Backdrop fallback
Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story

Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story

Watch TrailerWatch Movie
2020
1h 36m
6.9(108 votes)
Documentary

Overview

After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.

Where to Watch

Stream

Netflix

Links & Resources

WebsiteIMDbView

Social & External

IMDb

Production Companies

Videos & Trailers

1 video

Cast & Crew

1 member
Acting

Cyntoia D. Brown

Herself

Cyntoia D. Brown

Similar Movies

My Daughter's Killer
6.7
2022

My Daughter's Killer

A father fights for decades to bring his daughter's killer to justice in France and Germany before taking extreme measures.

Movie
Ruby Ridge
6.6
2017

Ruby Ridge

Shortly before dawn on August 21, 1992, six heavily armed U.S. marshals made their way up to the isolated mountaintop home of Randy and Vicki Weaver and their children on Ruby Ridge in Northern Idaho. Charged with selling two illegal sawed-off shotguns to an undercover agent, Weaver had failed to appear in court and law enforcement was tasked with bringing him in. For months, the Weavers had been holed up on their property with a cache of firearms, including automatic weapons. When the federal agents surveilling the property crossed paths with members of the family, a firefight broke out. The standoff that mesmerized the nation would leave Weaver injured, his wife and son dead, and some convinced that the federal government was out of control. Drawing upon eyewitness accounts, including interviews with Weaver’s daughter, Sara, and federal agents involved in the confrontation, Ruby Ridge is a riveting account of the event that helped give rise to the modern American militia movement.

Movie
I Cut Off His Penis: The Truth Behind The Headlines
4.0
2024

I Cut Off His Penis: The Truth Behind The Headlines

A shocking act, its baffling legacy - the gripping true crime doc. When Mrs Bobbit cut off her husband's penis in 1993, similar cases followed. Why?

Movie
Girl in the Picture
7.1
2022

Girl in the Picture

A young mother’s mysterious death and her son’s subsequent kidnapping blow open a decades-long mystery about the woman’s true identity, and the murderous federal fugitive at the center of it all.

Movie
The Menendez Brothers
7.3
2024

The Menendez Brothers

Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.

Movie
Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso
6.4
2023

Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso

This documentary delves into the unanswered questions surrounding the trial of Jessica Wongso — years after the death of her best friend, Mirna Salihin.

Movie
The Carman Family Deaths
6.8
2025

The Carman Family Deaths

A young man's dramatic rescue at sea spirals into accusations he murdered two members of his wealthy New England family.

Movie
Children of the Cult
7.0
2024

Children of the Cult

An international investigation into the Rajneesh movement. One of the world's biggest and most successful cults, it had communes in more than 30 countries in the 70s and 80s and was portrayed in the Netflix series Wild Wild Country' But until now, a central truth about the organization has remained hidden.

Movie
The Philpott Fire: A Very British Horror Story
2024

The Philpott Fire: A Very British Horror Story

Delving into the background of Mick Philpott - violent criminal and media villain.Investigating the deaths of the six Philpott children, who perished due to a fire that broke out in their home in May, 2012.

Movie
Why Did You Kill Me?
5.9
2021

Why Did You Kill Me?

The line between justice and revenge blurs when a devastated family uses social media to track down the people who killed 24-year-old Crystal Theobald.

Movie
9.0
2003

Murder at Harvard

Inspired by a book by acclaimed historian Simon Schama, Murder at Harvard uses a combination of film-noir drama and present-day documentary footage to tell the true tale of one of the most notorious American crimes of the 19th century. Grappling with frustrating gaps in the historical record, Schama assumes the role of a time-travelling detective who takes an unusual step for an historian and imagines how certain scenes and encounters might have played out. "Maybe I thought what I was after was not a literal documentary truth," Schama tells us, "but a poetic truth — an imaginative truth — and for that I was going to have to become my own Resurrection man. I was going to have to make these characters live again."

Movie
John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster
7.0
2019

John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster

"Sam, could you do me a favor?" A seemingly simple request sparks the story that has now become part of America’s true crime hall of fame - the journey of a young lawyer, fresh from the Public Defender’s Office, whose first client in private practice turns out to be the most evil serial killer in our nation's history.

Movie
Lust for Fear - True Crime Fascination
2023

Lust for Fear - True Crime Fascination

True crime formats are a guarantor for success for TV channels, publishers and radio stations. Whether fiction or documentary, every serial killer has their own movie on streaming providers. An interest in crime is part of human nature. The question "Who did it?" keeps the audience hooked to their screens or headphones. Fear and thrills provide an endorphin rush. True crime fans put themselves in the shoes of the investigators and empathize with the victims. They try to learn to arm themselves for their own lives in order to better recognize real dangers. Where does the hype around true crime come from?

Movie
Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld
6.5
2023

Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld

This documentary reveals how a group of hackers powered the darkest corners of the internet from a Cold War-era bunker in a quiet German tourist town.

