Crime and Punishment

TJ Oricchio

English

Crime and Punishment Essay

“You took 11 years of my life away. I spent 11 years in hell. Now, your hell is just beginning.” These words of Michelle Knight were directed to Ariel Castro, her kidnapper. Castro had kidnapped two other women in 2003 and 2004. He kept these three women in captivity and repeatedly raped them. In May of 2013, the three women were rescued. Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years. The trial of Ariel Castro was a success, as anything short of life in prison would never be enough punishment.

August 22, 2002 was the beginning for three lives to take a turn for the worse. In 2002, Ariel Castro kidnapped Michelle Knight. In 2003, Amanda Berry was kidnapped, and in 2004 Gina DeJesus was kidnapped. Castro kept all three of these women captive, raping them and chaining them to poles in locked down rooms. On May 6, 2013, Michelle, Amanda, and Gina were rescued and Castro was arrested. On July 12, 977 counts of criminal charges were found against Castro. Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts, including kidnapping, rape, and murder. On August 1, 2013, Castro was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years. On September 3, 2013, Castro was found in his cell hanging and is pronounced dead. Castro used the bed sheet in his cell to hang himself .

The outrageous testimony of Ariel Castro, widely viewed across America, shows how terrible of a person Castro was. Castro said that he wanted to apologize, but he instead gave excuses and denied accusations against him2. Castro said that he was addicted to porn and masturbation1. He went on to say that he was mentally sick. However, forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Gregory Saathoof said that an examination showed that Castro was not suffering from mental illness at all1. Castro also stated that the women wanted sex and the sex was consensual . After he had sex with them, he would throw money at them. The women were raped vaginally, anally, and orally. Castro called his home a...