Former Human Trafficking Victim Granted Clemency

A woman who was 16 when she ambushed and killed her former pimp in a Southern California motel room has been granted clemency by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in his last full day in office.

Sara Kruzan, now 32, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for the 1994 shooting death of George Gilbert Howard.

Prosecutors said Kruzan was no longer working for Howard when she killed him.

Calling her life sentence "excessive", Mr Schwarzenegger commuted Kruzan's sentence to 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Her clemency petition cited years of abuse and psychiatric reports saying she suffered from battered women's syndrome.

Mr Schwarzenegger also commuted the manslaughter sentence of Esteban Nunez, the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez.

Saying that he thought the 16-year prison sentence Esteban Nunez was serving was "excessive" the governor reduced his sentence from 16 years to seven years.

Nunez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon for his role in a fight that killed a 22-year-old man near San Diego State University in 2008.

Prosecutors said Nunez and friends went looking for a fight after they were refused entry to a fraternity party.

Original Article from: Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.