File photo: Cyntoia Brown smiles at family members during her clemency hearing at Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville, Tenn., on May 23, 2018. Brown, championed by celebrities as a symbol of unfair sentencing, was released from the Tennessee Prison for Women, on Aug. 7, 2019. (Lacy Atkins/The Tennessean via AP, Pool, File)
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Cyntoia Brown, an inmate recently released on clemency after being given a life sentence at the age of 16, has married recording artist J. Long, formerly associated with the R&B group Pretty Ricky.
Wes Yoder, a representative for Brown-Long, the name she now goes by, confirmed Monday that the two had wed, but declined to provide more details, only saying that more would be revealed in the fall.
“They will tell the rest of their story later this fall,” Yoder said.
Brown’s book, “Free Cyntoia,” is scheduled for release Oct. 15 through Atria Books. It is based on her writings from 15 years of her incarceration, according to the Tennessean.
According to a report from The Neighborhood Talk, the ex-wife of Long, Pamela Long, warned that Long is “diabolical” and “such a manipulator.”
“The way this man pursued this woman is the way he did me. He came and found me using the same card, ‘He was a Christian artist,'” she told the news outlet. “May the Lord God protect her and her money. It’s about who she is in the public eye and what she has. By her having this face in the media it helps him to have a chance to be around what he deems as the elites.”
Brown-Long was released on probation last week after getting clemency. Her case drew the attention of celebrities like Kim Kardashian West, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and LeBron James, who lobbied on her behalf.
Brown-Long has said she was a sex trafficking victim at the time she killed a man in 2004.
Now 31, Brown will remain on parole for 10 years, on condition that she does not violate any state or federal laws, holds a job and participates in regular counseling sessions, under conditions set by former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.
Pretty Ricky, which originated in Florida, is known for their 2006 single, “Grind With Me,” which hit No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
By Kristin M. Hall
With contribution from NTD staff
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