Help Free Human Trafficking Victim Sara Kruzan

by Charles Davis · 2010-12-16 09:43:00 UTC
Topics:

Sara Kruzan has spent more than half her life behind bars for killing the man who raped her, got her addicted to drugs and pimped her out on the street -- all before she turned 17. Today activists are working the phones and all the social networks you can think of to convince outgoing California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to release the 32-year-old Kruzan with time served.

As Amanda Kloer notes on the Human Trafficking blog, the social media blitz on Kruzan's behalf was organized by two California anti-trafficking activists and Change.org members, Nikki Junker and Barbie Magoffin. Like the more than 50,000 people who have signed petitions calling for Kruzan's release, they were shocked when they heard that 16-year-old young woman, who met her rapist at just 13, had been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole -- without the possibility of redemption -- for killing her oppressor.

Of course, it's not as if Kruzan didn't deserve prison time. Murder is wrong. No exceptions -- and Kruzan herself admits as much. “I definitely know I deserve punishment,” she says in a video that’s received more than 300,000 hits on YouTube. “I mean, you don’t just take somebody’s life and think that it’s okay.”

But after 16 years behind bars, Kruzan, a model prisoner, deserves the chance at a new life. And you can help.

There are many ways to make your voice heard, but here are just a few of Kloer's suggestions:

-- Use Twitter? Then tweet the following: @Schwarzenegger Before you leave office, grant Sara Kruzan clemency with time served http://tinyurl.com/2662tgk #freesarakruzan

-- On Facebook? Leave a message on the governor's Facebook page: If you do one thing before you leave office, please grant child trafficking victim Sara Kruzan clemency with time served http://tinyurl.com/2662tgk

-- Call Schwarzenegger at (916) 445-2841 and check out this sample script for phone calls and written messages.

-- Email him at http://gov.ca.gov/interact#email and include a link to the Change.org petition asking for Sara's freedom.

-- Want to relive the the 20th century? Fax him at (916) 445-4633

-- Write a letter to:

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol, 1st Fl.
Sacramento, CA 95814

Whatever you do, just take a few minutes -- the time you usually would spend posting viral videos -- and help save a life.

Charles Davis has covered Congress and criminal justice issues for public radio and Inter Press Service.

RELATED PETITION

Ask Gov. Schwarzenegger to Release Human Trafficking Victim Sara Kruzan with Time Served
VICTORY!
41,330 People
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