Girls Kidnapped 10 Years Ago, Found

[Witchyjoshy]

Even people who are obviously guilty are deserving of a lawyer who will do whatever in their power to prove them innocent.

After all, not everyone who is obviously guilty is actually guilty.

Then again I think the chance of this guy being not guilty is as close to 0 as mathematically possible without actually being 0.

[TheUnknown]

Another update, Castro plans to plead not guilty.

Lawyers for Ariel Castro say he'll plead not guilty to charges of kidnapping and raping three women while holding them captive for a decade in his west Cleveland home.

"The initial portrayal by the media has been one of a 'monster' and that's not the impression that I got when I talked to him for three hours," Craig Weintraub, one of Castro's lawyers, told Cleveland's WKYC-TV late Tuesday.

Right, because if he seems like an okay guy after talking to him for three hours, he surely couldn't have kidnapped and tortured those three women, even if they were chained in his basement. Fuck that ten year period, a few hours and this guy is clear. It's not like criminals are ever manipulative or misleading, no sir.

What makes this statement from the lawyer particularly stupid is that his neighbors already said the exact same thing from day one since they were found.  "I've seen him in his back yard playing with his dogs," "he was very outgoing and friendly," "he came to barbecues."  He was close friends with the father of one of the victims, and joined in the initial search for her when she disappeared.  The only difference is that the neighbors aren't making excuses for him by going, "well, he seems like a nice guy, so it's not fair to portray as monstrous for his monstrous actions."

Also:

"I can tell you that Mr. Castro is extremely committed to the well-being and positive future for his daughter, who he loves dearly," Schlachet said. "And if people find that to be a disconnect from what he's alleged to have done, then the people will just have to deal with it. We just know how he feels about his little girl."

I don't give three shits if this is true at all (which I highly doubt); a single "Pet the Dog" moment or trait does not a good person make.  I honest to god feel that his lawyers are going to try and argue that those women were there willingly.

[Sigmaleph]

Dude is a sociopath.  Of course he's gonna be able to manipulate a lawyer.

Ironbite-a jury on the other hand might be able to see through his facade.

I would expect jurors are, on average, more likely to be manipulated by a criminal than defense attorneys, if only because the lawyer has far more experience dealing with them.

Of course, there's really no evidence that the lawyer was manipulated. He would say that his client is better than the media paints him regardless of what he believes.

[Sleepy]

"I can tell you that Mr. Castro is extremely committed to the well-being and positive future for his daughter, who he loves dearly," Schlachet said. "And if people find that to be a disconnect from what he's alleged to have done, then the people will just have to deal with it. We just know how he feels about his little girl."

I don't give three shits if this is true at all (which I highly doubt); a single "Pet the Dog" moment or trait does not a good person make.  I honest to god feel that his lawyers are going to try and argue that those women were there willingly.

Seriously. And if you rape a woman to bring your child into existence, you don't deserve a moment of time with that child. No custody, no visits, nothing. I don't care how loving you act towards that child, you don't deserve to see him/her.

Also, I'm afraid his lawyers are going to try to say it was willing because the girls willingly got into his van, thinking he was going to give them a ride.

[Distind]

Even people who are obviously guilty are deserving of a lawyer who will do whatever in their power to prove them innocent.

After all, not everyone who is obviously guilty is actually guilty.

Then again I think the chance of this guy being not guilty is as close to 0 as mathematically possible without actually being 0.

Given the only viable explainations that result in his innocence would likely involve timelords, I'm more than content to say there's a perfectly valid time where the question of guilt has passed. That time's right around when someone breaks into your house and finds three people who were kidnapped over the last decade padlocked into rooms. There's no oops outta that.

Guy's a walking case for the argument over if live in prison is crueler than the death penalty, where which ever is worse is what he deserves. I'm still rather amazed that his brothers some how didn't notice. Maybe I'm nosey, but I tend to poke around a place if I'm there more than a day or two.

[Sleepy]

I think the death penalty would be too easy for him. He deserves solitary confinement for the rest of his worthless life, though I'm not sure if the prosecutor would be able to obtain such sentences. I know he was trying to have Castro convicted of murder charges for purposely causing miscarriages, but that's going to be a real challenge to prove.

[Osama bin Bambi]

I think the death penalty would be too easy for him. He deserves solitary confinement for the rest of his worthless life, though I'm not sure if the prosecutor would be able to obtain such sentences. I know he was trying to have Castro convicted of murder charges for purposely causing miscarriages, but that's going to be a real challenge to prove.

On top of that, there's the legal complication that if inducing a miscarriage is the equivalent of murder, then so is getting an abortion.

[Sleepy]

I think the law in their state says it can be considered murder if the miscarriage was induced maliciously.

[Clochette]

Dude is a sociopath.  Of course he's gonna be able to manipulate a lawyer.

Ironbite-a jury on the other hand might be able to see through his facade.

I doubt the lawyer believes a word of anything he said about Castro. His job as an attorney is to provide the best defense possible for his client, even if he personally believes Castro is guilty as sin and should be hanged.

[erictheblue]

I think the law in their state says it can be considered murder if the miscarriage was induced maliciously.

Yup.

"(A) No person shall recklessly cause the death of another or the unlawful termination of another's pregnancy. (B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of reckless homicide, a felony of the third degree." Ohio Revised Code 2903.041

[Meshakhad]

I think the death penalty would be too easy for him. He deserves solitary confinement for the rest of his worthless life, though I'm not sure if the prosecutor would be able to obtain such sentences. I know he was trying to have Castro convicted of murder charges for purposely causing miscarriages, but that's going to be a real challenge to prove.

I remember a passage from one of my favorite books (Crown of Slaves by David Weber and Eric Flint). One of the main characters is taking a taxi to a local spaceport so she can get to the main action, which may incur the wrath of the local government. She asks her driver if this planet has a death penalty. The driver replies "'Course not! We're civilized! Worse we'll do is stick you in a sensory deprivation tank for the rest of your life!"

[Shane for Wax]

1) The lawyer is gonna say whatever he can to try to make his client sympathetic.
2) This isn't an OJ case.
3) The guy deserves life rather than death. In such case as life means life in prison.

[wrightway]

Necro'd for update.

The bastard took a guilty plea. At least those poor women won't have to go to court.

[Sleepy]

Sounds like the case went as smoothly as it could, given the situation. I'm glad the girls can rest assured that he's locked away for good without having to relive the horrors they faced.

[Osama bin Bambi]

I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to relive all that in the courtroom.