Newsom pardons woman who killed man who trafficked her as a teen

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom pardoned a woman who killed a man who sexually abused and trafficked her when she was a teen.
• Sara Kruzan was tried as an adult at age 16.
• She was convicted of murder in 1995 at the age of 17 and was sentenced to life.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pardoned Sara Kruzan, who was convicted as a teen of murder for killing a man who sexually abused and trafficked her. Kruzan spent almost two decades in prison after she killed her abuser, George Gilbert Howard.

Kruzan has since become an advocate for prison reform in the U.S.

In September 1995, Kruzan was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for Howard’s murder. She said during her trial that Howard had sexually abused her and trafficked her for sex for years, starting when she was just 13 years old

Kruzan was 16 when she killed Howard and was tried as an adult.

In December 2010, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted Kruzan’s sentence to 25 years to life, according to Friday’s pardon. By 2013, she was again resentenced to a total term of 19 years to life. After serving 18 years in prison, then-Gov. Jerry Brown ordered her release.

Newsom’s pardon says Kruzan has “transformed her life and dedicated herself to community service. She has provided evidence that she is living an upright life and has demonstrated her fitness for restoration of civic rights and responsibilities.”

Although she has been released for nearly ten years, Kruzan told the Los Angeles Times the conviction has continued to impact her life. It has also created difficulties in applying for jobs or getting apartments. Although pardons don’t erase criminal convictions from people’s records, Newsom’s office said in a release that they can remove “counterproductive barriers to employment and public service.”

Kruzan’s pardon was one of 17 Newsom granted on Friday, The Democrat governor also granted 15 commutations and a medical reprieve. Newsom has granted around 130 pardons as California governor.

Source: AOL