Teen Trafficking Survivor Gets Life Without Parole
Published August 25, 2009 @ 05:00PM PT
These days, the Rhodes scholars of the criminal justice system seem to like locking people up for life the way Mark Sanford likes frequent filer miles on Aerolineas. Well, they've managed another winner: sentencing 16-year-old trafficking victim Sara Kruzan to die in prison for killing her pimp. My partner-in-crime-blogging Matt has the criminal justice perspective on what happened, but here's how things look from Sara's perspective.
When Sara met G.G., the 31-year-old man who would become her pimp, she was 11. Sara's mom struggled with drug addiction, so when G.G. would drive Sara and her friends to the roller skating rink or the mall, it felt like having a real parent around. He gave Sara presents and told her she was special- so special, that she should never give sex away for free. He convinced her she was a product.
G.G. groomed Sara like this for two years before he raped her. By then, his control was complete and he forced her into prostitution. Sara and the other girls who G.G. exploited were out on the streets from 6pm to 6am, every night. Twelve hours a night, seven days a week, for three years, Sara was raped by strangers so G.G. could profit. After three years, she snapped, and she killed him.
Surviving sexual violence is one of the most difficult things in the world. Surviving repeated sexual violence as a child doubtlessly takes its mental and physical toll. G.G. stole Sara's 8th, 9th, and 10th grade years- money and rape taking the place of dances and dates. How can a person ever recover from something like that? But Sara survived.
What Sara did was terrible, and she knows it. But if ever there are mitigating circumstances for a crime, these are them. To tell someone like Sara who has overcome such abuse that her destiny is to die in prison, no matter how much she changes, is cruel.
The vast majority of women in prison have histories of abuse from families and/or intimate partners. Does this mean they are not accountable for their actions? Of course not. Murder should always be punished. But Sara Kruzan's case is one of ludicrous over-sentencing of a young girl who escaped from hell in a heinous way.
Sara Kruzan deserves to be punished. But she also deserves hope. She deserves hope that she didn't survive being raped and sold for three years for nothing. She deserves hope that the darkest chapter of her life has passed, and a horizon lies ahead. She deserves hope that she can change.
But in Sara Kruzan's life without parole, there is no hope.
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Comments (85)
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Author
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Amanda has been a full-time abolitionist for six years. During that time, she has created reports, documentaries and training materials on human trafficking in the United States and around the world.
It looks to me like she is being punished for being weak. Or perhaps for not staying a victim? Horrible story.
I'd say she's due for a pardon (or whatever you call it) any time now. This story reminded me of Aileen Wuornos, who pleaded guilty so she could get the death penalty rather than life without parole (for what she claimed was self-defence).
Posted by Anemone Cerridwen on 08/25/2009 @ 06:13PM PT
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Was this a trial by jury of peers, or one person's verdict? If not the former, where's democracy in this picture, or even moral scruples of the judge?
Posted by Oceania OZ on 08/25/2009 @ 08:39PM PT
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Clearly a gross, gross miscarriage of justice. If she had been white, and especially white and pretty, I doubt she would have received a sentence that harsh.
Posted by Slim Chance on 08/26/2009 @ 04:26AM PT
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If she was white and pretty the outcome would have been different? Maybe. Had she been wealthy? Definitely. It also would have helped if her mother wasn't a drug addict. The whole terrible situation could have been avoided if she was better taken care of by her parents.
The conviction and sentence were completely out of line. This young lady should have been sent to a rehab facility for trafficking victims and then given the opportunity to live her life.
Posted by Dennis G. on 08/26/2009 @ 09:47AM PT
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Sad to say that you are SO RIGHT. Double Standards in the System.
Posted by Colette Johnson on 10/29/2009 @ 07:09AM PT
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What a disappointment in the Criminal Justice system. You have a minor child being sexually victimized by an adult and when her fragile psyche finally snaps and she reacts in such a primitive "child-like" way and the courts want to treat her as an adult (which she isn't) and act as though this was not a case of self-defense. What poor judgement and lack of concern for the victim in this case. The victim was not the pimp... he simply faced injuries resulting in death in order for this child to escape his torture. She should be placed into a psychiatric facility in order to learn to live life again without being exploited, not being forced to continue to live as a prisoner as she has since age 11.
Posted by Michelle Quann on 08/26/2009 @ 08:17AM PT
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OH HELL NO!!! I did not just read what I read. Just one more argument for legalizing prostitution and Protecting the women. Does anyone honestly think for one minute that if Sarah were a battered housewife she would have received the same sentence? Come on now; Be Honest!
Posted by Mike Nichols on 08/26/2009 @ 10:20PM PT
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Mr. nichols...I agree that prostitution should be legalised AND regulated but whether it is or isnt doesnt change the fact that illegal prostitution will still exist...And many more victims will continue to be punished simply for defending themselves UNLESS we change both how we see prostitutes and how we see women...
Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/05/2009 @ 10:46PM PT
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Oh hell no I didn't just read what I just read! Legalize prostitution?! Y don't you legalize drug abuse, murder, child abuse and every other evil thing you as well you sicko! You think that will protect women?! Are you sick in the head?!!! Dispicable.
Posted by Gabriella Noneya on 10/28/2009 @ 08:21PM PT
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Ms. Noneya, if anyone here is "sick in the head" and "Dispicable" [sic!] it is you. You lump together so-called "drug abuse", i.e., voluntary use of drugs banned, rather than pushed, by the gangster capitalist state, and prostitution, which is either coerced or victimless, with murder and "child abuse". You are an abuser in this forum.
