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Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system.^[vague] All of the meanings originated from the French parole (“voice”, “spoken word”). Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their word of honor to abide by certain restrictions. Parole should not be confused with probation, as parole is serving the remainder of a sentence outside of prison, where probation is given instead of a prison sentence and as such, tends to place more rigid obligations upon the individual serving the term.

Criminal justice[link]

In criminal justice systems, parole is the supervised release of a prisoner before the completion of their sentence in prison. This differs from amnesty or commutation of sentence in that parolees are still considered to be serving their sentences, and may be returned to prison if they violate the conditions of their parole. A specific type of parole is medical parole or compassionate release which is the release of prisoners on medical or humanitarian grounds. Conditions of parole often include things such as obeying the law, refraining from drug and alcohol use, avoiding contact with the parolee's victims, obtaining employment, and maintaining required contacts with a parole officer. Some justice systems, such as the United States federal system, place defendants on supervised release after serving their entire prison sentence; this is not the same as parole. In Colorado, parole is an additional punishment after the entire prison sentence is served - it is called 'mandatory parole', per §18-1.3-401(1)(a)(V)(B).

Difference between parole and mandatory supervision[link]

Some states in the US have what is known as "mandatory supervision," whereby an inmate is released prior to the completion of their sentence due to legal technicalities which oblige the offender justice system to free them. In some states such as Texas, inmates are compensated with "good time," which is counted towards time served. For example, if an inmate served five years of a ten year prison term, and also had five years of "good time," they will have completed their sentence "on paper," obliging the state to release them. Where parole is granted or denied at the discretion of a parole board, mandatory supervision does not involve a decision making process: one either qualifies for it or does not. Mandatory supervision tends to involve stipulations that are more lenient than those of parole, and in some cases place no obligations at all on the individual being released.

Early history of parole[link]

Alexander Maconochie, a Scottish geographer and captain in the Royal Navy, introduced the modern idea of parole when, in 1840, he was appointed superintendent of the British penal colonies in Norfolk Island, Australia. He developed a plan to prepare them for eventual return to society that involved three grades. The first two consisted of promotions earned through good behaviour, labour, and study. The third grade in the system involved conditional liberty outside of prison while obeying rules. A violation would return them to prison and starting all over again through the ranks of the three grade process.^[1]

China[link]

In China, prisoners are often granted medical parole or compassionate release, which releases them on the grounds that they must receive medical treatment which cannot be provided for in prison. Occasionally, medical parole is used as a no-publicity way of releasing an accidentally imprisoned convict.^[2][3]

The Chinese legal code has no explicit provision for exile, but often a dissident is released on the grounds that they need to be treated for a medical condition in another country, and with the understanding that they will be reincarcerated if they return to China. Dissidents who have been released on medical parole include Ngawang Chophel, Ngawang Sangdrol, Phuntsog Nyidron, Takna Jigme Zangpo, Wang Dan, Wei Jingsheng, Gao Zhan and Fang Lizhi.

Israel[link]

Until 2001, the possibility of parole in Israel was only possible after the prisoner had spent two thirds from their prison time. Nevertheless, On 13 February 2001 the Knesset passed a bill, which was brought forward by Reuven Rivlin and David Libai, which allowed the early release of prisoners whom only served half of their prison term. Although the law was originally intended to help ease the overcrowding in the prisons, nevertheless, after the Shas party declared that the party members would pass the bill, and after various opponents of the bill began assessing in the Israeli media that the party's real goal was to have Aryeh Deri released earlier from prison, many Knesset members expressed their opposition to the bill, which was commonly referred to in the Israeli media as the "Deri Law" (חוק דרעי). Although the law eventually passed it however did not affect Deri since the parole board rejected Deri's request for an early release, and he eventually was released after he served two thirds of his imprisonment time.

Italy[link]

Libertà condizionata is covered by Article 176 of the Italian Penal Code. A prisoner is eligible if he has served at least 30 months (or 26 years for life sentences), and the time remaining on his sentence is less than half the total (normally), a quarter of the total (if previously convicted or never convicted) or five years (for sentences greater than 7.5 years). In 2006, 21 inmates were granted libertà condizionata.^{[citation needed]}

New Zealand[link]

In New Zealand, inmates serving a short term sentence (of up to 2 years) are automatically released after serving half their sentence, and there is no parole hearing. Inmates serving sentences of more than 2 years are normally seen before the parole board after serving one-third of the sentence, although the judge at sentencing can make an order for a minimum non-parole period of up to two-thirds of the sentence. Inmates serving life sentences usually serve a minimum of 10 years, or longer depending on the minimum non-parole period, before being eligible for parole.^[4] It should be noted, however, that parole is not an automatic right, and for the year ending 30 June 2010 more than 70% of parole hearings were declined.^[5] Many sentences include a specific non-parole period.

United States[link]

Early history[link]

Penologist Zebulon Brockway first introduced parole when he became superintendent of Elmira Reformatory in New York state. In order to manage prison populations and rehabilitate those incarcerated he instituted a two part strategy that consisted of indeterminate sentences and parole releases.^[6]

Modern history[link]

In the United States, courts may specify in a sentence how much time must be served before a prisoner is eligible for parole. This is often done by specifying an indeterminate sentence of, say, "15 to 25 years," or "15 years to life". The latter type is known as an indeterminate life sentence; in contrast, a sentence of "life without the possibility of parole" is known as a determinate life sentence.^[7]

In most states, the decision of whether an inmate is paroled is vested in a paroling authority such as a parole board. Mere good conduct while incarcerated in and of itself does not necessarily guarantee that an inmate will be paroled. Other factors may enter into the decision to grant or deny parole, most commonly the establishment of a permanent residence and immediate, gainful employment or some other clearly visible means of self-support upon release (such as Social Security if the prisoner is old enough to qualify). Many states now permit sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (such as for murder and espionage), and any prisoner not sentenced to either this or the death penalty will eventually have the right to petition for release (one state – Alaska – maintains neither the death penalty nor life imprisonment without parole as sentencing options).

