Teen gets life in prison for killing her rapist

[cola262]

I read this story and it's disappointing to me that she would get that sentence with no possibility of parole. I think at that age and after what happened to her, she really needs some counseling and there should be many opportunities for rehabilitation. =(

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/teen-lif...ence-raped-13/

The case of a teenage girl who got life in prison for killing the man who raped her at age 13 and pimped her out for three years is drawing renewed attention to an upcoming Supreme Court decision on life terms for underaged felons.
A feature piece at Alternet.org tells the story of Sara Kruzan, of Riverside, California, who met a "father figure" at age 11. By age 13, he had raped her; for the next three years, she worked 12-hour days as a prostitute for her abuser.
When Kruzan killed her tormentor at age 16, the judge declared her actions "well thought-out" and gave her life in prison without parole.
Kruzan is one of 2,574 Americans "sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison for crimes they committed as children," according to a Human Rights Watch report.




Teen got life sentence for killing pimp who raped her at 13


By Daniel Tencer
Sunday, November 1st, 2009 -- 2:49 pm
html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://b.static.ak.fbcdn.net/rsrc.ph...h/4273uaqa.gif) no-repeat top left; }Share on Facebook Stumble This!







Supreme Court to rule on constitutionality of life prison terms for crimes committed by children
The case of a teenage girl who got life in prison for killing the man who raped her at age 13 and pimped her out for three years is drawing renewed attention to an upcoming Supreme Court decision on life terms for underaged felons.
A feature piece at Alternet.org tells the story of Sara Kruzan, of Riverside, California, who met a "father figure" at age 11. By age 13, he had raped her; for the next three years, she worked 12-hour days as a prostitute for her abuser.
When Kruzan killed her tormentor at age 16, the judge declared her actions "well thought-out" and gave her life in prison without parole.
Kruzan is one of 2,574 Americans "sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison for crimes they committed as children," according to a Human Rights Watch report.

Story continues below...

'TEENAGE THUG' SENATOR TO THE RESCUE
This month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases -- Graham v. Florida and Sullivan v. Florida -- in which it will rule on the constitutionality of sending underaged offenders to prison for life.
While those two Florida cases involve underage individuals who were sentenced to life in prison for crimes that didn't involve homicides, a Supreme Court ruling striking down life sentences for teenagers could have broad repercussions throughout the US justice system.
And advocates of a change to the law are getting help from an unlikely corner -- a former US senator who says he once was a "teenage thug."
Alan K. Simpson, who served as US senator from Wyoming from 1979 to 1997, has filed a "friend-of-the-court" brief (PDF) with the Supreme Court in advance of its hearings to argue that life sentences should not be applied to under-18s because their states of mind are still in development and jailing them till death could destroy potentially productive lives.
The brief describes Simpson's life as a juvenile delinquent, decades before he would go on to serve as a US senator:

One day in Cody, Wyoming, when Simpson was in high school, he and some friends “went out to do damage.” They went to an abandoned war relocation structure and decided to “torch” it. They committed arson on federal property, a crime now punishable by up to twenty years in prison if no one is hurt ... and punishable by up to life in prison if the arson causes a person’s death...
Simpson and his friends went shooting throughout their community. They fired their rifles at mailboxes, blowing holes in several and killing a cow. They fired their weapons at a road grader. “We just raised hell,” Simpson says. Federal authorities charged Simpson with destroying government property and Simpson pleaded guilty. He received two years of probation and was required to make restitution from his own funds.

Simpson's brief, on behalf of himself and a number of other petitioners, states:

Because [Simpson and others] were not sentenced to life imprisonment – because they ultimately were given another chance, in part because of the young age at which they had committed criminal offenses – they were able to make significant contributions to their communities and even, in some cases, the nation and the world. The life stories of [Simpson and others] show how much could have been lost by concluding too quickly that they were beyond hope.

An article in the Times of London describes the cases of Joe Harris Sullivan and Terrance Graham:

Joe Harris Sullivan was 13 when a Pensacola judge sentenced him to life without parole for raping a 72-year-old woman. The judge described Sullivan as “beyond help” and declared that he would “send him away for as long as I can”. He has already spent 20 years in jail.
Terrance Graham was 16 when he was arrested for armed burglary while on probation for a previous robbery. At the time Florida was cracking down on repeat offenders and in 2005 a different judge declared Graham “incorrigible” and imposed the maximum sentence.