By the way, murder is not only legal, but paid for by your tax dollars if you live in the United Snakes. Such legal murder is performed either by mercenaries (uniformed or contracted) in places like Iraq and Afghanistan or, less frequently, by executioners at various prisons.
And child abuse is legal almost everywhere, as long as it's not sexual. It's usually called by such euphemisms as "discipline" or "spanking".
Posted by Aaron Aarons on 10/29/2009 @ 04:12PM PT
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What??? Can you repeat that and actually make sense please. Okay, let's break this down so maybe this time you can respond coherently. I first want to know how I am sick and despicable and an abuser in this forum? That just cracked me up!That is an utterly ridiculous claim! I am sorry, but you really have to be out of your mind to say such a thing. Please, for the sake of the entire world including yourself, get psychological help. And with the rest of that crazy and uncessary babbling, I really don't understand what relevant point or defense you are trying to express??? Like, what on earth are you trying to say by all that? Really, what sustenance does that hold? How is it at all relevant to what I said? What I was saying Aaron, is that making prostitution legal is indeed despicable and you're despicable for actual coming into agreement with such evil. I compared prostitution to those other things because they're all EVIL!!! Get it???? And on top of it they ruin people's lives and society. As if the world isn't evil and totally messed up enough right now. Oh, but you say, hey, it happens... let's just make it legal and easier now!!! Let's make it spread like a freaking disease!!! (that makes you the sicko, sorry) Do you have any concept of morality??? ethics??? Love and goodness??? Of right and wrong??? Or maybe your a satanist or something and love evil? And when you speak of these thing you're talking as if they're okay. Oh, they beat kids everywhere!!! Lalalalala! Like you like the idea or something. I do believe in disciplining children; however, in love, not out of anger. For their own benefit, not to harm them or release your own frustration upon them which would be evil. And it is a basic psychological principle that creating an unpleasant stimuli to a certain action or thing will condition that person or animal not to do or associate with it anymore. That is why children must be disciplined for their own sake, so they learn how to act properly and function in society and be healthy and happy in the long run. So they can learn and be enabled to contribute good, productive and healthy behavior to society so that everyone can function in a healthy and good environment together. That is why there must be rules because there are ALWAYS consequences to actions and nobody wants to deal with the consequences of bad choices... especially really bad ones such as the one you previously suggested. That is why such evils such as prostitution is ILLEGAL! I want to ask you sir if you have any children by chance? Let's say you were dirt poor, would you have them do prostitution to bring home food? It would be legal, acceptable, just like you think it should. Do you have a wife? A daughter? A sister? a mother? Even a son or father that you actually love? Imagine, just imagine if they were put in a position where that was their only choice for survival. Imagine what it's like to sell yourself like that. No one likes being sexually used and abused except maybe a few psychologically unhealthy ones here and there. Such a thing would bring and increase great evils such as victimizing the oppressed, ruining families, relationships, businesses, create massive deprivation and chaos ECT. the list goes on. It's bad enough already okay! Such evil would just ruin society more than it already is to a massive degree, an unbearable one for most. I just don't understand what you were thinking???
Posted by Gabriella Noneya on 11/01/2009 @ 08:59PM PT
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Gabriel,
First off please do not get to angry with me. I can see the reasoning for making prostitution legal, we have been discussing this in my Social Issues class. Know please hear me out. If prostitution were to be made legal, and I mean strictly for adults, no one under 18. Those women who no engage in it for whatever their reasons, those not forced into it, would have a legal job. They would be protected by the system instead of punished by it. Their facilities would not be as bad, they could have it mandated that all voluntary participants be pre screened for dieseaes and cut down on STDS which is much safer for all involved. Snd this could cut down on the amount of women that are forceably pimped out. As we reasoned in class some of the participants in prostitution, the clients, feel stressed at work and do not have the time for a relationship but need to relieve the pressure. If the could do this legally. I don't know if you think about it it could be something to consider. Unfortunatly the demand for minors in the sex trade industry cannot fully be fixed. There is no way that that will ever be made legal and unfortunatly the demand for it will probably continue. I just wanted to bring that thought into light.
PS This girls story is horrible and she should not have been punished so severly. What she did could very well have saved future young girls from this treatment by that thing. It deserves no human or animal title.
Posted by Sara Tucker on 11/06/2009 @ 01:56PM PT
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Hello,
Prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands, Amsterdam (home of legalized marijuana, all of that superficially exciting stuff) in 1988.
Here's a habit everyone could benefit from, including the creator of this video itself, citing the sources and including all necessary information:
http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/585-amsterdam-prostitute-stabbed-death
This publication states the recent stabbing of a 19 year-old prostitute being the 13th death of a prostitute since 1988. 13 deaths in 21 years.
This is not to say I feel prostitution should be legalized, or cognitively focused on, unless we would truly want to exhaust all areas, all perspectives. As tempted as I am to give into your pattern, Gabriel, of creating several slippery slopes to seemingly overwhelm the reader with morally-laden, sourceless claims of how the future would pan out were we to give into this 'sin' of legalization, I would much rather prefer to cite something very f----ing important to this entire thread:
Evaluating all perspectives, starting at the source of our discussion (Sarah); we have gained the sense of credibility, intelligence, overall moral sentience she possesses. The two things that bother me the most about this are as follows, and I would prefer the first item be ignored:
1. Music is manipulative and isn't necessary if the case speaks for itself. Please understand I find Sarah's story emotionally touching, it makes me wish I were there to have helped her out. The music in this runner makes me wonder why it was added at all, it isn't necessary. It's a post-production thing.