Before being granted the privilege of parole, the inmate meets with members of the parole board and is interviewed, The parolee also has a psychological exam. The inmate must first agree to abide by the conditions of parole set by the paroling authority. While in prison, the inmate signs a parole certificate or contract. On this contract are the conditions that the inmate must follow. These conditions usually require the parolee to meet regularly with his or her parole officer or community corrections agent, who assesses the behavior and adjustment of the parolee and determines whether the parolee is violating any of his or her terms of release (typically these include being at home during certain hours which is called a curfew, maintaining steady employment, not absconding, refraining from illicit drug use and sometimes, abstaining from alcohol), attend drug or alcohol counseling, have no contact with their victim. The inmate gives an address which is verified by parole officers as valid before inmate is released on to parole supervision.

Upon release, the parolee goes to a parole office and is assigned a parole officer. Parole officers go to parolees' houses or apartments to check on them as unannounced visits. During these home visits officers look for signs of drug or alcohol use, no guns or illegal weapons are in the parolees residence, and look for signs of other illegal activities. Should parolees start to use drugs or alcohol, they are told to go to drug or alcohol counseling and NA or AA meeting. Should they not comply with conditions on the parole certificate a warrant is issued for their arrest. Their parole time is stopped when the warrant is issued and starts only after they are arrested. They have a parole violation hearing within a specified time, and then a decision is made by the parole board to revoke their parole or continue the parolee on parole. In some cases, a parolee may be discharged from parole before the time called for in the original sentence if it is determined that the parole restrictions are no longer necessary for the protection of society (this most frequently occurs when elderly parolees are involved).

Service members who commit crimes while in the US military may be subject to Court Martial proceedings under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). If found guilty, they may be sent to Federal or Military Prisons and upon release may be supervised by U.S./Federal Probation Officers.

Parole is a controversial political topic in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, at least sixteen states have abolished parole entirely, and four more have abolished parole for certain violent offenders.^[8] During elections, politicians whose administrations parole any large number of prisoners (or, perhaps, one notorious criminal) are typically attacked by their opponents as being "soft on crime". The US Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in 2005 that about 45% of parolees completed their sentences successfully, while 38% were returned to prison, and 11% absconded. These statistics, the DOJ says, are relatively unchanged since 1995; even so, some states (including New York) have abolished parole altogether for violent felons, and the federal government abolished it in 1984 for all offenders convicted of a federal crime, whether violent or not. Despite the decline in jurisdictions with a functioning parole system, the average annual growth of parolees was an increase of about 1.5% per year between 1995 and 2002.

A variant of parole is known as "time off for good behavior", or, colloquially, "good time". Unlike the traditional form of parole – which may be granted or denied at the discretion of a parole board – time off for good behavior is automatic absent a certain number (or gravity) of infractions committed by a convict while incarcerated (in most jurisdictions the released inmate is placed under the supervision of a parole officer for a certain amount of time after being so released). In some cases "good time" can reduce the original sentence by as much as one-third. It is usually not made available to inmates serving life sentences, as there is no release date that can be moved up.

US immigration law[link]

In US immigration law, the term parole has three different meanings.

A person who does not meet the technical requirements for a visa may be allowed to enter the U.S. for humanitarian purposes. Persons who are allowed to enter the U.S. in this manner are known as parolees.

Another use related to immigration is advance parole, in which a person who already legally resides in the U.S. needs to leave temporarily and return without a visa. This typically occurs when a person's application for a green card (permanent residency) is in process and the person must leave the U.S. for emergency or business reasons. In the wake of September 11, 2001, there has been greater scrutiny of applications for advance parole.^[9]

A person who goes out of the country on "advanced parole" has to go through the following process: Canada by road: submission of one parole document to immigration authorities,who then stamp the person's passport, and another parole document, and a new I-94 form

The term is also used to denote scenarios in which the federal government orders the release of an alien inmate incarcerated in a state prison before that inmate's sentence has been completed, with the stipulation that the inmate be immediately deported, and never permitted to return to the United States. The most celebrated example of this form of parole was that of Lucky Luciano, who was being "rewarded" for cooperating with the war effort during World War II. In most cases where such parole is resorted to, however, the federal government has deemed that the need for the immediate deportation of the inmate outweighs the state's interest in meting out punishment for the crime the inmate committed.

