ARIEL CASTRO could face the death penalty if prosecutors decide to charge him with aggravated murder over the forced miscarriages allegedly suffered by at least one of the three women he held hostage at his home in Cleveland, Ohio. If he avoids the electric chair, the 52-year-old is likely to face a prison term many times longer than his life expectancy.
Possible death penalty: Aggravated murder is a more severe charge than murder and under Ohio law it calls for the death penalty. "Terminating a pregnancy while committing kidnapping" qualifies for aggravated murder. Early reports claimed there were many instances of the women being beaten to prevent them giving birth. Only Amanda Berry was allowed to have her baby and as a result came out of Castro's house on Monday with a six-year-old daughter. County prosecutor Timothy McGinty suggested yesterday he intends to pursue aggravated murder charges as well as the kidnapping and rape charges put to Castro in court yesterday.
Court appearance: Brian Murphy for the prosecution said of Castro snatching three women off the street and keeping them hostage at 2207 Seymour Avenue: "Today the situation has turned, your honour. Mr Castro stands before you a captive, in captivity, a prisoner, and the women are free. Free to resume their lives with the promise that justice will be served to protect the victims and the community he manipulated and deceived." Castro, dressed in a blue jail uniform, showed no reaction, but stared at the floor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Suicide watch: Castro remains in custody and is very unlikely to be released before his trial because the judge set bail at $8m – way beyond the reach of a man who is poor and unemployed. His court-appointed lawyer, Kathleen DeMetz, said he would need to raise $800,000 cash to get out of jail. "The man doesn't have any money," she said. "He clearly doesn't have that." He is now reported to be on suicide watch in jail.
Multiple charges: Like Phillip Garrido, the kidnapper and rapist in the Jaycee Lee Dugard case, Castro looks set to face hundreds of separate charges once the prosecution has its case in order. Prosecutor McGinty made it clear yesterday Castro would be charged with "every single act of sexual violence, assault and other crimes", according to The Guardian. When Garrido was sent down in 2011 at the age of 60, his total prison sentence was 431 years – and there was only one victim in his case.
Ex-wife's ordeal: Ariel Castro was so obsessive about controlling his ex-wife Grimilda Figueroa that he told her what to eat, who she could be friends with and when she could leave the house, according to Grimilda's sister, Elida Caraballo, talking to the Daily Mail. He once ordered her to climb into a cardboard box and and only come out when he said so, according to Elida. She blames her sister's death last year on the abuse she suffered at the hands of Castro. Injuries sustained at his hands are said to have included two broken noses, shattered ribs and a blood clot on the brain.
Rally for Michelle Knight: Church bells rang out and 80 balloons were launched at a special event on Seymour Avenue yesterday to honour the oldest of the kidnapped women, Michelle Knight, the only one still in hospital. Unlike Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, for whom rallies were held during their disappearance, Knight was an adult when she was snatched by Castro and, as the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, it now transpires that police removed her name from the FBI missing persons database 12 months after she went missing in 2002.
-
August 10 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a global plastics problem, GOP enthusiasm over tariffs, and more
-
5 thin-skinned cartoons about shooting the messengerCartoons Artists take on unfavorable weather, a look in the mirror, and more
-
Is Trump's new peacemaking model working in DR Congo?Talking Point Truce brokered by the US president in June is holding, but foundations of a long-term peace have let to be laid
-
Ghana abolishes the death penaltyfeature It joins a growing list of African countries which are turning away from capital punishment
-
Singapore executes man for trafficking 1kg of cannabisSpeed Read Human rights organisations criticise city-state for hanging Singaporean man whose case was ‘far from clear cut’
-
Pennsylvania governor says he won't sign execution orders, calls for repeal of the death penaltySpeed Read
-
Supreme Court blocks Arkansas executionsSpeed Read Prisoners Don Davis and Bruce Ward saved from the death penalty with just hours to spare
-
School pupils targeted by cranky owlSpeed Read Teenagers duck for cover to avoid bird's attack during PE - and other tall tales
-
Utah death penalty: is a firing squad really 'more humane'?In Depth Utah becomes the only US state to approve death by firing squad because of a shortage of lethal injections
-
Cleveland kidnap victims thank supporters - videoIn Depth Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight thank public for support after going to 'hell and back'
-
Ariel Castro is 'not monster' and will plead innocentSpeed Read Man accused of imprisoning three women in Ohio house is not guilty of kidnap and rape, says lawyer
