Free Child Sex Trafficking Victim Sara Kruzan
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ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER COMMUTED SARA'S SENTENCE
| Posted on January 2, 2011 at 7:31 PM |
Commutation
SARA JESSIMY KRUZAN, W-59700
“If at the end of court procedures there is claimed to persist a miscarriage of justice, despite all
the precautions of the law to the contrary, the ultimate remedy rests in an appeal to the
Governor . . . .” (In re Horowitz (1949) 33 Cal.2d 534, 546.)
On March 10, 1994, 16-year-old Sara Kruzan shot and killed her former pimp, 37-year-old
George Howard. In response to threats by James Earl Hampton, Ms. Kruzan went to a movie
with Mr. Howard. After the movie, the pair went to a hotel. As they prepared to have sexual
intercourse, she shot Mr. Howard to death. Ms. Kruzan was convicted of special circumstances
first-degree murder (while lying in wait and during a robbery) with a firearm. She was sentenced
to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus four consecutive years for the use of a
firearm. Ms. Kruzan appealed her conviction, but her sentence was upheld. Mr. Howard’s
death is tragic, and I do not discount the gravity of the offense. But given Ms. Kruzan’s age at
the time of the murder, and considering the significant abuse she suffered at his hands, I believe
Ms. Kruzan’s sentence is excessive. Accordingly, I commute Ms. Kruzan’s murder sentence to
25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.1
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, in
accordance with the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the State of
California, hereby commute Sara Kruzan’s murder sentence to 25 years to life in prison with the
possibility of parole.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my
hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of
California to be affixed this 31st Day of
December, 2010.
__________________________________
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Governor of California
ATTEST:
___________________________________
DEBRA BOWEN
Secretary of State
WHILE WE ALL HOPED AND PRAYED THAT SARA'S SENTENCE WOULD BE COMPLETELY VACATED THE COMMUTE IS A HUGE STEP. WE CAN NOW MOVE FORWARD WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SARA WILL BE FREE.
THIS COMMUTE DOES NOT MEAN THAT SARA CANNOT GO BACK TO COURT SEEKING OTHER REMEDIES TO HER SENTENCE. I WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP EVERYONE UPDATED!!
WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!
TOGETHER WE STAND TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!
KIM DEANNE
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25 Comments
Contact me at yebo3453@yahoo.com Saylove says...
I'm working on a media campaign for Sara. Is there anyone who knows her personally who might provide some information about her? THANK YOU!!
Help me help HER!
Ed
BUT....in California, the governor can veto a Parole date....and for the last 20 years, it's been almost impossible for long-timers to get out on their first Parole date....and almost impossible to get a parole date on the first hearing.
I worked with one inmate that served 30 years on a 15-to-life, and had gotten ELEVEN Parole dates, TEN of them vetoed by the governor. He finally 'failed to review' her case last year, and she is finally free. And this was on a second-degree murder case, where she wasn't even the person that committed the actual crime....her crime was failing to prevent the crime.
So California is draconian in their parole practices. Sara will need EXTENSIVE support in order to get paroled in a decent amount of time. I trust she's got lawyers working on other avenues of release, as well as the standard Parole Board path.
I'm not sure what they'll do in Sara's case. Will she receive credit for good behavior prior to Arnold changing her sentence? Or only after? Hopefully it's the former but who knows if they have the necessary documentation (since she wasn't originally eligible for parole, they may not have bothered to keep it). Anyway, it does seem likely that she'll receive a parole hearing prior to serving 25 years but when that will happen is anyone's guess. Her lawyers may not even know at this point.
Also, California has a two step process for parole for people convicted of murder. The governor of California has to approve the parole board's decision. And California governor's have been notoriously aggressive about overturning parole board decisions.
"And while this is a positive step, 25 years to life means that Sara is still 8-9 years away from a parole hearing."
Actually this is not true. Sara has served over 1/2 her sentence. Therefore she is eligible for parole now. But still we should keep fighting for her.
My Mom was sentenced to 12 years in prison ?for every year that she war married? 27 years ago after she killed my Dad in self-defense. My Aunt fought & she was released 8 years early. That sentence is nothing compared to Sara?s, but it is proof that we should NOT give up & I won?t.
This means "you will NOT die in there." Everyone time I watch that YouTube video, it saddens me. Glad that Schwarzenegger took it a step in the right direction, although I must say I believe the sentence could have been vacated or pardoned considering how much time you have already served and the circumstances within your life. However, You WILL finally have a second chance at a real life. I will be writing you soon! God Bless!
I have left my contact if needed
Stay strong and have fait. Think it is time that the folks that put you in jail need to be removed from their post. They law in California is out of control. Happy Birthday.
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