Prisoners of war[link]

Parole is "the agreement of persons who have been taken prisoner by an enemy that they will not again take up arms against those who captured them, either for a limited time or during the continuance of the war".^[10] The US Department of Defense defines parole more broadly. "Parole agreements are promises given the captor by a POW to fulfill stated conditions, such as not to bear arms or not to escape, in consideration of special privileges, such as release from captivity or lessened restraint."^[11]

The practice of paroling enemy troops began thousands of years ago, at least as early as the time of Carthage.^[12] Parole allowed the prisoners' captors to avoid the burdens of having to feed and care for them, while still avoiding having the prisoners rejoin their old ranks once released; it could also allow the captors to recover their own men in a prisoner exchange. Hugo Grotius, an early international lawyer, favorably discussed prisoner of war parole.^[13] During the American Civil War, both the Dix-Hill Cartel and the Lieber Code set out rules regarding prisoner of war parole.^[14] Francis Lieber's thoughts on parole later reappeared in the Declaration of Brussels of 1874, the Hague Convention, and the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.^[15]

In the United States, current policy prohibits US soldiers who are prisoners of war from accepting parole. The Code of Conduct for the US Armed Forces states: "I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy."^[16] This position is reiterated by the Department of Defense. "The United States does not authorize any Military Service member to sign or enter into any such parole agreement."^[17]

See also[link]

Look up parole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Parole

• Parol evidence rule
• Ticket of leave
• Release on temporary licence
• ParoleWatch
• Rehabilitation Policy

References[link]

• US Department of Justice, "Probation and Parole in the United States, 2004" (pdf file)

External links[link]

• California Reentry Programme - Helping parolees re-enter society
• Term to Life Prisoner Support
• How Parole Board hearings work (Directgov, England and Wales)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

Alain Delon
Delon in 2011
Born	Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (1935-11-08) 8 November 1935 (age 76) Sceaux, France
Citizenship	French, Swiss (since 1999)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1957–present
Spouse	Nathalie Barthélemy (m. 1964-69)
Partner	Romy Schneider (1959-63) Mireille Darc (1968-82) Rosalie van Breemen (1987-2002)
Children	Christian Aaron Boulogne, born on (1962-08-11) 11 August 1962 (age 49) Anthony Delon, born on (1964-09-30) 30 September 1964 (age 47) Anouchka Delon, born on (1990-11-25) 25 November 1990 (age 21) Alain Delon Jr., born on (1994-03-18) 18 March 1994 (age 18)
Website
alaindelon.ch

Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (French pronunciation: [alɛ̃ dəlɔ̃]; born 8 November 1935) is a French-Swiss actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot. Over the course of his career, Delon has worked with many well-known directors, including Luchino Visconti, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, Michelangelo Antonioni and Louis Malle.

Delon acquired Swiss citizenship on September 23, 1999, and the company managing products sold under his name is based in Geneva. He is a citizen of the community of Chêne-Bougeries in the canton of Geneva.

Early life[link]

Delon was born in Sceaux, Seine (now Hauts-de-Seine), Île-de-France, a suburb of Paris. His parents, Édith (née Arnold) and Fabien Delon, divorced when Delon was four.^[1] Both remarried, and Delon has a half-sister and two half-brothers. He attended a Roman Catholic^[2] boarding school, the first of several schools from which he was expelled because of unruly behavior. Teachers once tried to convince him to enter the priesthood because of his aptitude in religious studies.

At 14, Delon left school, and worked for a brief time at his stepfather's butcher shop. He enlisted in the French Navy three years later, and in 1953/54 he served as a fusilier marin in the First Indochina War. Delon has said that out of his four years of military service he spent 11 months in prison for being "undisciplined". In 1956, after being dishonorably discharged from the military, he returned to France. He didn't have any money, and got by on whatever employment he could find. He spent time working as a waiter, a porter, a secretary and a sales clerk. During this time he became friends with the actress Brigitte Auber, and joined her on a trip to the Cannes Film Festival, where his film career would begin.

Career[link]

At Cannes, Delon was seen by a talent scout for David O. Selznick. After a screen test Selznick offered him a contract, provided he learned English. Delon returned to Paris to study the language, but when he met French director Yves Allégret, he was convinced that he should stay in France to begin his career. Selznick allowed Delon to cancel his contract,^{[citation needed]} and Allégret gave him his debut in the film Quand la Femme s'en Mêle (When the Woman Butts In). Delon then appeared in the film Faibles Femmes (Women Are Weak/Three Murderesses). This was also the very first of his films to be seen in America, where it became a huge success.

In 1960, Delon appeared in René Clément's Purple Noon, which was based on the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. He played protagonist Tom Ripley to critical acclaim; Highsmith herself was also a fan of his portrayal.^[3] He then appeared in Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers. Critic Bosley Crowther of the New York Times said Delon's work was : "touchingly pliant and expressive." John Beaufort in the Christian Science Monitor said:

"Rocco's heartbroken steadfastness furnishes the film with the foremost of its ironic tragedies ... [I]ts believability rests finally on Mr. Delon's compelling performance."

Delon made his stage debut in 1961 in John Ford’s play Tis Pity She’s a Whore alongside Romy Schneider in Paris. Visconti directed the production. Delon would work with him again for Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). Delon also worked with Jean-Pierre Melville, who directed him in Un Flic, Le Cercle Rouge, and Le Samouraï.

In 1964, the Cinémathèque Française held a showcase of Delon's films and Delon started a production company, Delbeau Production, with Georges Beaume. They produced a film called L’insoumis, which had to be re-edited because of legal issues. Delon then started his own production company, Adel, and starred in the company’s first film, Jeff. Delon followed the success of the film with Borsalino, which became one of France’s highest grossing films of the time. In 1973, he made a duet with the French pop singer Dalida on "Paroles, paroles". He also played Johnston McCulley's popular masked hero in 1975's Zorro. In 1976, Delon starred in Monsieur Klein, which won him the César awards (French equivalent of Oscars).

