Sara Kruzan was initially sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, but was later both paroled and pardoned.
12 Facts About Sara Kruzan
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Sara Kruzan was raised by her mother in Riverside, California, where she was an honor roll student at school.
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Sara Kruzan was placed in foster care for a time after bruises were discovered.
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Sara Kruzan was molested for the first time at age 5 by her mom's boyfriend.
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When Sara Kruzan was 16 years old, her mother lived in Rubidoux and Sara Kruzan went to live with her grandmother in San Diego.
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On March 9,1994, Sara Kruzan agreed to meet Howard for a date and to spend the night with him at the Dynasty Suites Motel.
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Sara Kruzan then went to meet her boyfriend and Hampton in a local supermarket.
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Some campaigning groups have suggested that Sara Kruzan was suffering from battered person syndrome, a physical and psychological condition that often results in victims of abuse murdering their abusers.
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The National Center for Youth Law has spoken out against the US, for the frequency with which it sentences juveniles to life without parole, with Sara Kruzan often mentioned as an example of the need for greater compassion.
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Senator Leland Yee had been fighting for her release for eleven years when on January 2,2011, as a result of this and media attention, Sara Kruzan was granted clemency by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who commuted her sentence to 25 years with the possibility of parole; she remained incarcerated at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla.
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Sara Kruzan was found suitable for parole on June 12,2013, and the decision was forwarded to Governor Jerry Brown.
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Sara Kruzan was pardoned by Governor Gavin Newsom in July 2022.