I've never heard of one people being charged with so many counts. I wonder what the record is?

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Cleveland kidnapping suspect Ariel Castro will return to court Wednesday morning
By: Josh Boose, newsnet5.com



CLEVELAND - The man accused of kidnapping, raping and holding three Cleveland women captive for nearly ten years will return to court Wednesday morning.

A pre-trial hearing for Ariel Castro is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. His trial is set to begin August 5, 2013.

Last week during his arraignment, when Castro pleaded not guilty to 977 kidnapping and rape charges against him. Judge Pamela Barber told him to pay attention, open his eyes and raise his head. During previous court appearances, Castro kept his head low and didn't make eye contact with anyone. Castro has been deemed competent to stand trial.

The judge said she wanted to make sure Castro understood what was happening in court.

NewsChannel 5 will stream Castro's court appearance LIVE on Newsnet5.com beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

....more at link
http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_ ... ay-morning

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Ariel Castro sentenced to life without parole for Cleveland kidnap and rape

Castro, 53, apologised to victims in rambling statement and blamed his sex addiction – but insisted 'I'm not a monster'

Associated Press in Cleveland
Thursday 1 August 2013 20.01 BST



The Ohio man convicted of holding three women captive in his Cleveland house over a decade and raping them repeatedly was sentenced Thursday to life in prison.

Ariel Castro, 53, apologized to his victims in a rambling, defiant statement before he was sentenced. He blamed his sex addiction and others while claiming most of the sex was consensual and that the women were never tortured.

"These people are trying to paint me as a monster," he said. "I'm not a monster. I'm sick."

The judge gave Castro the life term for the most serious count and was outlining additional time for the hundreds of other counts, but he didn't immediately reveal the exact amount of the symbolic additional prison time.

Just before the sentencing, one of three women he kidnapped stood just feet away from Castro and confronted him, telling him his life was over.

"You took 11 years of my life away and I have got it back," said Michelle Knight. "I spent 11 years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning."

Knight, 32, was the first woman abducted Castro in 2002 after he lured her into his house with the promise of a puppy for her son.


...more at link
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/a ... -cleveland

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Ariel Castro found dead in prison cell of apparent suicide
By The Associated Press
September 4, 2013



COLUMBUS, OHIO — Ohio corrections officials say Ariel Castro who held three women captive in his home for nearly a decade has committed suicide at a state prison facility.

Spokeswoman JoEllen Smith says 53-year-old Castro was found hanging in his cell around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient. Prison medical staff performed CPR before Castro was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The three women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old. They escaped May 6, when one of the women broke part of a door and yelled to neighbors for help. Castro was arrested that evening.

Castro was sentenced Sept. 1 to life in prison plus 1,000 years on his guilty plea to 937 counts including kidnapping and rape.

....more at link
http://www.freep.com/article/20130904/N ... ts-suicide

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

I haven't been following this case lately. Didn't know about his defiant statements and saying it was consensual (!!!). Now I don't feel so bad about my first reaction (Good!) to hearing about his suicide.

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I am so sorry, aggrieved even, that he was able to suicide out of his punishment. Those women suffered confinement and worse for 10-11 years. That monster couldn't even do 10 months of much less than he put those women through. That's just too light, too easy, for what he did.

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All posts are my own opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of Random Topics. Differences are allowed here.

I sort of agree... but DEAD is a good result too. No longer a worry to victims nor an expense on the State.

The only reservations I have about DP... is that is "too easy" and actually costs the State money with the appeals process.

Here at least this "DP" is done in a timely manner.

As far as the "too easy" aspect goes... that is only true IF the perp actually suffers while incarcerated for life. It seems many don't really... they thrive in prison. Seems Castro didn't "hang around" (pun intended) long enough to find out... but had he lived he may well have got used to prison life too.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Well, that helps, Rumpole, thanks.

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All posts are my own opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of Random Topics. Differences are allowed here.