Alain Delon at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

He was awarded the Best Actor César Award for his role in Bertrand Blier's Notre histoire (1984), and portrayed the aristocratic dandy Baron de Charlus in a film adaptation of Marcel Proust's novel Swann in Love in the same year. Then followed a string of box office failures in the late 1980s and 1990s, culminating in the failure of Patrice Leconte's Une chance sur deux. Delon announced his decision to give up acting in 1997, although he still occasionally accepts roles.

In 1990, he worked with auteur Jean-Luc Godard, on Nouvelle vague, in which he played twins. In 2003, the Walter Reade Theater showed a series of Delon's films under the aegis, Man in the Shadows: The Films of Alain Delon.

Products[link]

Since the formation of a perfume label in his name, Delon has had a variety of products sold under his name including wristwatches, clothing, eyewear, stationery and cigarettes.^[4]

Delon's sunglasses brand became particularly popular in Hong Kong after actor Chow Yun-fat wore them in the 1986 crime film A Better Tomorrow (as well as two sequels). Delon reportedly wrote a letter thanking Chow for helping the sunglasses sell out in the region.^[5] The film's director John Woo has acknowledged Delon as one of his idols and wrote a short essay on Le Samourai as well as Le Cercle Rouge for the Criterion Collection DVD releases.^[6]

Relationships[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2012)

On 20 March 1959, Delon was engaged to actress Romy Schneider, whom he met when they co-starred in the film Christine (1958). During their relationship, he had an affair with German actress, singer and model Nico. On 11 August 1962, Nico gave birth to a son, Christian Aaron "Ari", fathered by Delon. The child was raised mostly by Delon's parents. Nico died in 1988, from a bicycling accident.

In December 1963, Schneider and Delon decided to break the engagement. On 13 August 1964, Delon married Nathalie Barthélemy. Their son, Anthony Delon, was born in September. The couple divorced on 14 February 1969.

In 1968, during the shooting of the film Jeff, he met French actress Mireille Darc with whom he started a 15-year relationship, lasting until 1982.

In 1987, Delon met Dutch model Rosalie van Breemen on the shooting of the video clip for his song "Comme au cinéma" and started a relationship. They had two children: Anouschka (25 November 1990) and Alain-Fabien (18 March 1994). The relationship ended in October 2002.

Alain Delon lives in Chêne-Bougeries in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland with his two youngest children.

Honours[link]

• At the 45th Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Honorary Golden Bear.^[7]
• At the 60th Cannes Film Festival, he presented the Best Actress Award to South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon for her role in Lee Chang Dong's Secret Sunshine. She became the first South Korean to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
• At the 2008 César Awards on February 22, 2008, he presented the César Award for Best Actress to Marion Cotillard, who two days later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for La Vie En Rose.
• Delon appears on the cover of the 1986 album The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths.
• He was made Officier (Officer) of the Ordre national du Mérite in 1995.^[8]
• He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur on 21 February 1991.^[9] He was promoted to Officier (Officer) in 2005.^[9]

Filmography[link]

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: chronological order (should be oldest to newest). Please help improve this section if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (February 2012)

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Film portal
	Television portal
	Theatre portal

• List of French actors
• List of Swiss people

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alain Delon

• alaindelon.ch, his official website
• Alain Delon at the Internet Movie Database

v t e César Award for Best Actor 1976 Philippe Noiret · 1977 Michel Galabru · 1978 Jean Rochefort · 1979 Michel Serrault · 1980 Claude Brasseur · 1981 Gérard Depardieu · 1982 Michel Serrault · 1983 Philippe Léotard · 1984 Coluche · 1985 Alain Delon · 1986 Christophe Lambert · 1987 Daniel Auteuil · 1988 Richard Bohringer · 1989 Jean-Paul Belmondo · 1990 Philippe Noiret · 1991 Gérard Depardieu · 1992 Jacques Dutronc · 1993 Claude Rich · 1994 Pierre Arditi · 1995 Gérard Lanvin · 1996 Michel Serrault · 1997 Philippe Torreton · 1998 André Dussollier · 1999 Jacques Villeret · 2000 Daniel Auteuil · 2001 Sergi López · 2002 Michel Bouquet · 2003 Adrien Brody · 2004 Omar Sharif · 2005 Mathieu Amalric · 2006 Michel Bouquet · 2007 François Cluzet · 2008 Mathieu Amalric · 2009 Vincent Cassel · 2010 Tahar Rahim · 2011 Éric Elmosnino · 2012 Omar Sy

Sopho Khalvashi performing Visionary Dream

Sopho Khalvashi (Georgian: სოფო ხალვაში [sɔpʰɔ xalvaʃi]; born 31 May 1986 in Batumi, Adjara) is a Georgian musician. It was announced on December 12, 2006 that she would represent her home nation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The song "Visionary Dream" was Georgia's first entry into the contest. The song was previously called "My Story".

In the semifinal on May 10, 2007 she finished eighth; as one of the Top 10 qualifiers she secured a spot for Georgia in the final. In the final on May 12, 2007, she finished 12th, earning maximum points from one country, Lithuania.

She claimed third prize at the commercial song contest "New Wave" 2006 in Jūrmala, Latvia. After success there she signed a contract with Russian management agency "ARS" led by Russian composer Igor Krutoy, and returned in triumph to her homeland, where she immediately received an offer from the Imedi TV channel to host local talent show "On Imedi's waves".

