Police: Ohio captive suffered 5 miscarriages

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN

CLEVELAND (AP) - Prosecutors said Thursday they may seek the death penalty against Ariel Castro, the man accused of imprisoning three women at his home for a decade, as police charged that he impregnated one of his captives at least five times and made her miscarry by starving her and punching her in the belly.

The horrific allegations were contained in a police report that also said another one of the women, Amanda Berry, was forced to give birth in a plastic kiddie pool.

Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty said his office will decide whether to bring aggravated murder charges punishable by death in connection with the pregnancies that were terminated by force.

"Capital punishment must be reserved for those crimes that are truly the worst examples of human conduct," he said. "The reality is we still have brutal criminals in our midst who have no respect for the rule of law or human life."

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130509/DA66331G3.html

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Ariel Castro appears in Cleveland Municipal court Thursday, May 9, 2013, in Cleveland. Castro was charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape after three women missing for about a decade and one of their young daughters were found alive at his home earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

[BootinUp]

1. He's a Monster

A fucking monster.

[AllyCat]

2. Agree with Bootinup...

a monster indeed. Horrifying.

[ReRe]

3. This jerk really had it out for...

... his oldest captive. Or at least that's the way it looks right now. Not only did he impregnate her and cause 5 miscarriages, but he beat her half to death otherwise. Her face is so mangled that she's going to have to have reconstructive surgery, and no telling what else is wrong with her.

This is the first time I have commented on this horrible incident. Here is one thing that pops into my mind: Doesn't the city of Cleveland have ordinances requiring residents to keep their property up? They need to go through those neighborhoods and cite the owners of homes that looked like Castro's with a warning. Where I live, if the city government cites you, you're given 30 days to to make corrections. They ought to give a public warning that the law is going to be enforced in say, 6 months. That would give everyone time to make the necessary repairs. Take those boards off the windows and place glass in them; if the porch is half broke down and unsafe, fix it; haul off the trash in your back yard; mow the lawn; if your garage or out bldgs are about to fall down, they must be torn down and hauled off. When the 6 month time period is over, start knocking on doors and writing fines, etc., etc., etc.

[OhioChick]

8. Cleveland is such a poor and blighted city

A majority of homes are boarded up whether they're occupied or not. There are simply no financial resources within the city to make sure that residents comply with keeping their properties up, up to code, etc.

East Cleveland is much, much worse. Most homes are boarded and the city is having such financial difficulties that they laid off 20% of their police force. It's quite disturbing given the high crime rate in East Cleveland.

http://fox8.com/2012/12/28/east-cleveland-to-cut-20-percent-of-police-force/

I would tend to think that Detroit is similar.

[ReRe]

11. I knew Cleveland had problems...

... but had no idea it was this bad. Do you have any idea what the unemployment rate is there? what is the metro population? (Guess I could go look this up myself, but I'm off for some errands in a minute and then have a bunch of other things backed up here at home when I get back.)

Someone needs to start a non-profit org of folks who raise money and go around and fix up/clean up the mess. Call it "Cleveland InHabitable"..or something like that.

[OhioChick]

12. I found this on a quick search

Ohio loses 20,400 jobs in March, leading the nation in monthly job loss

April 19, 2013

Ohio lost 20,400 jobs in March, more than any other state, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday.

The decrease comes a month after Ohio reported a healthy 16,100 gain in jobs in February.

The last time Ohio lost more jobs in a month was April 2009, when the state's employment fell by 44,000. That was during the recession, a time of peak job loss in the state and nationally.

George Zeller of Cleveland, an economic research analyst, said posting such a large job loss now is alarming.

"This is not only a bad number -- this is disastrous," he said.

More: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/04/ohio_losses_20400_jobs_in_marc.html

The article further states that the unemployment rate remained at 7.1%. You also have to take into account the under-employed, those who just gave up do to the lack of jobs, etc.

[Chemisse]

4. So if this guy is charged with murder for causing miscarriages,

will it open the door to women being charged with murder for abortions?

I thought this was not valid unless the fetus was viable.

Unless they allege this all happened in during the women's third trimesters, I don't think it is a good idea. There are a multitude of charges they can lodge against him which, if given consecutively, could keep him imprisoned for life. There is no need to break new terrain that could threaten a woman's right to choose.

[lunatica]

5. This is gruesome, but I think legally this may be her word against his

unless the other girls witnessed it. I hope they did witness it. But what a horrible thing to hope for!

[treestar]

6. Yes, I agree

Life in prison will be enough.

[colorado_ufo]

9. They could easily switch the charge to attempted murder.

He could have easily killed the young woman who was carrying the babies by such repeated brutality.

[Chemisse]

10. Very true. What a monstrous human being.

[CarrieLynne]

7. its not true....she wasnt pregnant

remember? you cant get pregnant from rape.....

bet those dumb ass republicans are eating their words now.....