This documentary, while obviously attempting to be sympathetic to Cyntoia, shows the wide range of complexities involved here. Initially, we see a 16 year old girl who rebels because she wants to smoke pot and ran away from home.
Cyntoia's foster mother is probably one of the best human beings on the planet. Hell, I wish she had adopted me! Still though, after running away Cyntoia was undeniably taken advantage of and abused. However, this idea she didn't know "right from wrong" is disproven by the documentary itself.
Next is the alleged "victim." We have a 43 year old man picking up a child for sex. Needless to say, by most standards, he earned the street justice he received. But, for me anyway, we can see that kids are deemed juveniles for a reason. Clearly she should have always been treated by the Justice system in that way.
Kudos to former Republican Governor Bill Haslam for making the right decision here. There can be no doubt she has matured, made the most of her bad situation while incarcerated to better herself, and is now in a position to completely turn her life around. Leaving Cyntoia in prison to collect dust while she's already served a considerable amount of time would have made little sense.
Cyntoia's foster mother is probably one of the best human beings on the planet. Hell, I wish she had adopted me! Still though, after running away Cyntoia was undeniably taken advantage of and abused. However, this idea she didn't know "right from wrong" is disproven by the documentary itself.
Next is the alleged "victim." We have a 43 year old man picking up a child for sex. Needless to say, by most standards, he earned the street justice he received. But, for me anyway, we can see that kids are deemed juveniles for a reason. Clearly she should have always been treated by the Justice system in that way.
Kudos to former Republican Governor Bill Haslam for making the right decision here. There can be no doubt she has matured, made the most of her bad situation while incarcerated to better herself, and is now in a position to completely turn her life around. Leaving Cyntoia in prison to collect dust while she's already served a considerable amount of time would have made little sense.