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sopho Khalvashi

• Sopho Khalvashi on Myspace
• SophoKhalvashi.net
• Site of Sopho Khalvashi
• Sopho's fans site in Israel

Sara Jessimy Kruzan (born January 8, 1978), convicted of first degree murder, is a victim of human trafficking and inmate of Central California Women's Facility, Chowchilla. In 1994, at the age of 16, she was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole after being convicted of murdering her alleged pimp, George Gilbert Howard. On January 2, 2011, Kruzan was granted clemency by outgoing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who commuted her sentence to 25 years with the possibility of parole.^[1]

Early life[link]

Kruzan grew up in Riverside, California with her drug addict mother, where she was an honor roll student at school. During her childhood she met her father only three times because he was serving long prison terms. Since the age of 9, Kruzan has suffered from severe depression, being hospitalized because of the condition on a number of occasions.

At the age of 11, she met 31 year old Howard, calling himself "G.G.", who, it is alleged, began grooming her for a life of prostitution. By the age of 13, Kruzan became a victim of human trafficking, forced to work as a child prostitute, and subjected to sexual abuse.^[2]

Murder of George Gilbert Howard[link]

A week before the killing she had moved into a house in the Rubidoux area belonging to convicted felon and suspected drug dealer, James Earl Hamilton. Kruzan arranged to meet Howard on March 9 for a date and agreed to spend the night with him. On March 10, Kruzan shot Howard in the neck at close range in a room at the Dynasty Suites Motel. She then took $1,500 from his wallet, as well as the keys to his Jaguar car and went to meet Hamilton and her then boyfriend Johnny Otis in a local supermarket. Her identification card and purse had been left in the motel room and were later found by the chamber maid who discovered Howard's body.^[3] Kruzan told the police four days later and admitted her guilt on the defense stand. During her trial she told the court that she had killed Howard because Hamilton had ordered it and had threatened to kill both her and her mother if she did not carry out his orders.^[3]

Arrest and trial[link]

Kruzan was arrested in Pomona on March 14 as a result, Defense Attorney, David Gunn, told the court, of information provided to the police by Hamilton. Neither Hamilton nor Otis were charged with the crime due to a lack of legally sufficient corroborating evidence to support Kruzan's statement.

After her arrest the District Attorney of Riverside County opted to ignore the pleas for extenuating circumstances surrounding Kruzan's actions, and sought to have her tried in an adult court for first degree murder. An evaluation by California Youth Authority concluded she was amenable to treatment in the juvenile justice system. However, a local judge, at the urging of the prosecutor, Tim Freer, transferred her to the adult court.^[4] In his closing arguments at her trial, Freer cautioned jurors not to be swayed by the appearance of an attractive, petite teenager who may not fit their image of a murderer.

On Thursday May 11, 1995, a Riverside Superior Court jury of seven women and five men found her guilty of First-Degree murder affirming two special circumstances - that Howard was murdered during a robbery, and that Kruzan had been lying in wait to kill him - to justify a no-parole life term.^[3] Judge J. Thompson Hanks described her crime as 'well thought out', stating that 'what is striking about this is the lack of moral scruple' before sentencing her to life without parole.

Controversy[link]

Some campaigning groups have suggested that Kruzan was suffering from Battered Person Syndrome, a physical and psychological condition that often results in victims of abuse murdering their abusers.^[5] The US has been criticized by judicial reform groups, such as the National Center for Youth Law, for the frequency with which it sentences juveniles to life without parole, with Kruzan often mentioned as an example of the need for greater compassion. In February 2009, Human Rights Watch released a viral video featuring Kruzan on YouTube to highlight their campaign for a ban on sentences of life without parole for juveniles in California. Michelle Quann of change.org said that the state has the highest racial disparity rate in the US in this area of juvenile justice,^[6] and in November 2010 change.org began a petition to then-current California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant Kruzan clemency before leaving office. ^[7] In reaction to this case Democratic Senator, Leyland Yee of San Francisco stated, "Life without parole means absolutely no opportunity for release.... It also means minors are often left without access to programs and rehabilitative services while in prison. This sentence was created for the worst of criminals that have no possibility of reform and it is not a humane way to handle children. While the crimes they committed caused undeniable suffering, these youth offenders are not the worst of the worst.”^[8]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Human Rights Watch YouTube video
• www.sarakruzan.com - Freedom Project: "Faces For Sara Kruzan" - A Photo Collective Petition to Governor Brown
• Free Sara Kruzan campaign website

M. Pokora
M. Pokora on stage at Bercy in Paris during the Tour Player in 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Matthieu Tota
Also known as	Matt Pokora, M. Pokora, M.P.
Born	(1985-09-26) 26 September 1985 (age 26)
Origin	Strasbourg, France
Genres	Pop and R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter Dancer
Years active	2003–present
Labels	EMI France Universal Music France (2003–2006)
Website	mpokoramusic.fr

Matthieu Tota (born 26 September 1985) in Strasbourg, France commonly known as M. Pokora or Matt Pokora, is a French-Polish singer and songwriter.

Early life[link]

Matthieu Tota, is the son of professional footballer André Tota and his mother is Brigitte Tota. His parents divorced in 1998 when he was just 13. As a child, he studied at an elementary school in Hohberg, and later at Collège Paul-Émile Victor in Mundolsheim, and Lycée Aristide Briand in Schiltigheim near Strasbourg. As a young man, football (soccer) became his first ambition and he wanted to be a professional player. But he opted for music.

Matthieu Tota explained about the origin of his name Pokora in an interview during the documentary Mis à jour broadcast on 26 August 2010 about him on NRJ 12 television station.^[1] He said he was searching for an artistic name and happened to be talking to his grand mother of Polish origin and the importance of humility came up. So he asked her how do we say humility in Polish language and she said "pokora". So Matthieu immediately decided to call himself Pokora. Matt came form his name Matthieu. So he became to be known by his stage name Matt Pokora.

