(RNS) — Each semester, the LIFE program at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., which is associated with Churches of Christ, pairs traditional students with inmates serving time in the Tennessee Prison for Women.

This week, the most high-profile graduate of that academic program — offered behind the prison’s locked steel doors and razor-wire perimeter — made national headlines when Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam granted her full clemency.

Cyntoia Brown will be released Aug. 7 after serving 15 years in the 2004 murder of Johnny Allen, 43, whom Brown shot to death when she was 16.

“This decision comes after careful consideration of what is a tragic and complex case,” Haslam said in a news release. "Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16.

“Yet, imposingShia LaBeouf: 'Lawless' Premiere at Cannes!

About Photo #2664192:
Shia LaBeouf attends the premiere of his film Lawless held at the Palais des Festivals during the 2012 Cannes Film Festival on Saturday (May 19) in Cannes, France.… Read More Here