The Deliverance of Sara Kruzan: Trafficked as a Child, Sentenced to Die in Prison

*WARNING. THIS EPISODE CONTAINS INFORMATION ON THE SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN. LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Sara Kruzan was only a child when an older man entered her life, groomed her, abused her, and eventually trafficked her for sex. That man was George Gilbert Howard, known as “G.G.” Kruzan has said Howard began grooming her when she was 11 and trafficking her by the time she was 13. For years, she endured sexual violence, exploitation, and control while still a child. Then, in March 1994, everything changed. At 16, Sara shot and killed Howard in a Riverside, California, motel room. She was prosecuted as an adult and convicted the following year of first-degree murder with special circumstances. At just 17 years old, Sara Kruzan was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. But as the years passed, the circumstances surrounding Sara’s life and the crime began receiving national attention. Advocates argued that her original trial and sentence had failed to fully account for the severe abuse and trafficking she had endured as a child. In 2011, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted her life-without-parole sentence. Further legal proceedings eventually made her eligible for parole, and in 2013, after nearly two decades behind bars, Sara Kruzan walked out of prison. Her story did not end with freedom. Sara became an advocate for survivors of human trafficking and for changes in the criminal justice system that recognize how abuse, coercion, and exploitation can shape the actions of victims. In 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom granted her a full pardon, completing an extraordinary legal journey from condemned teenager to nationally recognized survivor and reform advocate. This is the true crime story of Sara Kruzan—a child exploited by an adult, a teenager condemned to die in prison, and a survivor whose case forced difficult questions about trauma, justice, punishment, and what happens when the legal system treats an abused child only as a criminal. Information on Writers on the River and Healing with Words Thistle Farms Love Heals Website JOIN THE IN-LAWS AND OUTLAWS PRIVATE FB GROUP Sources used for this Podcast Send Kris and Rob a Message Support the show JOIN THE  HITCHED 2 HOMICIDE IN-LAWS AND OUTLAWS START KRIS CALVERT'S BOOKS TODAY FOR FREE H2H WEBSITE H2H on TWITTER H2H on INSTA Sara Kruzan, Sara Kruzan case, Sara Kruzan survivor, Sara Kruzan domestic violence, Sara Kruzan trafficking survivor, George Gilbert Howard, GG Howard, Sara Kruzan murder case, child sex trafficking survivor, human trafficking true crime, survivor sentenced to life, juvenile life without parole, Sara Kruzan pardon, Sara Kruzan released, Sara’s Law, I Cried to Dream Again, California true crime, criminalized survivors, domestic violence survivor, trafficking survivor, true crime podcast #SaraKruzan, #Survivor, #TraffickingSurvivor, #HumanTrafficking, #DomesticViolenceSurvivor, #ChildTrafficking, #JusticeReform, #JuvenileJustice, #SarasLaw, #ICriedToDreamAgain, #CaliforniaTrueCrime, #TrueCrime, #TrueCrimePodcast, #TrueCrimeCommunity, #SurvivorStories, #Hitched2Homicide   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.