NCYL Requests Clemency for Sara Kruzan, Sentenced to Life Without Parole at age 16
Sacramento, CA - Sara Kruzan, who was just two months past her 16th birthday when she shot her 36-year-old pimp in 1994, has filed a clemency petition asking California Gov. Schwarzenegger to commute her life without parole sentence to time served. Now 32, Sara has spent half her life in prison, where she is a model prisoner and working toward a college degree.The petition, filed yesterday by attorneys from the law firm of Perkins Coie and the National Center for Youth Law, seeks Sara's release. Sara, the petition says, had no criminal record at the time of her crime and, in fact, had been an honor student who once served as student body president.The man Sara shot, a pimp named "G.G.", sexually assaulted her when she was just 11 years old. He then turned her onto the street as a prostitute at age 13. In addition to the abuse suffered at the hands of her eventual victim, Sara's life was plagued with abuse from others: she was molested as a young child by other men, gang raped by men from her neighborhood at age 13, and endured physical and emotional abuse by her own mother.In her clemency petition, Sara acknowledges that her past does not excuse what she did, and expresses deep remorse for her crime. "I feel a deep sorrow for taking [his] life. It is daily I experience a level of grief and sadness in my heart and in my thoughts," Sara writes.At the time of her sentencing, the California Youth Authority evaluated Sara and determined that she could be rehabilitated in the juvenile system, which would have resulted in her release at age 25. Instead, Sara was sentenced to serve the rest of her life in adult prison.Two nationally-known experts who have recently evaluated Sara have concluded that she was suffering from the effects of what is known as intimate partner battering and the trauma of significant childhood abuse when she committed the crime.Sara has become a model prisoner at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, CA. She expects to receive her college degree this Fall, and was named by correctional officers as the Honor Dorm "Woman of the Year" in 2009.Sara's story has won the support of individuals and organizations across California and the nation. Advocates seeking to eliminate juvenile life without parole sentences in the state and across the country have shared Sara's story as a compelling example of how such an extreme sentence is unjust and cruel for children.Sara's clemency petition is based on the absence of expert testimony at trial explaining how Sara's actions were affected by the years of abuse she endured, as well as on her youth at the time of the crime and her subsequent rehabilitation in prison. The decision of whether to grant Sara clemency rests solely with the Governor.
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sixteen-year-old human trafficking victim Sara Kruzan was sentenced to life in prison without parole when, in a desperate act to escape captivity, she shot her trafficker. When Sara met G.G., the 31-year-old man who would become her pimp, she was only 11. G.G. groomed Sara two years before he raped her. By then, his control was complete and he forced her into prostitution. Sara and the other girls who G.G. exploited were out on the streets from 6pm to 6am, every night. Twelve hours a night, seven days a week, for three years, Sara was raped by strangers so G.G. could profit. After three years, she snapped, and she killed him.
Now 32, Sara has spent half her life in prison as a model prisoner, and has asked Gov. Schwarzenegger for clemency. Sara was arrested and tried in 1994, before anyone was using the term "human trafficking" and when the country was still struggling to understand issues like domestic violence and pimp control that give one person coercive control over another. So there was no expert witness at Sara's trial to explain how her years of repeated rape, trauma, and abuse had affected her actions. There was no expert to tell the jury that with counseling, support, and care, Sara could heal from her traumatic past and grow to be a strong and moral woman.
Sara's clemency plea has been submitted to Gov. Schwarzenegger, and the decision of whether or not to release her with time served rests solely with him. Sara Kruzan deserves hope. She deserves hope that she didn't survive being raped and sold for three years for nothing. She deserves hope that the darkest chapter of her life has passed, and a horizon lies ahead. She deserves hope that she can change, grow, and flourish as a woman. But in life without parole, there is no hope.
Tell Gov. Schwarzenegger that human trafficking victims deserve support and care, not prison. Ask him to release Sara with time served.
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/ask_gov_schwarzenegger_to_release_human_trafficking_victim_sara_kruzan_with_time_served
- Please sign the petition for Sara Kruzan - thank you.
