Ariel Castro, the man that held three women captive for a decade, was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance for parole. The sentencing procedure included the judge reading off hundreds of charges, as Castro sat in silence. Before that, the defendant made a statement, that implied that the women he had kept in his house by chaining them down, had actually consented to the treatment they had received. As part of the sentencing process, the judge did require that Castro affirm that he could not profit from anything to do with his crimes – and pointed out that the victims could benefit.
Of the three women, only one stood to speak with a victim’s impact statement. The other two were represented by family members. Michelle Knight, after getting hugs of support from others in the gallery, made her way to stand in front of the judge, her back to Castro, to make her statement about what her life had been like for the past 11 years. See her act of courage here:
