When Sarah Cruzan was 17, she was convicted of murdering a man she said abused her when she was 11 and sold her for sex when she was 13. She has served nearly two decades in prison.
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California pardoned her for the fatal shooting of the man, George Howard, in 1994, saying Ms. Cruzan had “provided evidence that she led an honest life and demonstrated her fitness for civil rights restoration and responsibilities.”
The case has sparked renewed criticism of the way courts treat abuse survivors, especially those who are teenagers. Criminal justice reform advocates said the judge in her case did not treat her with enough compassion; Ms Cruzan, although 16 at the time of the crime, was tried as an adult and the judge did not allow evidence of the abuse to be introduced at her trial, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Amid growing public outrage over the treatment of abuse survivors, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, commuted her sentence in 2011. Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, then granted her release from prison in 2013 after she served 18 years.
In the pardon, Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, said that after the murder, Ms. Cruzan “turned her life around and devoted herself to community service.”
Sarah Cruzan’s case has sparked renewed criticism of the way the courts treat abuse survivors, especially those who are teenagers.
“This act of clemency for Ms. Cruzan does not minimize or condone her behavior or the harm it caused,” Mr. Newsom wrote. “It really recognizes the work she’s done since then to transform herself.”
Ms. Cruzan described feelings of surprise and relief in a statement shared with The New York Times on Tuesday by her literary agent. “I will never forget what happened that night and I fully acknowledge what happened, but I am extremely grateful to feel some relief from the burden of shame and social stigma,” she said. Ms Cruzan added that she “felt an overwhelming rush of emotions: primarily awe and elation, but also shock and sadness as I thought about everything that led up to this moment.”
Since her release, Ms. Cruzan said, she has worked to raise awareness and correct misinformation about sex trafficking.
In May, Ms Cruzan, 44, published her memoir, I Cried to Dream Again: Trafficking, Murder, and Deliverance, in which she described how she was “abused, groomed and trafficked for sex from the ages of 11 to 16. ” She also writes about her suicide attempts, her criminal case and her fight for freedom.
She noted that she is the recipient of a Stoneleigh Fellowship, which funds systems change efforts affecting youth at the nonprofit Human Rights for Kids.
Mr. Newsom said the pardon did not erase or erase her conviction, but that it would “remove counterproductive barriers to employment and public service.”
Ms. Cruzan’s pardon was one of 17 that Mr. Newsom announced Friday, along with 15 layoffs and one medical layoff, according to his office.
Since taking office in January 2019, Mr. Newsom has granted a total of 129 pardons, 123 commutations and 35 reprieves.
Susan S. Beachy contributed research.
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