- http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-sara-kruzan/
- Target: GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER re: Injustice - Free Sara Kruzan - Juvenile Sentenced to Life Withou Parole
- Sponsored by: KIM DEANNE
visit: WWW.FREESARAKRUZAN.ORG for More Info. and Sara's address.
If you would like to volunteer, please email: kimdeanne@freesarakruzan.org
Sara Kruzan, now 31. She was raised in Riverside by her abusive, drug-addicted mother. Sara met her father only three times in her life because he was in prison.
Since the age of 9, Sara suffered from severe depression for which she was hospitalized several times. At the age of 11, she met a 31-year-old man named G.G. who molested her and began grooming her to become a prostitute. At age 13, she began working as a child prostitute for G.G. and was repeatedly molested by him. At age 16, Sara was convicted of killing him. She was sentenced to prison for the rest of her life despite her background and a finding by the California Youth Authority that she was amendable to treatment offered in the juvenile system. Life without parole means absolutely no opportunity for release, said Senator Yee (of California). It also means minors are often left without access to programs and rehabilitative services while in prison. This sentence was created for the worst of criminals that have no possibility of reform and it is not a humane way to handle children. While the crimes they committed caused undeniable suffering, these youth offenders are not the worst of the worst.
THROUGHOUT THE 16 YEARS OF HER INCARCERATION SARA HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO THINK ABOUT HER LIFE AND WHAT SHE COULD DO TO CHANGE IT. SHE HAS GROWN INTO A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMEN WHO HAS GOALS, DREAMS AND AMBITIONS. RIGHT NOW THE BIGGEST THING FOR SARA IS WISHING, PRAYING & HOPING THAT SOMEONE WOULD TAKE A PROFOUND INTEREST INTO HER CASE SO THAT SHE CAN EVENTUALLY STEP BACK INTO SOCIETY TO BE THE PRODUCTIVE WOMEN THAT SHE IS VERY MUCH CAPABLE OF BEING. ONLY GOD HAS BROUGHT SARA TO THIS POINT IN HER LIFE AND NO MATTER WHAT THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL FOR HER.
I'M DEDICATED TO ADVOCATING FOR THE FREEDOM OF MY DEAREST FRIEND SARA KRUZAN, SOMEONE WHO IS VERY MUCH LIKE A SISTER TO ME. PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION AS WE FIGHT THIS INJUSTICE TO BRING SARA HOME.
See video of Sara Kruzan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Aa4uMIm8c&feature=player_embedded
Please also sign this petition
http://criminaljustice.change.org/actions/view/support_freedom_of_trafficking_victim_sara_kruzan_2
NCYL Requests Clemency for Sara Kruzan, Sentenced to Life Without Parole at age 16
Sacramento, CA - Sara Kruzan, who was just two months past her 16th birthday when she shot her 36-year-old pimp in 1994, has filed a clemency petition asking California Gov. Schwarzenegger to commute her life without parole sentence to time served. Now 32, Sara has spent half her life in prison, where she is a model prisoner and working toward a college degree.
The petition, filed yesterday by attorneys from the law firm of Perkins Coie and the National Center for Youth Law, seeks Sara's release. Sara, the petition says, had no criminal record at the time of her crime and, in fact, had been an honor student who once served as student body president.
The man Sara shot, a pimp named "G.G.", sexually assaulted her when she was just 11 years old. He then turned her onto the street as a prostitute at age 13. In addition to the abuse suffered at the hands of her eventual victim, Sara's life was plagued with abuse from others: she was molested as a young child by other men, gang raped by men from her neighborhood at age 13, and endured physical and emotional abuse by her own mother.
In her clemency petition, Sara acknowledges that her past does not excuse what she did, and expresses deep remorse for her crime. "I feel a deep sorrow for taking [his] life. It is daily I experience a level of grief and sadness in my heart and in my thoughts," Sara writes.