2. ******* The actual case wasn't discussed. I have no sense of what happened in that courtroom, or what truly precipitated it. She didn't get charged with murder for being a 13 year-old prostitute who was sexually abused, she was charged with murder for murdering someone. Did I miss something? How did she kill this man?
From the information I HAVE been provided with, it is such that this judge (who may have been racist, judgmental, et. al) apparently felt that this 13 year-old's methods were emergent enough, well-thought-out enough, to be tried as an adult. Once again, I truly have no idea what this entails, and therefore the heated discussion being placed on emotional topics such as "How could this happen," "How could you feel that way about prostitution," completely misses the point.
The points presented to us are that despite her situation, despite the horrible upbringing, the trauma she endured, and its ultimate manifestation in the form of ending her tormentors umbrella of abuse... the judge still felt she deserved this.
We can delve deep into our insecurities of sexuality, about the very imbalance of masculinity vs. femininity, and how the former always tends to abuse the latter, revealing plenty about our own problems, but the PROBLEM I HAVE is that I just had an emotional trip with music that tried to tell me more about the story than the words itself.
If we can delve into the minutaie of all precipitants, and intertwine our rhetorical inconsistencies into oblivion, I think we can turn our attention to whatever moved the judge to the point of causing us to discuss this in the first place: how did this man die.
Then we should discuss the validity of sexuality converted to a monetary means, discuss the validity of moral relativism and actually pull ourselves out of Western-based thought and discover how people in other areas of the world cope with situations potentially more dire than a ghetto in America.
Legalizing prostitution very well may clean up both our legal system, the streets, the participants, but may invariably bring its new viability to the forefront and morph our views of sexuality. This might be a good thing, it may extinguish desires of jealousy, knowing that all are equal and not some particular attribute, level of intelligence, class status, breast or penis size, will determine the sexual acceptance from one person to another. Those unwilling to imagine clean individuals participating in these things, those locked into the zeitgeist that prostitution is purely dirty and that only the perverse could cope with such morally convoluted situations that mirror the entanglement of their own psyche.
When I gained access to the Internet at the age of 14, being a curious and sexually accepting person even then, I searched for archives of information on sexuality. From Tantra, to whatever tutorial I could find on sexual ability. Cunnilingus tutorials for example, or how to kiss well (www.rom-101.com is a romance website, which I also studied as a freshman in highschool). I eventually researched the book "The Hite Report" by Sherry Hite, at age 16. It is a questionairre of mannny detailed, scientific questions about the nature of relationships, sexuality, climax, frigility, lesbianism.. whatever topic so fascinating to a teenager but cannot find the right volume with it all condensed. Not only this but each question contains responses from tens to hundreds of women, all whose response varies vastly from "which direction this feels good from" to "why I haven't had an orgasm yet at age 70." Why am I citing this? Because a curious mind should find real sources, find the real information, and not just worry about the emotional content which is a manifestation of our evolved brains, trying to weave a beautiful mysticism around something inherently biological. It is from this separation of the emotional, the biological, that one can start to evaluate the separate moral climates that others approach how they deal with their sexuality in tandem with their current lifestyle.
There's way more to all of this, everything, including what Sarah really has to say.
Posted by Plausible Clause on 11/09/2009 @ 03:43PM PT
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Shoot, I thought I left that from my personal account, not my work's account...Admin (Amanda?), can you please delete my comment from FARM so that it only shows up as my personal comment
Posted by Michael A. Weber on 08/27/2009 @ 07:41AM PT
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Here it is, reposted under my personal account:
"What Sara did was terrible, and she knows it [...] Sara Kruzan deserves to be punished."
Bullshit. People playing the middle gorund on this is just as fucked up as the judicial system. This was self defense, period. She deserves to be punished no more than she would if she had killed him in the middle of him raping her. She was preventing the rape and torture of dozens more.
I'm not a violent person by any means- if there was a way for her to stop that man without harming him, I'd advocate it. But she did what she thought she had to do, and the world is better because of it. Deserves to be punished my ass. She deserves a medal and the best post-trauma care in the world.
Posted by Michael A. Weber on 08/27/2009 @ 07:42AM PT
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I agree completely. What other choices does someone of her age, education and situation truly have. She fell under the influence of a monster and finally raised the courage to slay it. No doubt she suffers from extensive post-traumatic stress disorder due to the abuse she endured.
Her sentence is a mockery of our criminal justice system and a failure on the part of those who played a role in handing it down.
Posted by Fred Frankenberg on 08/27/2009 @ 01:07PM PT
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I couldn't agree more Michael. This woman needs our utmost support and she deserves every ounce of it.
Posted by Mike Nichols on 08/28/2009 @ 05:24PM PT
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How old is she now? When did this happen exactly?
Posted by Nuran Alteir on 08/27/2009 @ 05:02PM PT
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She said she was 29 in the video, I don't know when this video was made but that's the age that I heard.
Posted by Keshia Jervis on 09/22/2009 @ 09:34PM PT
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What Sara did was terrible, and she knows it
I am sorry what Sara did was justice, justice from being rapped and treated as a sex slave.. this young girl didnt do anything wrong she did what any woemn would do its called self defence.
The justice system is corrpted by men who probably have sex with young girls too.
And those who comment that if she was white she wont get punished ? That is the most racists comment I have ever heard. There are all races of young girls who are being treated like this too, USA does it as well, where the rapsists gets a slap on wrist and the victim is looked upon as the bad girl who didnt do enough.
