CALIFORNIA, USA — A woman who received a life sentence for killing her pimp when she was a teenager was pardoned on Friday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, CBS News and the Associated Press reported.
Sara Kruzan was 16 years old when she shot and killed George Gilbert Howard in 1994 at a motel, saying he sexually abused and trafficked her when she was 13.
The AP reports she then served 18 years in prison before being released in 2013 by Jerry Brown, the state's governor at the time.
According to CBS, after going through three Californian governors and waiting for about a decade, Kruzan – now 44 – is in the last step in her official redemption.
In his pardon, Newsom said Kruzan has shown her desire to live a righteous life and to earn back her rights and responsibilities as a citizen.
"She has provided evidence that she is living an upright life and has demonstrated her fitness for restoration of civic rights and responsibilities," he stated. "Kruzan has transformed her life and dedicated herself to community service."
Although a pardon does not get rid of a conviction completely, it does help lessen the abiding impact on the person's life for the crime they committed, CBS News explains.
Before he left office in 2011, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reduced Kruzan's sentence to life with the possibility of parole, the AP and CBS said. Former Democratic state senator Leland Yee reportedly described her case as a "perfect example of adults who failed her, of society failing her. You had a predator who stalked her, raped her, forced her into prostitution, and there was no one around."
Newsom announced a total of 17 pardons on Friday.
The Associated Press and CBS News both contributed to this report.
