed, going back to her childhood years and her experiences in a troubled home.

The evidence in the trial is also explored, bringing into question the justice system and how Cyntoia was perceived as a prostitute instead of a victim of child sex trafficking.

According to Netflix: "After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question."

After several people gave witness on her behalf, including her former prosecutor and prison workers, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam commuted her sentence on January 7, 2019, with 10 years of supervised parole.

Is there a trailer?

Netflix has released a trailer for the documentary ahead of its premiere.

The documentary features footage from the original case as well as interviews with Cyntoia.

In the trailer, she can be seen telling a hearing: "When I was 16 I did a horrible thing.

"I do pray that you show me mercy and that you give me a second chance"

You can watch it at the top of this story..

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