I think all pimps and rapists needs a bullet in the head... I appluad this young good to do what the justice system wouldnt do.
Posted by Lara Nunes on 08/27/2009 @ 08:03PM PT
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"And those who comment that if she was white she wont get punished ? That is the most racists comment I have ever heard. There are all races of young girls who are being treated like this too, USA does it as well, where the rapsists gets a slap on wrist and the victim is looked upon as the bad girl who didnt do enough."
I agree with this to a point - but you cannot tell me that if she had been white and from a rich family that she would not have been treated any differently... case in point is the Natalie Holloway case - she was very pretty, white, and from a well to do family and as a result the case was in your face on the news for months. Today was the first time I heard about Sarah Kruzan...
To sentence this poor girl to life without parole for killing the jackass who raped her and sold her to be raped?!?! What moronic judge and jury came up with that? She was repeatedly raped and if she had not done the world and herself a favor by killing the slimeball like he deserved to be then it would have ended in her death and the slimeball recruiting yet another girl, stealing yet another childhood. Her actions were completely justifiable and IMHO she has been punished enough already. What she needs now is help - help in getting adjusted to a life where some slimeball is not selling her for money, where she can become a productive citizen.
Posted by Pete Athens on 09/21/2009 @ 08:28PM PT
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Pete
The person who made the comment about if she was white it would be different is name Dennis G. on 08/26/2009 @ 09:47AM PT
Lara:
I know what is like to raped, I am a white women and nothing happened to the SOB who did it too me. That is why I think this young women shouldn't be spending time in prison she should be free and the judge should be placed in population.. i wonder if he change his tune if he was in the same shoe as this young women.
Posted by Lara Nunes on 09/21/2009 @ 09:21PM PT
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Pete:
I think all the Natalie Holloway publicity was provided by her parents' pocket book. Not just the media interest. They gave $ to keep it going as long as it did. That's why we heard so much for so long.
Posted by Danielle M on 10/20/2009 @ 02:00PM PT
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Wait, is this a trafficking case or exploitation?
Not that it makes the situation that much different from Sara's perspective, but if she was actually trafficked to the US, the necessary embassies should have dealt with this, or at least been involved. As such, the argument that she couldn't afford a good defense would be pretty bunk... governments tend to be pretty supportive of their own when their inaction has caused such serious harm.
How on earth they justified trying this child as an adult is beyond me.
Posted by sarah karp on 08/28/2009 @ 06:22AM PT
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Oops. Sorry, just read the crime blog on it. Apparently we here in the US call LWOP a valid sentence, even for children.
Posted by sarah karp on 08/28/2009 @ 06:26AM PT
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What is LWOP? Never heard that term before.
Posted by Mike Nichols on 08/30/2009 @ 09:30PM PT
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Life Without Parol
Posted by Dave Marshall on 11/08/2009 @ 02:53PM PT
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Laws in this country need to change. Murder is acceptable in this context without a doubt... Good riddance to bad rubbish, this PC, no hurt world is only for the law abiding... We let people do sick things like this and than arrest the person breaking free from the binds of sex slavery...
Stupid country.
Posted by Alex Montagna on 08/28/2009 @ 06:56AM PT
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Mr. Montagna,
It's one thing to say you disagree with a court ruling...it's another thing to say our country is stupid. To me, the stupid people are the ones who look at one instance where a judge really messed up and say that our country is stupid.
Sir, if you don't like our country, or don't take pride in being an American, then get the hell out of the United States!
Posted by Vinny Ambrosino on 11/04/2009 @ 11:51AM PT
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Like other people who have commented, I find the convictions expressed in this article to be disturbing, to say the least. Maybe as a professional "human trafficking abolitionist," Amanda has the privilege to arrive at such distorted understandings of other people's lives; as another person working toward ending sexual violence, it seems clear to me that Sarah Kruzan doesn't "deserve to be punished." In fact, what she deserves is the space and support and resources to heal, and for her family and friends and community, because this is likely about not only Sarah, but the broader conditions that allowed this to happen. And, it seems clear to be that none of us - especially the white, class-privileged, professional "abolitionist" that wrote this article - has the right to pass judgment on how someone experiencing such intense trauma decides to defend themselves in that situation.
On top of all that, I'd like to suggest that human trafficking is inseparable from the broader power dynamics that not only facilitate it, but also guide it's specificities - capitalism, racism, misogyny, the dehumanization and sexualization of children, etc. Abolishing the prison system, or the criminal-legal system, is every bit as vital as abolishing human trafficking - this situation makes that especially easy to see.
Posted by G K on 08/28/2009 @ 10:54AM PT
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AMEN TO THAT G K! Sorry people but I have to:
W T F??!!!
Posted by Mike Nichols on 08/30/2009 @ 09:35PM PT
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GK: are you a lawyer? if not, you should be...
Posted by catherine wilson on 09/05/2009 @ 03:53PM PT
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Catherine, don't insult the guy!
Posted by Thomas Porter on 09/14/2009 @ 10:33PM PT
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sex offenders and rapists gets less time in USA and it doesnt matter traffinking children in USA is still part of the sex slave catagory.. its so sad our children are looked upon as they asked to be used as sexual experiments and the laws needs to change.
The best treatment for pimps and traffickingers is a bullet in the head
Sex Offending and Sex Offenders: Theories, Factors, and Treatment
http://www.insideprison.com/Sex-Offending-and-Offenders.asp
Posted by Lara Nunes on 08/28/2009 @ 01:13PM PT
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I dont know all the details of this case. But pre meditated murder can carry quite a sentence even if the victim is a evil disgusting person and the crime might seem justified.
