Ariel Castro to Spend Rest of Life in Prison

He accepts plea deal; case will not go to trial
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 26, 2013 9:54 AM CDT
Ariel Castro to Spend Rest of Life in Prison
In this Wednesday, July 17, 2013, file photo shows Ariel Castro standing before a judge during his arraignment in Cleveland.   (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

Ariel Castro will spend the rest of his life in prison. The Cleveland man, accused of holding three women captive in his home for about a decade, has accepted a plea deal, reports the AP. He will plead guilty and be handed a sentence of life without parole plus 1,000 years in prison. The judge asked him he if understands that he will never be released. "I do understand that," Castro replied. He added, "I knew I was pretty much going to get the book thrown at me."

He had been charged in a 977-count indictment that could have led to the death penalty, and his case had been scheduled to go to trial Aug. 5. The sticking point on a plea deal had been whether the prosecutor would rule out the death penalty. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor had kept that issue under review. (More Ariel Castro stories.)

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