RIVERSIDE - A convicted murderer whose quest for freedom has gained widespread attention could be out of prison in months in the wake of an agreement disclosed today between prosecutors and the woman's defense team.

Sara Kruzan, 35, was convicted in 1995 of slaying her one-time pimp, G.G. Howard, at a Riverside motel. She was 16-years-old at the time.

Her efforts to have her conviction reduced and regain her freedom have become a cause celebre, with petition drives and demonstrations organized in her name, supporters - including actresses Demi Moore and Mia Sorvino - arguing that she was a sexually abused child exploited by the victim.

During a hearing today before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Gary Tranbarger, the District Attorney's Office did not oppose a defense motion to have Kruzan's conviction reduced from first-degree to second-degree murder with a gun use allegation.

The modified charges changed her sentence from 25 years to life to 19 years to life in prison. She has been incarcerated for just over 19 years. A hearing before the State Parole Board is expected by July.

"We will make an appearance to make sure everything is handled properly," D.A.'s office spokesman John Hall said. "We're not going to take a side either way on the aspect of her parole."

Prosecutors with the California Attorney General's Office have handled the case at the appellate level since Kruzan's conviction of first-degree murder with a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait.

In March 1994, the teenager arranged to meet the 36-year-old Howard at the Dynasty Suites on Iowa Avenue, where she shot him through the neck, stealing Advertisement

[ Pala Mesa Resort ] his $1,500 cash and sports car and leaving him dying in the room.

Kruzan was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Before he left office, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger commuted her sentence to life with the possibility of parole. Kruzan's lawyers forged ahead with appeals to have the details of her case reviewed again in light of the fact that she might be eligible for an "intimate partner abuse" defense, a relatively new legal strategy in California comparable to a defense based on "battered woman's syndrome."

After repeatedly opposing Kruzan's appeals, the attorney general's office in May abruptly backed off its position that Kruzan and Howard had been in a business relationship as prostitute and pimp, conceding she could have been the victim of child exploitation and abuse.

Kruzan alleges Howard sexually assaulted her twice before putting her to work on the streets at the age of 13. Between ages 11 and 13, Howard had taken an interest in her, providing her money, ice cream and other favors to win her trust, according to Kruzan's supporters.

Her defense at trial was that her new pimp, James Hampton, had ordered her to kill Howard and threatened her life if she didn't follow through.

In June, the California Supreme Court issued an order instructing the Riverside County District Attorney's Office to explain why the defendant should not be entitled to a new trial based on the "intimate partner abuse" argument.

Meanwhile, Kruzan has become what state corrections officials describe as a model prisoner, providing counseling to other inmates while living in the "honors" dormitory at Chowchilla State Prison.