On the other hand, I would wonder if the judge could have been a personal friend of the pimp.
Posted by twilight zone on 08/29/2009 @ 08:22PM PT
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Most likely; Bought and paid for. What a sad world we live in.
Posted by Mike Nichols on 08/30/2009 @ 09:36PM PT
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pre meditated ? Its not when she defended herself from being raped again.. a women has the right to defend herself, but in USA they are making sure its wrong if us women do...
Posted by Lara Nunes on 08/30/2009 @ 09:45PM PT
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This is totally unfair! She should have been put in juvenile detention but not life without parole. I pray that she finds forgiveness in Jesus and through Him finds spiritual freedom and maybe even physical freedom. She has a lot of good that she could offer the world.
Posted by Casey Williams on 08/29/2009 @ 08:46PM PT
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You are entitled to your opinion on the Jesus thing but that is all.
Juvie? Are you Daft? This girl should be in rehab with the FULL support of Social Services and round the clock psychiatric care, thank you very much. How about that instead of Juvenile Hall? Where she will likely leave and become a prostitute of her own volition because it is all she knows.
Posted by Mike Nichols on 08/30/2009 @ 09:42PM PT
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Jesus couldn't save himself off a cross, let alone save anyone else... this young women needs help not be placed in juvie....
Posted by Lara Nunes on 08/30/2009 @ 09:47PM PT
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Mr. williams...
While I respect your religious beliefs...I am convinced that its largely because of conservative christian thinking that such evils as this are allowed to happen...
Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/05/2009 @ 11:02PM PT
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I hate to turn this into a religious discussion, but Lara, saying "Jesus couldn't save Himself off a cross" is a complete misinterpretation of the Bible. And Thomas, singling out Christianity is as narrow minded as the consevative thinking you are complaining about.
Posted by Dennis G. on 09/08/2009 @ 10:20PM PT
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Thank you Dennis. Lara, please keep your foolish ignorance to yourself. What you said was not only insipid, but totally inappropriate, Jesus does save. Sorry to be harsh, but you were too. I hate what you said, not you okay. Jesus saved many people and that I know for a fact. Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean it's not true. YOU DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING okay sweetheart. Casey I totally agree with you, don't feel bad about what you said. This girl most certainly deserves a second chance. She is the actual victim from the very beginning. She seems like a good soul. God bless her <3 However, if a child does something wrong they MUST be punished or else they become worse and continue to do bad things, but of course this sentence is disgracefully out of order. Thomas, if real Christian beliefs were incorporated into society as you think they are, this would never have happened. I want to know where this girl is. She needs a lot of support and healing. I totally agree with the rehab. This is a very delicate situation. They need to take that poor lady out of jail immediately and give her special care! I'm only 20 so I'm a bit clueless, but who wants to actually do something about this?!!!! Please!!! hELP!
Posted by Gabriella Noneya on 10/28/2009 @ 08:50PM PT
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This is so heartbreaking...
This child, and others like her: deserved the courts care, and love, and assistance..
Posted by catherine wilson on 08/30/2009 @ 02:05PM PT
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I SO agree with you Catherine. What kind of monstrous world do we live in. Have you heard about the girl they just found who was kidnapped at age 11 and forced into a life of sexual slavery? It has been all over the news the past couple of days. What a shame. These are the type of people who ought to be publicly castrated. Instead; we are punishing the victims. WHY??
Posted by Mike Nichols on 08/30/2009 @ 09:45PM PT
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Mike: This case, and others like it, are so wrong and so sad and so heartbreaking; so, as passionate as we are concerning this, we must keep up the conversation in the hope that something concrete will come of it...I'd like to write to her: so, if you get her address please post it...I shall be checking on her often...Thanks for your thoughtful compassionate and wise comments...
Posted by catherine wilson on 09/05/2009 @ 03:48PM PT
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Thank you so much Catherine. I am always compassionate towards the weak and helpless. I'd like to write to her too. If you find out how we can, will you please inform me? I will do the same if I find out but I haven't even had time to get on here lately and I don't know where to begin to look. What prison is she in?
Posted by Mike Nichols on 09/06/2009 @ 10:01PM PT
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Catherine, Her name is Sara Kruzan and her address is CCWF PO BOX 1508 Chowchilla, Ca 93610. You may want to call the prison and ask for her Prison ID number as I do not have it here with me. Sara ia a beautiful 31 year old woman now and I am proud to call her my friend. I have known her since she was 18 What happened to her was horrible, but what our justice system did to her was worse. Please continue to pray for her.
Posted by Marti Olson on 09/17/2009 @ 04:35PM PT
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You are entitled to your opinion on the Jesus thing, but that is all. Juvie? Are you Daft? This girl should be in rehab with the full support of Social Services and 24/7 psychiatric care. Then; adoption into a loving family. How about THAT instead of Juvenile Hall? Where she will likely leave and become a prostitute because that is all she knows.
Posted by Mike Nichols on 08/30/2009 @ 09:39PM PT
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This is so sad. She was so young, full of potential and life. Again, another case where the people elected to defend our rights and uphold liberty are screwing up. Horrendous miscarriage of justice. She did a better job taking care of herself than our selfish justice system could. What a resilient young lady. I truly hope that one day she can be free.
