3 Missing Ohio Women - Located Alive!

[RaisingAPrince]

He definitely seems to have a "type"...they all look similar.

Hmm I don't think they look similar at all. Guess I don't see it. I think he was just a sicko that had a thing for young girls.

Has the daughter come out to say she was molested by him? I know her and the mother were abused but I don't recall hearing if the daughter claimed molestation.

[LytoMe]

He definitely seems to have a "type"...they all look similar.

Hmm I don't think they look similar at all. Guess I don't see it. I think he was just a sicko that had a thing for young girls.

Has the daughter come out to say she was molested by him? I know her and the mother were abused but I don't recall hearing if the daughter claimed molestation.

I think what she meant was they all were young females with dark hair?

Other then that, I don't think they are similar with backgrounds. One was a young female working, the other was a family friend and one was a mother who was in a bad place in her mind. (according to her family/friends)

[username]

As I understand it, Michelle Knight's baby was taken out of her custody because her step dad broke his arm and then the family just assumes she walked away.

I had the misfortune of seeing the mother on t.v. and she appeared almost baffled as to why her daughter doesn't want to see her right now. Fuck her. I hope Michelle cuts her out of her life.

I wonder where the boy is now though. She missed a decade of her son's life. :(

[LytoMe]

As I understand it, Michelle Knight's baby was taken out of her custody because her step dad broke his arm and then the family just assumes she walked away.

I had the misfortune of seeing the mother on t.v. and she appeared almost baffled as to why her daughter doesn't want to see her right now. Fuck her. I hope Michelle cuts her out of her life.

I wonder where the boy is now though. She missed a decade of her son's life. :(

I thought the same thing, that hairy beast is a moron. All they want is fame after trashing their daughter for YEARS.

She would be better off without them, and just try to find her son. Poor girl, getting it from all directions.

[imsuchawildflower]

i should have said similarities...they def have individual similarities to the first wife.

[Duchess]

Castro's attorney (a former prosecutor) says Castro intends to plead not guilty & that he is despondent in his bare bones cell. Why would his attorney share the "despondent" comment? He can't possibly believe anyone gives a fuck.

Story

[imsuchawildflower]

dont let him kill himself until those girls get justice & he gets a really good taste of prison justice.

[Duchess]

What do y'all think of this?

A lawmaker wants the state to provide years of relief payments and a free ride to college for three Cleveland women abducted and held in captivity for about a decade.

State Rep. John Barnes Jr. planned to introduce his Survivors of Abduction Act on Tuesday. It would provide Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight with at least $25,000 annually in reparations for the years they were restrained and tuition, fees and living expenses at a public college.

The bill also requires pursuit of a federal waiver for the women - or anyone restrained or held in "involuntary servitude" for at least eight years - so they would receive lifetime government medical assistance.

Story

[Cynical Ninja]

The system failed them for 10 years so its only right the system gives them something back now they are free.

[Duchess]

A man accused of holding three women captive in his run-down home in Cleveland for a decade and fathering a child with one of them has been indicted on 329 charges including murder, kidnapping and rape, prosecutors said. A Cuyahoga County grand jury returned the indictment Friday against Ariel Castro.

Story

[crash]

They reported that on the news here last night, but added the comment that Castro intended to plead not guilty to all charges. You really have to wonder what the defence has in mind there?

[Cynical Ninja]

Hah! Not guilty?

Is he taking the fucking piss or what?

[Duchess]

In general, people always plead not guilty.

[crash]

Personally, if I was a judge, I couldn't see me giving him a lot of leniency for copping a guilty plea, unless there was a stringent guideline that dictated so. Even then I think I'd be looking for a loophole to ensure he endured the same captive torture as those three girls did for as long as possible. So I guess he doesn't have anything to lose really..

[Cynical Ninja]

In general, people always plead not guilty.

Even when they face a solid decades worth of evidence and testimony?

He should save taxpayers some money and plead guilty.

[Duchess]

Even when they face a solid decades worth of evidence and testimony?

It's ridiculous but yes, they do.

I've seen instances where judges have refused to accept a guilty plea. I don't know the reasoning behind that but I think it may have something to do with appeals. There will be those in here who can answer that way better than I can.

[username]

He's willing to plead guilty to everything but the murder charges (which takes death off the table). If they accept that deal, he'd go away for life and the women wouldn't have to endure testifying and a trial. If I were one of those women, I would want the prosecutor to accept that deal.

With regards to the bill introduced, I don't think (unless there was some serious negligence) that the state owes the women reparations. But, helping people that have been held captive for 8 years or more with $25k a year certainly won't bankrupt a state. It's a pretty damn rare situation so I don't really have a problem with it.

[HairOfTheDog]

In general, people always plead not guilty.

Even when they face a solid decades worth of evidence and testimony?

He should save taxpayers some money and plead guilty.

Castro was in court today and pleaded not guilty. He isn't disputing most of the charges, according to his attorney. They're trying to reach a plea to take the death penalty off the table because the murder charges (associated with the alleged killing of fetuses) haven't been substantiated by medical experts. According to his attorney, Weintraub, he and his client want to avoid a trial and he faces hundreds of years in jail anyway.

Snip:
Defense attorney Craig Weintraub, speaking to reporters after the arraignment, said some charges in the indictment "cannot be disputed." But the plea -- targeting the murder accusations and the specter of a death penalty -- signals an effort to forge a "resolution" and avoid a trial, he said.

The prosecutor released a statement saying a capital review committee will consider whether the case is appropriate for seeking the death penalty once the indictment process is complete.

"In all likelihood, the prosecutor's decision will be predicated upon the opinions of medical and forensic experts, and more importantly, whether the women in this case want this case to go to trial for those limited issues," Weintraub said.

In addition to the two murder counts, the indictment charges Castro with 139 counts of rape, 177 counts of kidnapping, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of felonious assault and one count of possession of criminal tools, prosecutors said.

Full story:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/12/us/ohio-ca...?hpt=hp_c2

(Edit: posting at same time as username)

[HairOfTheDog]

He's willing to plead guilty to everything but the murder charges (which takes death off the table). If they accept that deal, he'd go away for life and the women wouldn't have to endure testifying and a trial. If I were one of those women, I would want the prosecutor to accept that deal.

I think I'd take the deal too.

Considering the length of the appeals process, it's very possible that Castro would die in jail before he was executed even if he received the death penalty.

[ramseycat]

Screw the death penalty. Let this dude spend the rest of his life in prison and experience what he did to those girls