The documentary “Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story” follows the story of Cyntoia Brown, who was accused of killing and stealing from Johnny Allen in 2004. The defense team argued that she acted in self-defense because she believed the forty-three-year-old man would kill her. They also presented evidence to show that Cyntoia had experienced unfortunate life events that led to mental instability. Cyntoia Brown’s case exemplifies the importance of understanding childhood trauma, diversity and difference, and cultural values in social work.
Cyntoia is likely to have a high score on the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) test. This test estimates the likelihood of experiencing certain challenges and poor health outcomes later in life due to traumatic events in their childhood (Chang et al., 2019). On a scale of 0 to 10, Cyntoia would probably score 7 or higher. Before the age of eighteen, Cyntoia experienced multiple trauma. Both her biological mother and grandmother were depressed, with the latter having attempted suicide. Due to alcoholism and involvement in illegal activities, her biological mother surrendered her for adoption (Birman, 2020). Cyntoia suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) since her mother drank alcohol while pregnant. On the other hand, her father was unknown, which indicates non-involvement in a child’s life according to the ACE test. In general, Cyntoia lived in an unstable household before adoption.
Cyntoia ran away from her adoptive home and went to live in the streets, where she was subjected to more violence. At sixteen, Cyntoia dated a twenty-four-year-old man whose street name was “Kut” or “Cut Throat”, who pushed her into prostitution (Birman, 2020. Overall, Cyntoia underwent many stressors as a child that would result in a high ACE score. In addition to the ACE score, there are other signs of toxic stress that could have impacted Cyntoia’s health. For instance, Cyntoia felt responsible for supporting herself when she was still a minor. In court, she admitted that she engaged in prostitution multiple times. Toxic stress that forces a child into sex trafficking to make money could negatively impact their health.
Ms. Brown was a victim of oppression, discrimination, and historical trauma. According to an article in the Oxford University Press, Black people face racial oppression and discrimination, which may result in high poverty levels (Burke et al., 2020). Poverty is a risk factor for child sex trafficking, as was Cyntoia’s case. Kut abused Cyntoia and trafficked her because he led her to believe she had no other options. Discrimination could also have impacted the legal proceedings and eventual sentencing of Cyntoia. For instance, Black girls are often stereotyped as sexually promiscuous (Burke et al., 2020). Cyntoia was labeled as a prostitute instead of a victim of sexual trafficking. Additionally, Black people constantly live with the fear of being considered criminals because this is a common stereotype attributed to them. In part, the fear and anxiety of being perceived as a hardcore criminal led Cyntoia to waive her Miranda rights (Burke et al., 2020). Oppression and discrimination adversely impacted Ms. Brown and probably contributed to the verdict she received.
Ms. Brown’s identity can be understood by an intersectional view of certain elements of diversity. The relevant dimensions of diversity, in this case, include her age, color, class, gender, and race. Diversity shaped her identity because elements of her diversity affected her life experiences. For instance, being a female contributed to her experiencing sex slavery. Aside from diversity, Ms. Brown’s identity was also shaped by difference, in that poverty and marginalization formed part of her identity. For instance, she was pushed into sex trafficking due to poverty. When evaluating Cyntoia’s identity, it is important to use an intersectional lens to understand how diversity and difference shaped her identity.
In addition to diversity and culture, there are systems in place that oppressed and marginalized Cyntoia Brown. For instance, Cyntoia endured poverty, which forced her into sex trafficking. The legal and political system also marginalized Cyntoia by trying her as an adult, despite having committed the murder as a minor. Additionally, no questions were raised about why Johnny Allen had a child in his bed, and instead, the blame was placed entirely on Cyntoia (Burke et al., 2020). It is also evident that America’s incarceration culture oppressed Cyntoia. Rather than being rehabilitated and reintegrated into community, she was sentenced to sixty years in prison. The culture’s structures and values disadvantaged Ms. Brown and led to her oppression and marginalization.
As a social worker consultant, I would advise the court to release Cyntoia. Although she committed murder, she would benefit more from rehabilitation than incarceration. She was a victim of multiple circumstances outside her control that contributed to her committing the crime. For instance, because she suffered from FASD, she showed signs of neurodevelopmental delay. Consequently, she has problems regulating her emotions and controlling her impulses. Since she was disadvantaged even before she was born, Cyntoia had never lived a normal life. I would argue that she needed to undergo rehabilitation to properly adjust to the world. Additionally, Cyntoia resorted to prostitution as a means of livelihood because she did not have a support structure. I would testify that she needed to be provided with economic and social support to uproot her from sex slavery.
Overall, competency 2 has shaped my understanding of this case. For instance, the knowledge of how diversity and difference shape identity obtained from this competency was helpful in evaluating Cyntoia’s case. Additionally, I now have a better grasp of how to engage diversity and difference in practice, which was the expected learning outcome. I have also learned the importance of remaining unbiased when treating diverse patients. Cyntoia’s case gave me an opportunity to improve my understanding of diversity and difference.
References
Birman, D. H. (2020) Murder to mercy: The Cyntoia Brown story [Film]. Birman Productions, Inc.
Burke, K. C., Stevenson, M. C., & Bottoms, B. L. (2020). Cyntoia Brown and the legacy of racism for children in the legal system. Oxford University Press. Web.
Chang, X., Jiang, X., Mkandarwire, T., & Shen, M. (2019). Associations between adverse childhood experiences and health outcomes in adults aged 18–59 years. PloS one, 14(2). Web.