"Numerous legal and medical associations are supporting Sullivan and Graham on the grounds that the courts should not judge teenagers in the same way as they judge adults, just as governments recognize the difference by placing certain restrictions on juvenile drinking, voting and marrying," the Times states.
The Alternet article on Kruzan -- who is black -- notes that race is also a factor in life sentences for juveniles.
"African American youth are serving [sentences] at a rate of about 10 times that of white youth," Alison Parker of Human Rights Watch told AlterNet. "In some states, the rate is even higher."
Kruzan's case is one of the motivating factors behind California Senate Bill 399, put forward by Democratic state Sen. Leland Yee, which would allow courts to review life sentences for juveniles after 10 years of a sentence has been served. But, as the Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California, notes, law enforcement agencies oppose the legislation, pointing out that California judges already have the discretion to allow parole after 25 years in life-sentence cases.
And critics point out that Kruzan's case is not all clear cut: As prosecutors in the case noted, by the time Kruzan killed her pimp, known as "G.G.," she was already working for another pimp. And she stole $1,500 from G.G. during the homicide. On the stand, Kruzan defended herself by arguing her new pimp threatened her life if she didn't kill him.
The "Free Sara Kruzan" campaign at MySpace can be found here.

[carousel eyes]

I agree with you OP. To be honest, 90% of people in her situation would at least contemplate killing him. I doubt this girl would've committed a crime otherwise; if she had never found herself in this situation. It's so sad.

[canada's]

he was 13 and raped a 72 year old woman?! WTH?!

we choose our actions. there is no rehabilitating her because she was aware of her actions and it was an isolated incident. there's nothing to rehabilitate tbh. if she were free would she murder again and again? probably not. that said, you decide if you're willing to take the heat that comes with committing a crime and i do think she chose.

[HauteMama]

I believe that life without parole is a draconian and inappropriate sentence for minors. There is much evidence that the brains of young people are still developing; impulse control and the ability to fully think through consequences of their actions are not fully formed. Amnesty International agrees:

"The United States is one of only a few countries in the world that permits children to be sentenced to LWOP. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by every country in the world except the United States and Somalia, forbids this practice, and at least 132 countries have rejected the sentence altogether. Thirteen other countries have laws permitting the child LWOP sentence, but, outside of the United States, there are only about 12 young offenders currently serving life sentences with no possibility of parole."

[ayla]

Yikes..

Under the Canadian criminal system, there is certain considerations that are given when the killer is an abused woman and the victim her tormetor. I can`t believe that the same type of contextual subjective analysis would apply in a case like this.

What justice is this.

[shanam]

^^I agree - whatever happened to the "abused woman" defense.
She rid society of psychopath who would probably have gotten off with some ridiculously short sentence.

[TheWinglessBird]

This is so wrong! Life in prison is not right! ...Any normal person would want to kill their attacker/rapist - wouldn't you? I know I would.
What happened to her was terrible! Not only did this once ''father figure'' rape her, but with no shame, he pimps her out as a prostitute, 12 hours a day, at the age of 13 & this is just a normal innocent young girl. That is one very devastating childhood. If I didn't kill this rapist, I'd sure hire a hitman!

[Jahpson]

Originally Posted by shanam

^^I agree - whatever happened to the "abused woman" defense. She rid society of psychopath who would probably have gotten off with some ridiculously short sentence.

exactly. ridiculous

[TheWinglessBird]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR7mn...layer_embedded

This is a beautiful, inteligent young woman. She knows what she's done, she's not stupid

I pray they give her a chance, for she has already spent a life-time of undeserved punishment. Give her a chance to live... http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-sara-kruzan

[Glamfoxx]

She does not deserve such a harsh sentence.

[plain jane doe]

She should get a medal.

[ash14vwb]

Ugh the judge disgusts me here.

[dolllover]

Our justice system is insane. They want to put her away and yet we let child rapists out.

[ShimmaPuff]

My prayer is that someone will help her get out, and relocate.

The culture sends very mixed messages about rape and child sex workers.

The message here is that her crime was being raped and pimped out, and others in her situation should see the example they make of this girl and accept their fate.

Human beings are among the most 3 profitable businesses in the world.

[karmenzsofia]

She should get a medal, not a prison sentence...if you ask me.