Cyntoia Brown: Die Geschichte einer begnadigten Mörderin

To start with it's not really that interesting of a case. Compound that with a tedious presentation and I skipped out early.

I'm appalled at the lack of intellect and compassion in some of these reviews. The key to this woman's story is that she would be considered a sex-trafficked CHILD abused by predators now (now that we are more enlightened) if she was going through this in 2019 instead of 2004. So not only did she make something of herself intellectually while incarcerated (and in spite of suffering from FAS), but she also grew emotionally, spiritually, and socially. THAT is why mercy is required for this case. She was a child. The ignorance on this review page is astounding. And the "it wasn't exciting enough" comments make me wonder why anyone expecting an action movie out of a documentary would then choose to watch a documentary instead of an action movie,

The documentary is initially interesting for about 15-20 minutes. However, it leaves too many questions and relies on the emotional heartstrings of the viewer. For example, what was the prosecutors side for the killing, robbery, and initial arrest? Why were any of the prosecutors counter arguments left out? A quick Google search shows that there was a lot more evidence (notes in jail, attacking medical staff, etc.) to be considered that was not even mentioned in the documentary.

I deeply sympathize with the case and believe that justice finally prevailed, but the documentary itself missed the mark for telling the a balanced story.

There isn't much that I can write that others haven't touched on. A young woman kills a man, not enough is made of looking at who or what the victim was, but then again a life was taken, and if you don't want it to look like you killed him just to rob him, don't take his stuff. It's hard to fully paint a victim, but then again nobody does. Her defense lawyers never once shy away from holding their hands up and saying "Yes, she murdered him." Neither does she. But there are interesting aspects. Should a 16 year old really be tried as an adult? Is the sentence too harsh? Does the fact she is a victim of foetal alcohol poisoning really a defense?

On the last question, the documentary actually gives an interesting insight; nature vs nurture. Other reviews state she had a crap childhood. Actually, not really. She was adopted out of a bad childhood early by a loving, church going, caring mother who sent her to school like any other child. However, Cyntoia was not interested in education, choosing drink, drugs, partying, and sex with a much older boyfriend, running away briefly at 12 after being kicked out of school and scared what her mother would say. She went back to school but dropped out again, later confessing she thought she knew it all. These were all traits of her biological mother; drink, drugs, parties. A woman she appeared to have no contact or influence from prior to trial.

If you take nothing else from this, take the study of nature vs nurture as your foundation going into the documentary. It does make it more interesting.

This documentary could have been better. Mostly just a bunch of old footage. This doc has quite a few missing pieces. This isn't the quality documentary that Netflix usually brings us. Cynthia's story deserved a much better presentation.