It's a story 16 years in the making.
Nearly a year since Cyntoia Brown was granted clemency and finally freed, Netflix is tackling her story in a documentary set for release this month. On Wednesday, the streaming service unveiled the official trailer for the upcoming film, Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story, in which the now-32-year-old woman's turbulent life story unfolds after being sentenced as an adult to life in prison for the murder of a 43-year-old man she said solicited her for sex when she was a 16-year-old sex trafficking victim.
The documentary, due out on the small screen on April 29, is said to dive into the violence Brown faced in her childhood through to ultimately gaining her freedom.
"When I was 16, I did a horrible thing," she says in a courtroom in the trailer. "I do pray that you show me mercy and that you give me a second chance
It was on Jan. 7, 2019, after her case gained national attention and support from celebrities, that former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam granted her clemency. Brown was officially released from prison on Aug. 7, 2019 after serving 15 years in prison.
However, according to a statement from Brown on Instagram, she was not involved in the project.
"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. 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," she wrote online. "While I pray that this film highlights things wrong in our justice system, I had nothing to do with this documentary."