Sara Jessimy Kruzan was born on January 8, 1978, in Riverside, California. She was raised by her mother and demonstrated strong academic abilities, earning a place on the honor roll at school. Sara's relationship with her father was limited; she met him only three times during her childhood because he was in prison.

Sara faced many challenges in her early life. She suffered from severe depression, which led to several hospitalizations. Her mother admitted to physically abusing her. At one point, bruises on Sara's body led to her being placed in foster care. Sara also experienced trauma at a young age when she was molested by her mother's boyfriend when she was just five years old. This cycle of abuse continued with subsequent boyfriends.

When she was 11 years old, Sara met George Gilbert "G.G." Howard, who was twenty years older than her. Howard initially acted like a father figure to Sara. However, over time, he began to groom her for child sex trafficking. By the time she was 13, she found herself in a situation where she was being forced into this illegal activity.

When Sara Kruzan was 16 years old, she was living with her grandmother in San Diego. She started dating a boy named Johnny Otis. Otis's uncle, James Earl Hampton, learned about Sara's situation and threatened her. He ordered her to kill a man named George Gilbert Howard and said he would kill her mother if she refused.

On March 9, 1994, Sara met Howard for a date at the Dynasty Suites Motel. The following day, she shot him in the neck at close range when he began to pull out a sex toy. After the shooting, she took $1,500 from Howard's wallet along with the keys to his car. She then left to meet her boyfriend and Hampton.

Howard's body was found by hotel staff. When police searched the motel room, they found Sara's identification and purse. A warrant was issued for her arrest. She was arrested on March 14, 1994, at a home where Hampton was living. During police questioning, Sara confessed to the crime.

The District Attorney decided to try Sara as an adult for first-degree murder. Although a youth authority evaluation said she could be treated in the juvenile system, a judge moved her case to adult court at the prosecutor's request.

During the trial, Sara testified that she killed Howard because Hampton had forced her to do it and threatened her life and her mother's life. Despite this defense, on May 11, 1995, a jury found her guilty of first-degree murder. They decided on two special circumstances: that the murder happened during a robbery and that Sara had been lying in wait to kill Howard. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sara's case drew attention from advocacy groups fighting against sentencing juveniles to life without parole. Her past abuse was not allowed as evidence in her trial, and she could not talk about it. Years later, in 2009, she was able to discuss her experiences in an interview, which led to more attention for her case.

On January 2, 2011, after years of advocacy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger granted her clemency and changed her sentence to 25 years with the possibility of parole. In January 2013, her sentence was changed to second-degree manslaughter, making her eligible for a parole hearing. She was found suitable for parole on June 12, 2013. Governor Jerry Brown did not object to the parole decision. On October 31, 2013, she was paroled after serving 19 years in prison. Sara was later pardoned by Governor Gavin Newsom in July 2022.