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Sara Kruzan was groomed, and sex trafficked from the age of 11. And she killed her abuser in 1995 at the age of 16. 

As a juvenile, she was sentenced to life in prison for her crime. The California woman served 18 years before she was released in 2013. 

She killed her abuser

On Friday she received a full pardon. According to a press release from Governor Newsom’s office, he granted 17 pardons, 15 commutations and one medical reprieve on July 1.

Since 2019, the California Governor has granted a total of 129 pardons, 123 commutations, and 35 reprieves.

“Ms. Kruzan committed a crime that took the life of the victim. Since then, Ms. Kruzan has transformed her life and dedicated herself to community service,” the pardon stated. “This act of clemency for Ms. Kruzan does not minimize or· forgive her conduct or the harm it caused. It does recognize the work she has done since to transform herself.”

Sara Kruzan was 16 when she killed her abuser. And in 1995, she was tried as an adult and sentenced to first-degree murder. A four-year consecutive firearm enhancement was added to the life sentence, according to the pardon.

In 2010 then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted her sentence to 25 years to life. And in 2013, Kruzan was resentenced to 15 years to life for second-degree murder plus a four-year firearm enhancement, a total term of 19 years to life, the pardon recounted.

I Cried to Dream Again

Today Kruzan lives in California with her daughter Summer. She works as an advocate for the rights of incarcerated women and children. And her experience also makes her uniquely qualified to work with victims of sex trafficking.  

Her memoir published last month "I Cried to Dream Again '' is becoming a bestseller. She describes the injustice of being sentenced as a juvenile to life without parole. 

Her co-author Cori Thomas is an award-winning playwright. And she lives in New York City.

 The book captures the power of redemption. As a child she was failed by almost all the adults in her life. Yet she survives through the trauma of being trafficked and gives her real-life account. It is a story about hope. And today she is working to protect others in the sex-trafficking trade.