He earned some public attention as a member of French R&B group, Mic Unity.

In Popstars and Linkup[link]

In fall 2003, he participated in the third season of Popstars, a French talent reality television show broadcast on M6. The concept of the program was to present possible candidates the winners of which would take part in the formation of a boy band or girl band. He was a crowd and jury favourite, and became a member of a boy band called Linkup formed with Lionel and Otis, two other winners in 2003 Popstars. The female winners were formed into another group Diadems formed of Marylore, Angel, Pookie, Ophélie and Alexandra. In the final showdown, the boy band including Mattieu Tota won the series over the girl band Diadems, who ended up runners-up.

Their first Linkup single "Mon Étoile" was very successful topping French charts, and the debut album Notre Étoile was moderately successful. However the second single release "Une seconde d'éternité" was much less successful despite good sales.

The band tried again their hand in a collaboration with the British boy band Blue making a bilingual English/French version with Blue based on the latter's song "Bubblin'". The bilingual English/French Blue/Linkup version was entitled "You & Me Bubblin". Soon afterwards, Linkup disbanded due to poor performance of sales on releases.^[2]

Solo career[link]

[edit] 2004: M. Pokora

In 2004, soon after the break-up of Linkup, Mattieu started working preparing for a solo career collaborating with the producers Kore & Skalp.

Under the stage name Matt Pokora, he released his first eponymous solo album originally entitled Matt Pokora. In 2005, he was forced to change his chosen name after a lawsuit from French R&B singer Matt Houston. As a result, he changed his stage name to M. Pokora and re-released the album as M. Pokora.^[3]

The debut single from M. Pokora was the very successful. Called "Showbiz (The Battle)" it was a Top 10 hit in France, and also charted in Belgium and Switzerland. The second single Elle me contrôle featuring Sweety reached #6 in France and Pokora received two NRJ Music Awards for the single. Yet a third successful single was released called "Pas sans toi". The album released on Universal was certified gold.

He also started collaborating with Hakim Ghorab who became his long-time choreographer and took part in many of his music videos. He also developed a close collaboration with music video director Karim Ouaret who directed most of his successful videos.

[edit] 2006: Player

In January 2006, his second album Player was released topping the French chart. For producing the new album, he collaborated with Belgian producers Bionix, Rachid Mir and Christian Dessart mixing R & B with pop and crunk'n b, and artists Red Rat and Zoxea and geared toward the younger and feminine fan brackets. He also enjoyed great popularity with gay audiences. The first single from his second album was the very successful "De retour" featuring Tyron Carter. That was followed with single "Oh la la la (Sexy Miss)" with Red Rat.

During a concert organized by NRJ Radio in France, he met Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin and Martin asked M. Pokora to make a collaboration on Martin's hit "It's Alright". The result was a bilingual French/English Ricky Martin/M. Pokora release also entitled "It's Alright" that sold more than 100,000 copies. Finally, a last single from the Player album followed called "Mal de guerre", which was a relative success. M. Pokora released Player in a second edition in March 2006 with the bonus track added of the duet with Ricky Martin.

To promote the album and capitalize on its success, M. Pokora engaged in an big tour in more than 30 French venues under the title Player Tour that culminated in a big sold-out concert at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. At the end of the tour, a DVD containing materials from the shows was marketed under the name Player Tour Live. The DVD also included a photo book and memories from the tour.

Pokora also created his own label M2theP Entertainement, signing his protégé, the rapper Tyron Carter. In addition to being featured on "De retour", Tyron Carter released "Ne me dis pas" that featured M. Pokora, a Top 30 hit, followed by an album Mon hold-up.

[edit] 2008: MP3

After end of the Player Tour, Pokora left Universal and signed with EMI France. Also desiring a more international profile, he went to New York and created contacts most importantly with R & B producers Ryan Leslie and J. R. Rotem. The result was his third album MP3 that was released on 24 March 2008, and included 14 tracks, including 12 in English.^[4] The title of the album was a play on his name Matt Pokora (MP) and the number 3 (his third album) but also referring to the popular gadget MP3, the audio format for consumer audio storage. Pokora promoted the launching of the album with a prerelease of single "Dangerous" featuring American hip hop artist Timbaland and Sebastian, Timbaland's brother and the timing of the release was picked to coincid with the NRJ Music Awards of 2008.

The album reached #7 with estimated physical sales of 200,000 copies and additional downloads of 151,000. The album was certified gold. The album also did well internationally charting in Finland, Germany, Mexico, Belgium and in his homeland Poland where he won the Polish Eska Music Awards as the "International Pop Artist of the Year".

After the success of "Dangerous", Pokora released a second single "They Talk Sh#t About Me" that features the young English rapper Natalia Kills credited on the release by her stage name Verse. The single unlike "Dangerous" (that had reached #1) was not played heavily on French radio because of English language content and managed to reach only #24. A third release from MP3, namely "Catch Me If You Can" was made with the music video featuring Julie Ricci. She is known for her appearances on Top Model in 2007 on M6 and in Secret Story in its 4th season on TF1. The single failed to make it to the French charts, but was successful in Poland reaching #11. The follow up "Through The Eyes" was also a relative success in Poland reaching #31 in the Polish charts.

To coincide with MP3 release, M. Pokora launched his Catch Me Tour 2008 ending with a concert in Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy on 18 November 2008. He also toured Belgium (6 December), Switzerland (13 December) ending with a final concert in Lyon, France on 14 December 2008.

