Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story

"Unfortunately, Birman mostly ignores the racial politics of the case, not even questioning, through editing, whether conscious or unconscious racism could have influenced the decision to try biracial Brown Long as an adult or convict her of felony murder. It is another example of the director eschewing his authorial voice."

"The film sticks so closely to the chronological timeline of the case that it sacrifices any kind of artful storytelling."

"One leaves “Murder to Mercy” with the sense that many young women from Brown’s background will be similarly hardened, abused and punished in a society where they still have to battle to be heard and believed. Yet there are glimmering signals here of systemic repair..."

"This is a quiet, elegant memoir that humanizes a systemic American challenge — and offers a narrative catharsis only possible with real-life mercy."