Posted by Jessica Long on 08/31/2009 @ 03:40PM PT
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Apparently, Sara was first brainwashed and coerced by the pimp G. G. into having sex for money and giving _him_ the money. When she overcame _that_ brainwashing and coercion, she was coerced and brainwashed by the pimps of the criminal injustice system into believing she had done something wrong in killing G.G..
Sara has been in _official_ prison for 14 years now after having spent 3 years in G.G.'s _unofficial_ torture prison. She should not only be released but should be given $1,000 compensation for every day she's been in prison, plus whatever medals are available for her heroism. Moreover, the judge and prosecutor who put her in prison each deserve a private home next to, and identical to, the one that G.G. has been occupying in recent years.
Posted by Aaron Aarons on 09/04/2009 @ 08:18PM PT
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As a mom I find this outrageous. Children apparently can not make responsible choices about voting or smoking until they are 18, they cant drink until they are 21, but if they live a hellish life and make a desperate decision at 16, they can be punished as adults? A sixteen year old is a child inside a womans body...exploit the body, exploit the child, and then punish the victim? This girl is 29 now. We can help her even in her present circumstances by expressing love and compassion and helping her to believe that she is not worthless or forgotten. Does anyone know how we can write to her? Also, there is a petition on her behalf which i saw elswhere on this site, so if youve missed it please search for it and sign.
Posted by Lia Denis on 09/05/2009 @ 06:45AM PT
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Indeed.
Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/05/2009 @ 11:05PM PT
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Lisa; If you find either the petition or a way that we can write to her, will you please inform me. I want to do all I possibly can to help. I agree with you that we can still make a difference in this girl's life. Who knows what will become of her if we give up.
Posted by Mike Nichols on 09/06/2009 @ 09:55PM PT
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Not even touching on the issue of how to be certain that a killer isnt just playing the system so to speak...
I take issue with someone killing in self defence being a murderer...Yeah...Taking a life is terrible under any circumstances BUT if she really did kill him just so she could escape...Given what her state of mind would have been logicly like under those circumstances...She aint a murderess and in fact, should be given a medal...
Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/05/2009 @ 10:41PM PT
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I love every comment here. How do we help encourage a pardon? Let's write whomever can pardon her.
Meanwhile, we can encourage people to escape and use the legal route. Going to prison without parole for killing your rapist is BEYOND grossly unfair.
Money would have gotten her off... Justice is for the rich and privileged, and those with "connections."
She's so smart, beautiful, and full of potential. SO UNJUST.
But killing is not the answer... better that her PIMP was put behind bars without parole.
Perhaps she will be able to perform miracles behind bars, teaching us all about the horrors of child abuse and child pimping...
This is a VERY heartbreaking story.
We HAVE to continually revise the justice system.
Posted by Cdin Org on 09/06/2009 @ 01:34PM PT
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Well mr./miss org...
While killing may not be the "answer"...
Sometimes its the only option thats available to folks like her that all too often either dont know of any other options or are brainwashed into believing that theyre trapped with no legal way out.
How much you wanna bet that this woman's pimp told her that if she turned him in then she would also be going to jail ?
Or that she would be killed ?
Or that her family would suffer ?
Under those circumstances it would have taken a saint indeed to find "some other way".
Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/08/2009 @ 03:29PM PT
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How can we help her? What can we do to help bring publicity to her situation and get her justice? She has already served 13 years....
Anyone know?
Posted by K B on 10/24/2009 @ 05:49PM PT
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There are worse things than being killed believe it or not. Like being killed SLOWLY and PAINFULLY. When a young girl's entire life consists of daily physical and emotional anguish, I am willing to bet she did not even stop to think of anything beyond that very minute. She saw a chance and took it. If she was wrong; she was still right. If I had been there, I'd have shot the bastard myself. Too bad the judge didn't see it that way. In what state did this take place? Who is their Senator? Let's get a petition started to get this girl out of jail and into some psychiatric care. How about it people?
Posted by Mike Nichols on 09/06/2009 @ 10:13PM PT
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From the video, it doesn't appear that she needs psychiatric care. But the people who put her in prison certainly do.
Posted by Aaron Aarons on 09/07/2009 @ 02:17AM PT
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Mike: Im with you... this site has a petition; but, we need to go directly to the powers that be: flood them with appeals...letters, phone calls, etc...Flood the post office with letters every day to : judges, representatives, the white house: (remember how they proved Kris Kringle was Santa Claus) ...Lets prove this child, and others like her: are supported by "we" the people...
Posted by catherine wilson on 09/07/2009 @ 07:58AM PT
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I am with you!!! she needs to be free!!!!! my e-mail: helpingparents.marshall@googlemail.com send me a mail and let's help Sarah!
Posted by Dave Marshall on 11/08/2009 @ 03:00PM PT
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I just want to know ONE thing.....how can we ALL go about contacting whoever needs to be contacted, and bombard them with everything we have about this atrocity, and GOD willing , help this child get the help she truly deserves, and hopefully soon, the freedom to enjoy it!
Posted by David Johnson on 09/07/2009 @ 03:54PM PT
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Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for your incredible desire to help Sarah! We are currently talking to some of the organizations which are more familiar with her case to see what we can do for her, and I will let you all know as soon as we do what action is most appropriate. In order to best help Sarah and other girls in her situation, we need to be sure we have all the available information first.
Please keep checking back, and I'll post an update as soon as we hear something conclusive.
Amanda
Posted by Amanda Kloer on 09/08/2009 @ 06:15AM PT
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Thank you miss kloer.
Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/08/2009 @ 03:32PM PT
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I very much would like to do what ever I can to support Sarah. I am signing on to this thread specifically for this purpose. This is a shocking story, especially in light of the other 2,269 children under 18 in this country also convicted as adults. I would be willing to bet that many of them have stories similar to Sarah's. She mentions in the video that she has written a book. Was this done while she was in prison? Is it available? Could her writing be a means to support a legal campaign to challenge the court's sentence? She appears to be an exceptional, intelligent young women who deserves the opportunity to be all that she can be.
Posted by Jeep Dunning on 09/13/2009 @ 05:22PM PT
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Please write another post about the most effective action steps to take to help this girl. I agree with Michael Weber's comments. It is BEYOND FATHOMABLE that a child victim who murders the monster who caused rape after rape after rape - would get punished at all! I am outraged to the point I will lose sleep over this until I do my part in a campaign to undo this.
Is there a campaign for justice? Please report. Is someone spearheading the media involvement? Please report.
Posted by Dove With Wings on 09/12/2009 @ 08:31AM PT
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California Sen. Leland Yee ( D-San Francisco/San Mateo), has been working to ban Life Without Parole for juveniles in California.
WEBSITE CREATED FOR SENATOR YEE'S BILL SB399 which insures FAIR SENTENCING for juveniles
http://www.fairsentencingforyouth.org/
This bill stalled in committee the first time - Senator Yee has submitted it a SECOND time to pass through committee and on to the Assembly. He needs more than ever, public support here:
http://www.fairsentencingforyouth.org/2009/07/senate-bill-399-will-move-forward/
Link to Senator Yee
http://dist08.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={1317EB89-B124-4498-9C50-9A0EA3C89E91
At this time, Senator Yee is the driving force who can help with not only changing the laws, but using legal avenues to having Sarah Kruzan's case reconsidered.
The more people who know about this, who contact their legislators and who help Senator Yee, the more we will be able to help Sarah and other child vicitms like her.
Thank you Christine for your passion in this!
Posted by Cdin Org on 09/12/2009 @ 11:49AM PT
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The prosecutor should be chastised! The prosecutors friends should be heckled in public. Like smokey said ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT,....anything,...., and that was the prosecutors job, to prosecute INJUSTICES and NOT the rest. Let us remind the prosecutor for life of his or her actions. We will never forget!!!
Posted by natanel edelson on 09/13/2009 @ 01:42PM PT
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She killed a pimp?
They should give her a medal!
What he hell's wrong with those people!
Posted by Thomas Porter on 09/13/2009 @ 04:08PM PT
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The facts of this case are clear enough to warrant a dismissal of charges, regardless of who the victim - meaning the child - may have been. But after watching the video and learning how Sara Kruzan has been able to cope with what's happened to her in the brilliant way that she has, I can only say that the American justice system is wasting a perfect opportunity to not only right a blatant wrong on its own behalf, but also give a fair warning to those who would consider destroying a child's life by using them for personal gain: In other words, let them know, in no uncertain terms, that if an adult chooses to exploit a child through prostitution, they deserve whatever they get.
I can only assume that the judge in this case either has no children of their own, or completely lacks the ability to imagine the insult of a life that Sara was left to live with after her friend became her pimp. What a travesty of justice.
It seems that the best course at this time is to contact California Senator Leland Yee in regard to any possibility of having Sara's conviction overturned - but something in a general sense also needs to change so that something like this doesn't happen again. I encourage everyone who reads this to contact Senator Yee and offer your support in both respects.
In closing, I realize that taking the law into one's own hands is suggestive of a vigilante mentality, and that should never be an acceptable alternative to following procedure through the legal system; but if someone breaks into your home and threatens your life, it may not be prudent to wait until the police can arrive to defend yourself effectively. By the same token, if someone breaks into your life (as an already damaged child whose own mother won't defend you from the cold reality of drug abuse and neglect) and takes what innocence you still have away by first gaining your trust, but then raping you physically and mentally, you may not understand that any other adult can be trusted to help you escape from the terror you face each day either - including the police.
If there's truly any justice in this country, children will not be sent to prison for being abused by pimps. Period.
Posted by Hale Hilsabeck on 09/13/2009 @ 05:07PM PT
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The problem with letting her, or anyone, out of jail is that jail is by far the most politically viable form of forced contraception, despite being many times more costly than other methods. Letting people out of jail would cause overpopulation and destroy the environment.
Posted by Alan Ditmore on 09/14/2009 @ 11:46AM PT
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The Judge has no moral scruples... Who was the judge, what an idiot!!!
The Judge should be subjected to rape and selling their body to survive, then lets see how the judge handles the situation. Lets hope that the judges daughter or grandchildren are never put in that situation. Perhaps if the judge put them self in this child's shoes or at least looked at her as if she was one of their own children or grandchildren that had to suffer that abuse the so called Judgement would have been VERY DIFFERENT.
Posted by Vikie Howell on 09/21/2009 @ 11:25AM PT
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You know I sat here and read everyones comments and it's hard to feel what she has gone through until you've lived the life she has or experianced her life. I for one had an abusive childhood, but kept my grades up. At 12 I was raped and nothing was done to the 3 guys that did it and from that point my life went downhill. I dropped out of school, ran away from home and ended up working the streets. I ended up in juvie and while their my lawyer tells me that the guys that raped me had kidnapped another girl and raped her. This is 4 yrs after my incident.They were never charged. For awhile I was scared of running into them and vowed that if I did I would take them out. I ran into a guy like G.G. at 17 who treated my like I was queen and I thought he loved me and all of a sudden he's dropping me off telling me to go make that money. After a yr and a half I left after he beat me for not making my "quota". At 19 I met a man who got me off the streets and married me. Even though after being married for only 6 yrs I'm glad I met my now ex because I don't know where or what would have happened to me. I ran into my ex pimp a few times and some of them werent the greatest. He tried to pull me in his car a couple of times etc. Now I'm a mom to a 3yr old, went to dental assisting school and am now about to start school to be a RN. So all those people that think you cant change from having a bad life are wrong. I'm not saying that what she did was bad or good, but I think what her pimp got was karma.