[edit] 2010-2011: Mise à jour / Updated

Fourth studio album titled Mise à jour was released on 23 August 2010. The lead single "Juste une photo de toi" was released on 7 June 2010 and was a big hit reaching #4 in the French Albums Chart. It includes collaborations with Wayne Beckford, Gee Futuristic, X-Plosive, Astro Boyz, Tarz, STX and Bionix. Simultaneously a Mis à jour Édition Deluxe was released that in addition to the original 15 tracks of Mis à jour also contained seven new tracks exclusive for the Deluxe edition (including six in English).

The first single from the album was "Juste une photo de toi" released concurrently with the launching of the album. On 22 January 2011, during the NRJ Music Awards, the song was chosen as "Song of the Year" in addition to M. Pokora being chosen "French Male Artist of the Year".

To consolidate his international drive started with the MP3 album, he announced that an English language version was under preparation. Finally the Englishversion titled Updated was launched on 14 March 2011, containing 11 songs, mostly adaptations of the French language hits on Mise à jour. Six of the titles were already known by the French public through the August 2010 Mise à jour Édition Deluxe release.

For promotion of the album, he organized a mini tour and a series of open-air concerts rather than concerts in halls.

In November 2010, a follow-up single "Mirage" was released accompanied with a new music video. The single received a great number of downloads, but not enough physical sales to have an impact on the charts and the single made only up to #64 despite the top position in downloads.

In January 2011, "Oblivion" an English language of "Mirage" was released with same arrangement but with new English lyrics for the international markets. The single was an opener for the reelased of Updated, destined for non-French markets of Mis à jour songs, but was made available for French markets as well.

In March 2011, M. Pokora announced a tour of 15 French cities, venues in Belgium and a final show in the Olympia. As a prelude, he also appeared in French, Belgian and Swiss clubs with dates from April to June 2011.

He also launched in March 2011 Mise à jour Version 2.0 that included extra materials including the Jean-Jacques Goldman, Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones classic "À nos actes manqués" which was destined to be his new single. It immediately became the number one physical single sales and reached the Top 10. The album Mise à jour Version 2.0 was made available on 18 April 2011, containing 17 titles including 14 form the original, the Jean-Jacques Goldman cover single three English language titles from Updated and a new French track "Si on échangeait les rôles", the French version of Updated's "Finally Found Ya".

[edit] 2012: A la poursuite du bonheur

The fifth studio album A la poursuite du bonheur by French singer M. Pokora, was released on March 20th. The single "Juste un instant" was released on January 30, 2012 followed by "On est là" in April 2012.

Personal life[link]

M. Pokora

M. Pokora was troubled by the divorce of his parents and remained greatly attached to his mother after the divorce and lived with her in Strasbourg before renting a personal flat in Paris. His autobiographical song "Sur ma route" co-written by Jack Robinson, M. Pokora and Jordan Houyez from his album MP3 is about his experiences as a child in a broken home. He keeps contact with his father who actively supports him.

He is an avid football fan and dreamed of a professional football career very early on. He is a big supporter of the French football club Olympique de Marseille, and takes part in many football events.

M. Pokora has been friends for many years with his personal choreographer Hakim Ghorab and his wife Aline and is godfather to their daughter Lola. He is also a friend of footballer Djibril Cissé and is godfather to one of his sons. He added a tattoo reading X as a tribute to him, because Cissé makes the X sign with his hands every time he scores. Cissé carries a similar X tattoo himself.

Sexuality

Pokora remains single although he had some female companions.

But despite this, speculations linger about his sexuality. Pokora is considered a gay icon which he endorsed fully in an interview in 2007 with Grand Journal on Canal+, when he said: "I do music for everybody. Regardless of whether my fans are heterosexual or homosexual doesn't bother me at all. Many great artists in the world are gay icons". He remains very gay friendly and actively supports HIV/AIDS causes and has appeared on cover of the April 2008 edition of the gay French publication Têtu posing semi-nude for the magazine. He declared to the magazine: "I do not care what people say. I am happy to make the cover of Têtu." But in an interview in the same issue of the magazine, he denied being gay and said he had a female companion. He was dating Sofia Boutella for three years.

Charities and public awareness

From the start, and over many years, M. Pokora has been a great supporter of charity causes particularly HIV/AIDS and children charities. In 2004, he took part in the charity single "Chanter qu'on les aime", in support of Association Mondiale des Amis de l'Enfance (AMADE). In 2005, he was in "Protège-toi", an AIDS charity single for Collectif Protection Rapprochée. In the same year, he was in "Et puis la terre...", a charity single for the tsunami victims under the name Artistes Solidaritie Ici pour Eux (A.S.I.E.) with a great number of French artists.

In 2006, he sang in "L'Or de nos vies", a charity single from Fight Aids. In 2007, he took part in two renditions: "Je fais de toi mon essentiel" by Emmanuel Moire and "S'aimer est interdit" by Anne-Laure Girbal both featured on the charity album "Le Roi Soleil – De Monaco à Versailles (LIVE) – Fight Aids".