Movie
Thank You Dr. Fauci
8.4
2024

Thank You Dr. Fauci

Award-winning documentarian Jenner Furst seeks answers from Dr. Fauci about the origins of COVID-19, a bio-arms race with China, and what could be the largest coverup in modern history. Awaiting Fauci’s reply, Furst falls down a rabbit hole, decoding hundreds of thousands of pages of documents with prominent scientists, intelligence analysts, former government officials, and whistleblowers. Risking career and reputation, Furst depoliticizes one of the most controversial stories of our time, in an urgent scientific docu-thriller that is Oppenheimer meets Outbreak.

Movie
Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy
9.0
2023

Unsolved Mysteries: Behind the Legacy

Sitting down with co-creators Terry Dunn Meurer and John Cosgrove, along with long-time actors, producers, and directors of the show, this documentary special pulls back the curtain with behind-the-scenes stories from research and casting to solving mysteries soon after episodes aired. With never-before-seen outtakes of beloved host Robert Stack and a look into some fan-favorite moments. This program honors one of television's most enduring and recognizable shows as well as the fans who were integral to its success.

Movie
Bullets And Blueberries
2025

Bullets And Blueberries

The Holocaust began with the indiscriminate mass shootings by the Einsatzgruppen in the bloodlands of Eastern Europe and was perfected in the gas chambers at Auschwitz. “Bullets And Blueberries” explores the motives, methods and madness of the perpetrators, using never-before-seen images captured by the killers themselves — images that fully capture the banality of evil.

Movie
Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers
6.8
2025

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers

Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.

Movie
My Father, the BTK Killer
6.8
2025

My Father, the BTK Killer

Raised by a man leading a monstrous double life, the daughter of the BTK serial killer shares her chilling story.

Movie
Jack the Ripper: The Missing Evidence
2014

Jack the Ripper: The Missing Evidence

During a three-month period in 1888, a knife-wielding serial killer murdered six women on the streets of Whitechapel. Their throats were cut and their bodies horribly mutilated. He was never caught and his identity remains one of the world's greatest crime mysteries. In the years that have passed since Jack the Ripper's killing spree, many high-profile suspects have been suggested, yet the fact remains that none of them can be placed at any of the crime scenes. Now, journalist Christer Holmgren believes that he has found a suspect who can not only be linked directly to one of the murders but also whose daily routine could be consistent with all the other deaths

Movie

Recommended Movies

Nail Bomber: Manhunt
6.5
2021

Nail Bomber: Manhunt

This documentary examines the 1999 London bombings that targeted Black, Bangladeshi and gay communities, and the race to find the far-right perpetrator. He terrorized a city, seeking to ignite a race war but justice was served by those who wouldn't let his hate win.

Movie
The Crash
6.9
2026

The Crash

A teen slams her car into a building, killing her boyfriend and his friend. What seems like a tragic accident becomes a murder case.

Movie
Maternal Instinct
7.3
2026

Maternal Instinct

Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.

Movie
Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story
6.3
2025

Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story

Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

Movie
Victim/Suspect
7.0
2023

Victim/Suspect

Investigative journalist Rae de Leon travels nationwide to uncover and examine a shocking pattern: Young women tell the police they’ve been sexually assaulted, but instead of finding justice, they’re charged with the crime of making a false report, arrested, and even imprisoned by the system they believed would protect them.

Movie
Out of Thin Air
5.9
2017

Out of Thin Air

Set within the stark Icelandic landscape, OUT OF THIN AIR examines the 1976 police investigation into the disappearance of two men in the early 1970s.

Movie
Voyeur
5.9
2017

Voyeur

Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.

Movie
Gilbert
6.7
2017

Gilbert

The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.

Movie
The Menendez Brothers
7.3
2024

The Menendez Brothers

Serving life in prison for murdering their parents, Lyle and Erik Menendez speak out in this documentary explaining the shocking crime and ensuing trials.

Movie
H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer
6.2
2004

H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer

Torture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.

Movie
Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator
6.3
2019

Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator

The spectacular rise and scandalous fall of hot-yoga evangelist Bikram Choudhury is chronicled through archival footage and extensive insider interviews.

Movie
Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
7.5
2018

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski

Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.

Movie
Why Did You Kill Me?
5.9
2021

Why Did You Kill Me?

The line between justice and revenge blurs when a devastated family uses social media to track down the people who killed 24-year-old Crystal Theobald.

Movie
ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke
6.9
2019

ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke

This investigation examines the mysterious shooting of soul icon Sam Cooke, whose death silenced one of the most vital voices in the civil rights movement.

Movie
Facing Ali
7.3
2009

Facing Ali

Ten of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.

Movie
The Velvet Underground
6.8
2021

The Velvet Underground

Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.

Movie
Father Soldier Son
6.5
2020

Father Soldier Son

When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.

Movie
Con Mum
6.9
2025

Con Mum

A chef's life is upended when a jet-setting, champagne-sipping, hotel-hopping woman claims to be his long-lost mother. This documentary reveals the untold story.

Movie
Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes
5.9
2021

Memories of a Murderer: The Nilsen Tapes

Serial killer Dennis Nilsen narrates his life and horrific crimes via a series of chilling audiotapes recorded from his jail cell.

Movie
Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers
6.8
2025

Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers

Aileen Wuornos remains a rarity: a female serial killer. From childhood abuse to death-row revelations, this documentary revisits her life and crimes.

Movie