(CNN) This week, the case of a woman named Cyntoia Brown went viral on social media, even though she has already been in jail for more than ten years.

Brown is serving a life sentence for the murder of a Nashville man in 2004. According to Brown, after a childhood marked by abuse and drugs, she was raped and forced into prostitution by a pimp, and ended up killing one of her clients out of self defense when she was just 16 years old. Despite her youth, she was tried as an adult and given a life sentence.

The details of her crime and trial -- including the fact that the man who had paid for sex with her was 43 years old, have started circulating again, catching the attention of A-list celebrities and spawning the viral hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown. However, even before the renewed interest, her trial inspired a documentary and was a factor in a major change in how the state of Tennessee deals with child prostitution cases.

How a years-old case ignited new interest

Though it's unclear why, specifically, Brown's story came back into the spotlight, a text post describing Brown's history and trial appeared to pick up serious steam when it was shared by singer Rihanna on Instagram.