Posted by Vlasha Harvey on 09/24/2009 @ 04:20PM PT
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I am all the way down here in Miami. I learned of this case of Sara Kruzan on Globalgrind.com. My heart was broken. Could not believe what I was hearing. Sara is so very intelligent and deserves her freedom. I want to contact the whitehouse through whitehouse.gov. Trust me if Sara gets out of jail she will be some type of superstar in whatever she does. To me she is already a celebrity. She is a person, when she gets who should be celebrated! She is a angel. I know we all saw the video and our hearts all broke in half. How could this be. The way she was talking and the attitude she projects well defines her as a superstar. This is a very special young lady and it is a big waste to have her in jail. She can definitely be productive out here in the world then in there. Can't wait till she is released out of prison. People I have a strong feeling on this one! I am telling you God is going to set Sara free. Sara I never met you, but if you ever read this I know I can speak for everybody when I say WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH! God please lay you precious hands on Sara and the people who need to make the decision to overturn her case and set her free. Lord please!!! I am on my knees lord!! Sara again is a superstar. When she is release out of prison there should be a red carpet outside leading her into a Maybach!
Posted by Anthony Hernandez on 09/30/2009 @ 06:34PM PT
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poor girl i hope she gets a second chance in life .. she was only sixteen
Posted by GEE MAN on 10/01/2009 @ 11:13PM PT
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I think this is very sad & terrible, sad because instead of people looking at this as this young woman lost all of her teen years & will never what it is to have a prom or a real first date people are turning this into a race issue. Terrible because this woman may never get out again when all she did was kill someone who was probably of no real use to society any damn way. Let's just try to help her get out of prison instead of worrying if she is a pretty black or white woman, she doesn't deserve to be in their anymore.
Posted by Eygotitall ***********... on 10/02/2009 @ 01:26AM PT
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wow she only 16 i mean she should of got a max of 15 yrs or 20 jus like everyone mostly gets. the judge that sentenced her deserves to rot in hell or have his son or daughter locked up for thier whole life. sara deserves a punish but not life in prison. dont worry sara i sure u will get a shorter sentence just wait till the media and newpapers here this im sure the judge will open the case again
Posted by luis salinas on 10/22/2009 @ 12:19AM PT
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www.vygthemovie.com
If you want to know more aboutr sex trafiicing from the women who are caught up.Please view the movie Very Young Girls, support youth empowerment and fund group home where these children have a safe place to escape from these pimps. One of the issues that I beleive contributed to her commiting this act of self defense was that there is no escape.The pimps will hunt you down and drag you back, in so many cases these young ladies are killed by the pimps for attempting to escape. She may well have had no options for escaping GG other than taking his life, it was most likely her life or his, but for the system to then commit this attrocity of justice is a shame, it is just all so heartbreaking. These are the cases that make me wish I could tear down the walls of injustice, break the grip of a broken system and live in an America that had justice and equality for all. Even young girls who kill killers.
Posted by l w on 10/24/2009 @ 08:18AM PT
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Everyone is blaming the judge, but what about that idiotic DA and prosecutor? How did this case even make it to trial? Before a criminal case makes it to trial, the DA's office has to examine it to see if it has merit as a criminal case and determine how to proceed. I think they're a bunch of heartless imps to have given this poor girl such a sentence. Just looking at her video and seeing how she speaks tells me she is a very bright, eloquent, and insightful person with tons of possibilities. Sometimes I get so disgusted with people in power who sit on their thrones and just mess up people's lives through their disconnect with the real world. I am tempted to say that people who make such decisions are not even fit to be called human.
Lara Nunes, Jesus couldn't save Himself and you at the same time. He had to make a choice, so he chose to die in your place so that you might have eternal life. Choose wisely.
Posted by Rick R. on 10/25/2009 @ 11:10PM PT
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I'm dying to know where her defense attorney was when this trial was going on-- this is clearly self-defense. She didn't just kill a man, she killed a pimp was raping her and other young girls like her. That's self-defense.
I hope there are a thousand appeals on the table. Society has failed this girl again, and again, and again and finally, punished and victimized her for protecting herself. It's disgusting.
Posted by Natalie Rose Apar on 10/29/2009 @ 08:53AM PT
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A gross miscarriage of justice. This is manslaughter, not first degree murder. Were I a lawyer, I would also argue that it was self defense. This girl should not be doing life.
Posted by Lily Strange on 11/01/2009 @ 05:09PM PT
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I do not know much about starting petitions but if anyone does, one should be made to give Sara some real justice and release her from her life sentence.
Posted by Lily Strange on 11/01/2009 @ 05:10PM PT
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I made a short URL for this page:
http://tinyurl.com/sk-lwop
Posted by Aaron Aarons on 11/01/2009 @ 08:45PM PT
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Anybody that is raping and pimping a young child deserves to be killed. I don't know why in the world this girl would get life for it. She should have got counseling with probation and that is it. Every rotten bastard deserves death that molest or rapes a child or person.
Posted by Reta Krukowski on 11/15/2009 @ 11:00PM PT
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