Before I share the story of Sara Kruzan,
I’d like to share with readers about JLWOP (Juvenile Life Without Parole)
within the United States.
In the United States, a child can receive
a sentence of life without parole for committing, or being present during the
commission of, Class 1 or Class 2 felonies. Statistics compiled by Human Rights
Watch in 2009 show that there are 2,547 children serving JLWOP in the United
States. Although in May 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juveniles could
not be sentenced to life without parole for any crime other then homicide and
acknowledged that juveniles must be treated differently from adults, even for
heinous crimes, a “loop-hole” in the ruling allows for each state to decide for
themselves. According to figures reported to the United Nations’ Convention on
the Rights of the Child, there are only 12 juveniles serving the same sentence
in the rest of the world. Somalia and the United States are the only two
countries, belonging to the United Nations, that refuse to sign on to the
United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Sara Jessimy Kruzan was born on January 8,
1978 in California. Kruzan grew up in Riverside, California with her
drug-addicted mother, who often abused Sara. She had only met her father on a
few occasions as he himself was serving a prison sentence. In spite of an
abusive and unhappy home life, Sara excelled at school and was an honor
student.
At the age of 11, she met 31-year-old
G.G., AKA George Gilbert Howard. From the moment that Sara met G.G., he began
to groom her to become a prostitute. G.G. showered Sara with gifts and the
attention that she desperately needed. He told her that she was special, so
very special that she should never give sex away for free. Howard groomed Sara
like this for two years before he raped her. At age 13, G.G. turned her out and
she began working as a child prostitute.
Sara Kruzan was 16 when she lured G.G.,
her former pimp into a motel room, shot and killed him and took his money. A
week before the killing she had moved into a house belonging to convicted felon
and suspected drug dealer, James Earl Hamilton. It was alleged that Hamilton
had ordered Sara to murder Howard but a lack of evidence left Hamilton off the
hook.
An evaluation conducted by California
Youth Authority concluded that Sara was amenable to treatment in the juvenile
justice system. The District Attorney of Riverside County opted to ignore the
pleas for extenuating circumstances surrounding Kruzan's actions, and sought to
have her tried in an adult court for first-degree murder.
On May 11, 1995, Sara was found guilty of
first-degree murder. Judge J. Thompson Hanks described her crime as “well
thought out,” stating that, “what is striking about this is the lack of moral
scruple,” before sentencing her to life without parole. Sara remembers not
understanding the Judge’s words of “lack of moral scruple.” But remembers
understanding that her sentence meant she wasn’t ever leaving prison alive.
Kruzan, now 32 years old, understands
wholly the meaning of moral scruple as evidenced by her actions in prison.
Kruzan is a model prisoner in the honor dorm at Valley State Prison for Women
in Chowchilla. She will soon receive her associate's degree from the nearby
community college. Sara has volunteered for dozens of rehabilitation programs
and won awards for her participation and attitude.
In December 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger
commuted Sara’s sentence to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of
parole. As her sentence currently stands, Sara could possibly be released by
the time she’s 41.
Sara murdered her former pimp in 1994.
Since that time, we have learned quite a bit about the physiological aspects of
a younger person’s brain, as well as, the effects of long-term physical,
sexual, and psychological abuse. Sara Kruzan was not a cold-blooded killer and
had the district attorney sincerely considered the evaluation by the California
Youth Authority, she would have been prosecuted as a juvenile rather than as an
adult, which would have put her into a rehabilitation program from which she
could have been freed by age 25.
Elizabeth Calvin, a children’s rights
advocate with Human Rights Watch stated, “As a society we’ve learned a lot
since the time we started using life without parole for children. We now know
that this sentence provides no deterrent effect. While children who commit
serious crimes should be held accountable, public safety can be protected
without subjecting youth to the harshest prison sentence possible.”
“Life without parole means absolutely no
opportunity for release. 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.”
Said Senator Leland Y. Yee, Ph.D. (D-CA).
Sara Kruzan has spent all of her adult
life in prison. As evidenced by California’s own Youth Authority, she should
never have been sentenced as an adult. We as a society need to force those in
positions of power to review each and every aspect of a juvenile case. There
simply is no “one size fits all” where our children are concerned. Sara was
raped by her pedophile pimp and raped again by the California Justice System.