In 2010, he appeared in Collectif Kilomaitre charity single "Un Respect mutuel", with many other hip hop and urban artists. He was associated with AIDES project and in 2010 sang a solo cover of Tracy Chapman's "Talking About a Revolution", on the charity album Message (AIDES)"

Tattoos

M Pokora is very famous for his body tattoos including:

• "POKORA" meaning humility in Polish (also the artist's adopted artistic name) inscribed on his right arm in capital letters
• "Only God Can Judge Me" on the right arm in English
• Chinese calligraphy signifying "Creativity", "Peace" and "Patience" surrounded by a dragon on his left shoulder
• The letter M signifying his name (Matthieu) surrounded by colorful flames on his left arm
• A tattoo on the calf symbolizing dancing
• A famous saying in Arabic calligraphy on his neck^[5]
• "Ambition" on his lower back in Chinese calligraphy surrounded by chains and two wings.
• Letter X on his right wrist signifying brotherhood/friendship, as a tribute to his close friend Djibril Cissé, a footballer who makes the X sign with his arms every time he scores in a soccer game.
• A star between his left thumb and forefinger
• Star-flower near his left ear

In popular culture[link]

• M. Pokora took part three times in French television game and adventure competition series Fort Boyard in 2005, 2006 and 2009 winning with his team 3690, 28230 et 3000 euros respectively, all donated to charities.
• In 2006, he performed "Elle me contrôle" in the TV show La chanson de l'année alongside other notable artists
• In 2006, his song "Get Down On It" appeared on the soundtrack of Asterix and the Vikings
• In 2006, he took part in the French version of Muppets TV (broadcast on 31 December 2006)
• In 2007, he took part in Symphonic show special organized by Sidaction, a French AIDS charity
• In 2008, Sony Ericsson and EMI Music France his label offered in exclusivity the downloading of 7 songs from the MP3 album through the W380i as a promotional and sponsoring campaign.^[6]
• In April 2008, M. Pokora also gave an interview to French gay publication Têtu also appearing on its cover.^[7][8]
• He took part in "L’Or de nos vies", a charity song recorded for "Fight AIDS Monaco", an association of Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
• He also took part with a song in the album Message made available starting January 2010 with contribution from many artists including Christophe Willem, Jennifer, Anggun, Sliimy, Natasha St Pier, Daniel Powter, Lara Fabian.^[9] M. Pokora's contribution included "Talking About a Revolution", a cover of a Tracy Chapman hit.
• In 2011, he performed on Le show Johnny hosted by Johnny Hallyday
• Enjoying great popularity with children, M. Pokora has taken part in many broadcasts concentrated on kids, including a special on him on 25 May 2011 on L'École des fans presented by Philippe Risoli where children Gabin, Alicia, Romane, Yamin, Axel and Inès aged 5 to 7 years sang covers of his songs.^[10] He also interpreted his cover hit "À nos actes manqués" on the show. He was also was co-sponsor with Hélène Ségara et Jean-Luc Reichmann of the second edition of TF1's show Le grand show des enfants broadcast on 30 April 2011.

Winning Danse avec les stars

• On 19 March 2011 he won season 1 inaugural series of Danse avec les stars (the French version of Dancing with the Stars) with his partner Katrina Patchett getting 62% of the votes against 38% to runners-up David Ginola and Sofia Essaïdi.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

As part of Linkup

Solo

Solo singles[link]

DVDs[link]

• 2005 Un an avec M. Pokora (One year with M. Pokora)
• 2006 Player Tour

Guest appearances[link]

• 2004 "Chanter qu'on les aime", a charity single by AMADE
• 2005 "Protège-toi", a charity single by Collectif Protection Rapprochée
• 2005 "Et puis la terre...", a charity single by A.S.I.E.
• 2005 "Oh" (French Remix) by Ciara
• 2006 "L'Or de nos vies", a charity single from Fight Aids
• 2006 "Get Down On It" from Astérix et les Vikings OST
• 2006 "rainbfever.com" by Amine featured on "Raï'n'B Fever 2"
• 2007 "Ne me dis pas", featured on "Mon Hold-Up" by Tyron Carter
• 2007 "Girls", featured on "Lady Sweety" by Lady Sweety
• 2007 "Je fais de toi mon essentiel" by Emmanuel Moire featured on the charity album "Le Roi Soleil – De Monaco à Versailles (LIVE) – Fight Aids"
• 2007 "S'aimer Est Interdit" by Anne-Laure Girbal featured on the charity album "Le Roi Soleil – De Monaco à Versailles (LIVE) – Fight Aids"
• 2010 "Un Respect mutuel", a charity single by Collectif Kilomaitre
• 2010 "Talking About a Revolution", featured on the charity album "Message (AIDES)"
• 2010 "Let's Get It Started", featured on "Setting Standards" by Lazee
• 2012 "Wanna Feel You Now", featured on "Globetrotter" by Patricia Kazadi

Tours[link]

• 2006 Player Tour
• 2008 Catch Me Tour

Awards[link]

• 2006 : NRJ Music Awards video of the year with Elle me contrôle
• 2006 : NRJ Music Awards French song of the year with Elle me contrôle
• 2006 : HIT MACHINE d'or French male artist of the year
• 2007 : NRJ Music Awards French male artist of the year
• 2007 : NRJ Music Awards video of the year 2007 with De retour
• 2009 : Eska Awards pop artist of the year
• 2011 : NRJ Music Awards French male artist of the year
• 2011 : NRJ Music Awards French song of the year with Juste une photo de toi
• 2012 : NRJ Music Awards French male artist of the year
• 2012 : NRJ Music Awards French song of the year with A nos actes manqués

Discography[link]

• 2006: M. Pokora – La révolution R&B
• 2006: Et je me souviens, Editions K&B
• 2008: M. Pokora vu par, Éditions Broché

References[link]