California Governor Gavin Newsom pardons a former prisoner who was sentenced to life imprisonment when he was a teenager on Friday for killing his former pimp. Did.
This is the final stage of official redemption served by the three governors of both parties for over a decade.
She was among nearly 30 such amnesty and amnesty on Friday, affecting older and younger criminals as well. They included 82-year-old Henry Paknowski, born of Polish parents who were later imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps of World War II.
Sarah Kurzan was 16 when she killed George Gilbert Howard in a motel room on the riverside. She was sentenced to death in prison for the 1994 murder of a man she said she had sexually abused her and trafficked her for her sex since she was 13 years old. When I was 17, I was 17 years old.
She was in prison for 18 years until Gob, then Newsom's predecessor. Jerry Brown,, approved her release in 2013.
Brown's predecessor, Gob at the time. Arnold Schwarzenegger was commuted to life imprisonment for possible parole shortly before resigning in early 2011. Judgment on a person who committed a crime as a boy.
Democratic senator Leland Yee, who was later imprisoned for corruption, described her case as "an adult who failed her, a perfect example of a society that failed her. You had a predator who stalked her, raping her and driving her into prostitution, but no one was around. "
New Sam, in his forgiveness, Kuruzan said she had shown that she was "living an upright life" ever since.
Since her murder, he said she "changed her life and devoted herself to her community services." According to Newsom, her amnesty does not minimize her crimes or the damage they caused, but she "acknowledges her work she did to transform herself." Said.
Kurzan was one of the 17 amnesty announced on Friday.
The amnesty does not eradicate or eradicate the conviction, but it helps to slow down the protracted impact on the recipient's life, the Governor's Office said. For example, the other three he pardoned face the possibility of deportation based on their criminal record, including those who have already been deported.
New Sam also commuted 15 current prisoners and granted amnesty to medically-risk prisoners.
Commutation gives prisoners the opportunity to appear before the parole committee to decide if they are suitable for release.
One of the prisoner Darnell Green's penalties was his extraordinary behavior in prison after being first sentenced to injured in a 1997 armed robbery. Recommended by the State Orthodontic Secretary based on.
The other two, whose sentence was reduced, worked as firefighters for prisoners.
New Sam commuted one prisoner arrested at the age of 15 and another prisoner now 78.
Newsom has also pardoned 82-year-old Paknowski, who now lives in Maryland. He was found guilty of misdemeanor in 1967 for seeking lewd acts in Orange County and sentenced to 10 days in prison and 3 years in probation.
In an amnesty application, Paknowski stated that he had "intimacy" agreed with another man in a car in a remote industrial area. .. He said he pleaded guilty to avoid being charged with more serious charges of "paraphilia."
"The amnesty not only recognizes and corrects the injustice I suffered from being targeted for sexuality and convicted, but also to future obstacles such as employment and housing. I also guarantee that you will not face it. It comes from this belief. "
In his forgiveness, Paknovsky "punished men for engaging in adult sexual activity under agreement with other men, based on stigma, prejudice, and ignorance. He was convicted and sentenced to criminal charges. " ""
"This act of amnesty admits the inherent injustice of the conviction," he wrote.
Newsom currently has 129 amnesty, 123 commutation and 35 grace.
Thank you for reading CBS NEWS.
Create a free account or log in to
to take advantage of other features.