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Cleveland kidnapper Castro gets life in prison

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1 of 10. Ariel Castro (C), 53, stands between attorneys Craig Weintraub (L) and Jaye Schlachet as his sentence is read to him by judge Michael J. Russo in the courtroom in Cleveland, Ohio August 1, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Aaron Josefczyk

CLEVELAND | Thu Aug 1, 2013 2:01pm EDT

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio judge on Thursday sentenced Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro to life in prison for abducting, raping and holding captive three women for as long as 11 years, and murder for forcing one of the women to abort her pregnancy.

Cuyahoga County Judge Michael Russo imposed the prison sentence after an emotional court hearing at which one of Castro's victims, Michelle Knight, 32, said the former school bus driver put her through a life of hell.

"I served 11 years of hell. Now your hell is just beginning," Knight said of Castro in a statement read to the court.

Castro pleaded guilty last week to hundreds of criminal charges to avoid the possibility of the death penalty.

Wearing leg shackles and dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, Castro listened to her testimony without expression.

Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23 and Knight, all went missing from the west side of Cleveland between 2002 and 2004. They were discovered on May 6 after neighbors heard Berry's cries for help from Castro's home.

Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro admitted at the hearing on Thursday that he was a sick man but said he is not the monster described by prosecutors.

Castro delivered a rambling statement to the court that he makes no excuses for his behavior, which he said was "wrong."

(Reporting by Kim Palmer; Writing by Greg McCune; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Gunna Dickson)

 
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Comments (3)
bdeeber8 wrote:
Wait, if the sentence is already determined to be life in prison without the possibility of parole, why is all this going to be done anyway? Does this mean there is a possibility the judge could reject the plea deal or what? This seems utterly pointless.

Aug 01, 2013 1:55am EDT  --  Report as abuse
sego wrote:
bdeeber8: I think they want to enter as much into the record as possible to prevent him from coming back to court sometime later when all is forgotten. He claims he’s not a monster at the hearing. Give me another word for it.

Aug 01, 2013 1:42pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
huckl wrote:
Thought he should get death but after considering it maybe the rest his life in jail will be more punishment for him. Hope he lives a long life so he can dwell on what he has done for a long time.

Aug 01, 2013 1:54pm EDT  --  Report as abuse