plea deal to avoid death penalty agreed upon by Ariel Castro
Ariel Castro agreed Friday in an Ohio courtroom to a plea deal in one of the most sensational kidnapping cases in recent memory. The deal, reached with prosecutors, would let him avoid the possibility of a death sentence and spare his alleged victims from having to testify at a trial.
The plea deal recommends
that he be sentenced to life in prison without parole -- that he never
get a parole hearing. It would also mean that a trial Castro was facing
on August 5 would not happen and he would not face the possibility of
being sentenced to death. Judge Michael J. Russo went over the deal with
Castro, and told him that he would be labeled as a sexual predator.
Castro replied that he
understood. At one point, he interjected that he was "also a victim as a
child" to which Russo responded that he could make whatever statement
he wanted during the sentencing hearing. Russo also said that victims
would be notified of the hearing and also would then have a chance to
say what they liked.
Russo went through
charges Castro faces reOver and over, Castro replied: "Guilty."lating to the allegations he held three women
captive for a decade and asked him how he pleaded.
At another moment in the hearing, which lasted well over an hour, the judge asked Castro how good his English is.
Castro replied that he is
good at spelling and reading but his comprehension is bad because "my
addiction to pornography and my sexual problem has reall
An attorney for three
women had told CNN that they were hoping for a plea deal because they
did not want to take the stand at Castro's trial.
A law firm representing
Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Georgina "Gina" DeJesus, issued a
statement after Castro agreed to a plea.
"Amanda, Gina, and
Michelle are relieved by today's plea," according to Jones Day. "They
are satisfied by this resolution to the case, and are looking forward to
having these legal proceedings draw to a final close in the near
future."
The women want to remain
private and don't want to speak to media or others, the statement said,
but they're grateful for the support they've received from family and
friends and the Cleveland Courage Fund, which has helped raise money for them.
With help, women freed
Castro's defense attorneys had previously said they wanted a deal that would take capital punishment out of the equation.
Castro was charged with
977 counts, including aggravated murder on suspicion of ending the
pregnancy of one of his alleged captives. Under the deal, he agreed to
plead guilty to 937 counts.
Russo told Castro that the deal would mean he would go to prison for life, plus at least 1,000 years.
Earlier this month, the former bus driver had pleaded not guilty to the 977 charges. He was being held on $8 million bail.
At the close of Friday's hearing, Russo remanded Castro back into custody, and set a sentencing date for August 1.
Castro abducted Knight, Berry and DeJesus separately in a two-year period starting in 2002, according to authorities.
