'I've been fighting to get back what was taken from me, my self worth and self esteem': Cyntoia Brown celebrates one year of freedom after she was granted clemency on a life sentence for killing a man who bought her for sex when she was 16

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Cyntoia Brown Long, who was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a man who bought her for sex when she was just 16, has opened up on her life as a free woman, one year after her release.

The 32-year-old former convict turned criminal justice reform advocate celebrated one year of freedom in an Instagram post last week, after she was granted clemency last January. 

'August 7th last year, at this time, I was walking out of prison. It feels incredible celebrating one year of freedom! God is SO good!!! Thank you everyone for all of the prayers, love, and support', she said in an Instagram post on Friday. 

Brown was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006 for fatally shooting real estate agent Johnny Allen, whom she claimed had picked her up at a restaurant in Nashville when she was a minor so he could have sex with her.

One year later: Cyntoia Brown Long opened up on her life as a free woman in an interview with NBC DFW last week

The 32-year-old celebrated one year of freedom on Friday, after she was released from a Tennessee prison last August following a clemency grant by then-Governor Bill Haslam

Brown (pictured in 2018) was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006, for fatally shooting real estate agent Johnny Allen, whom she claimed paid to have sex with her when she was 16 

She walked out of Tennessee Prison for Women last August after serving 15 years of her life sentence, following a clemency grant by then-Governor Bill Haslam. 

Her case had received national media attention in 2017 after celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Rihanna rallied for her release. 

In an interview with NBCDFW last week, Brown opened up on her journey from convicted murderer to advocate for sex trafficking victims and criminal justice reform.

'As you can imagine there was quite a journey that stemmed from that [conviction], ... fighting not only for my freedom but for my sanity,' she told the news station. 

'To get back what was taken from me all those years ago. My self-esteem, my sense of worth, my sense of purpose.'

Brown has since been focused on helping those who may be at risk of exploitation through her Christian-based charity, The Foundation for Justice, Freedom, and Mercy. 

Brown's case received national media attention in 2017 after celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Rihanna rallied for her release. She has maintained she shot Allen (right) because she feared for her life

In the 12 months since she was freed, Brown has turned her life around for the better by becoming an advocate for criminal justice reform and publishing a memoir on her experiences in prison 

'Some people may look at situations and think about what they lost, but I look at what God has given me,' Brown added.  

THE MURDER CYNTOIA BROWN COMMITTED 

Cyntoia Brown admitted to killing 43-year-old Nashville man, Johnny Allen, in 2004 when she was a 16-year-old prostitute.

Brown said the real estate agent had picked her up and took her to his home for sex.

Brown has maintained she killed Allen because he kept reaching under the bed and she thought he was going for a weapon and was going to shoot her.

Afterward, she took two of Allen's rifles, stole $172 from him and fled in his truck.

Brown's supporters have said that at the time she was with a violent pimp who beat her, forced her to work the streets and allowed his friends to rape her.

But a Nashville police detective said the crime scene and his investigation told a different story. He said Allen was found with his hands clasped under him on the bed.

'He was asleep, basically,' Detective Charles Robinson said.

He said gunshot residue showed Allen had been shot in the back of the head at close range and that Brown brought a loaded gun so she could rob the man.

Her lawyers maintain she was a sex-trafficking victim and feared for her life.

Brown was sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder. She was ordered to serve at least 51 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

She was granted clemency in January by then-Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.  

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'He's given me an opportunity to help others. He's given me an opportunity to be a blessing and that's just an honor. I'm not at all bitter, I'm blessed.' 

Brown had originally been ordered to serve at least 51 years in prison before being eligible for parole. 

In the 12 months since she was freed, she has turned her life around for the better becoming an advocate for criminal justice reform and victims of sex trafficking. 

She also published a memoir, 'Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System', last October.

Her story has been also featured in a Netflix documentary released in April this year, and is being written into a scripted series produced by Lala Anthony. 

Brown now lives in Nashville with her husband, Christian hip-hop artist Jaime Long, whom she married while she was still in jail.   

In the lead up to his clemency decision last January, Governor Haslam's office was inundated with letters and pleas urging him to show Brown mercy. 

Several Democratic Tennessee lawmakers also held events calling for Haslam to offer mercy.    

Brown said she was a sex trafficking victim at the time she killed Allen. 

Brown had run away from home at the time and linked up with a man known as 'Cut Throat,' who she said later became her pimp. She said that man trafficked her, beat, raped and plied her with drugs on a near-daily basis. 

She encountered Allen after he picked her up at a drive-in restaurant in Nashville so he could have sex with her. 

Brown said Allen insisted on taking her back to his house after saying he was an ex-Army sharpshooter and showing off his firearms. 

She has previously said his behavior made her nervous and that he 'grabbed' her forcefully between her legs while they were on his bed.

'He just gave me this look. It was, like, a very fierce look,' she said in a 2011 documentary based on her incarceration. 

'But then, he rolls over, like he's reaching to the side of the bed or something. So I'm thinking, 'he's not going to hit me, he's going to get a gun'.' 

Brown has maintained she shot Allen in the back of the head at close range with a gun she had in her purse because he kept reaching under the bed and she thought he was going for a weapon. 

After she shot him, Brown took two of Allen's rifles, stole $172 and fled in his truck.  

Prosecutors had argued during her trial that the teenager killed Allen in order to rob him.

'When I was 16-years-old, I did a very horrible thing, and that has been with me for a very long time,' she said during her trial. 

'He didn't deserve to die. I was wrong. I was wrong. And I can't fix it.'

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against life-without-parole sentences for juveniles but the state of Tennessee had argued successfully in lower courts that Brown's sentence was not in violation of federal law because she would be eligible for parole after serving at least 51 years. 

Haslam later said that was too harsh a condition for a crime Brown admitted to committing as a teen, especially given the steps she has taken to rebuild her life. 

She earned her GED and got a college degree from Lipscomb University in prison. Brown also became a mentor to troubled girls and young women while behind bars.

Brown now lives in Nashville with her husband, Christian hip-hop artist Jaime Long, whom she married while she was still in jail