At the time of her sentencing, the California Youth Authority evaluated Sara and determined that she could be rehabilitated in the juvenile system, which would have resulted in her release at age 25. Instead, Sara was sentenced to serve the rest of her life in adult prison.
Two nationally-known experts who have recently evaluated Sara have concluded that she was suffering from the effects of what is known as intimate partner battering and the trauma of significant childhood abuse when she committed the crime.
Sara has become a model prisoner at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, CA. She expects to receive her college degree this Fall, and was named by correctional officers as the Honor Dorm "Woman of the Year" in 2009.
Sara's story has won the support of individuals and organizations across California and the nation. Advocates seeking to eliminate juvenile life without parole sentences in the state and across the country have shared Sara's story as a compelling example of how such an extreme sentence is unjust and cruel for children.
Sara's clemency petition is based on the absence of expert testimony at trial explaining how Sara's actions were affected by the years of abuse she endured, as well as on her youth at the time of the crime and her subsequent rehabilitation in prison. The decision of whether to grant Sara clemency rests solely with the Governor.
Now 32, Sara has spent half her life in prison as a model prisoner, and has asked Gov. Schwarzenegger for clemency. Sara was arrested and tried in 1994, before anyone was using the term "human trafficking" and when the country was still struggling to understand issues like domestic violence and pimp control that give one person coercive control over another. So there was no expert witness at Sara's trial to explain how her years of repeated rape, trauma, and abuse had affected her actions. There was no expert to tell the jury that with counseling, support, and care, Sara could heal from her traumatic past and grow to be a strong and moral woman.
Sara's clemency plea has been submitted to Gov. Schwarzenegger, and the decision of whether or not to release her with time served rests solely with him. Sara Kruzan deserves hope. She deserves hope that she didn't survive being raped and sold for three years for nothing. She deserves hope that the darkest chapter of her life has passed, and a horizon lies ahead. She deserves hope that she can change, grow, and flourish as a woman. But in life without parole, there is no hope.
Tell Gov. Schwarzenegger that human trafficking victims deserve support and care, not prison. Ask him to release Sara with time served.
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/ask_gov_schwarzenegger_to_release_human_trafficking_victim_sara_kruzan_with_time_served
Statement on Sara Kruzan’s Clemency Petition
Statement by Jody Kent, Director and National Coordinator
Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
On Sara Kruzan’s Petition for Clemency
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2010
Contact: Allison Conyers
‘Today, a clemency petition will be filed on behalf of Sara Kruzan, who is serving a life without parole sentence for a crime she committed just two months after her sixteenth birthday. The National Center for Youth Law and Perkins Coie will be filing a clemency petition in California on her behalf asking Governor Schwarzenegger to commute her sentence to time served.
Sara’s case is extraordinary. She received life without parole for killing a well known pimp who began sexually abusing her when she was 11 and prostituted her from the age of 13. Sara’s story has been shared in California and nationally because it shows in such a compelling way the unjustness of imposing extreme sentences on youth.
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth unequivocally supports Sara’s petition for clemency and the commutation of her sentence, just as we support the abolition of the practice of sentencing any young person to life without parole. We should not be in the practice of giving up on teenagers who commit serious crimes. A review of sentences later in life will give young people an opportunity to prove whether or not they continue to pose a risk to society.
We need age-appropriate, science-based policies in place that focus on rehabilitating young people who have made terrible mistakes. Sara is one of more than 2500 people in the United States sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for crimes committed when they were a teenager. No other country imprisons children or teenagers for the rest of their lives without hope for release.
Science tells us that the same immaturity and flexibility that makes teenagers susceptible to outside influences also makes them strong candidates for rehabilitation. Therefore, it is irresponsible and immoral to sentence youth to die in prison. For this reason we urge Governor Schwarzenegger to immediately grant clemency to Sara Kruzan, and commute her life without the possibility of parole sentence to time served.’
See Sara’s Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGL_p7BcJqk&feature=player_embedded
For research and to learn more about youth sentenced to die in prison in the United States, visit our site www.fairsentencingofyouth.org.
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