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CNN NEWSROOM

Analysis of the Ariel Castro Case; Families of Kidnapping Victims Speak; Michelle Knight Addresses the Court

Aired August 1, 2013 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The camera doesn't seem to be able to capture them in the same shot, but Michelle Knight can't be more than 25 feet away from Ariel Castro right now. And what a moment this must be for her, for 10 years, nearly 10 years she was held prisoner in his house, tortured, sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, that's been really explained in detail this morning for the first time.

Pamela Brown, you have heard, in talking to the families and people who know these survivors of this, what do you think this moment must be like right now for them?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's just - it's emotionally gripping, John. I don't even know if words can describe what this moment is like. I mean think about how we feel as by-standers here, people covering the story, and imagine if you know these women. I just spoke to a friend actually of one of the victims and he tells me that it's just - it's so hard to accept this reality coming to the surface, seeing what these women endured.

And then we've been hearing, John, about what Michelle Knight has endured. That she was the first to be kidnapped. That she experienced the worst abuse over the past 10 years. That Ariel Castro killed her unborn baby by starving her, giving her rotten food, jumping on her stomach. And we also heard, Don (ph), calling the doctor -- the doctor calling Michelle Knight courageous. That she would step in and protect Gina DeJesus from Ariel Castro. That she would take the brunt of the abuse to protect her fellow friend there in the home.

And it's just incredible to now see her sitting in that courtroom. We've been reporting it. We started reporting it last night that she would likely be making an impact statement. She would be the only one of the three. And now to see her actually show up in that courtroom is incredible. And to think, John, she had the option to tape a statement over video that would be shown in the courtroom, but instead she decided to come and face her captor head on. And it's just incredible to think that she has the courage to do that. But it's also therapeutic, cathartic in some ways, and empowering for her to do this. And certainly it helps with the closure.

BERMAN: You're looking right now at live pictures of a courtroom in Cleveland, Ohio. I'd like to welcome our viewers across the United States, also around the world.

This is the sentencing hearing for Ariel Castro. You can see him right there in the orange sitting at the defense table. And about 25 feet away from Mr. Castro right now, not in this frame, but in that room, and we have seen her, is Michelle Knight, one of the women who survived the captivity nearly 10 years in that house that was a prison. It was a torture chamber. Ninety-nine feet of chains he used over the years to restrain these women. He rigged alarms on doors to make sure that they couldn't escape. He put helmets on them just after they captured -- he captured them.

Michelle Knight is in that room. We expect what's called an impact statement from her coming up in just a little bit. But what an impact she has made already simply by walking into that room with her head held high. This is the first time she has laid eyes on Ariel Castro in person since she was freed, along with Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry.

I'm joined right now by senior legal analyst for CNN, Jeffrey Toobin.

Jeffrey, this is an amazing picture we're seeing right now.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It's an amazing picture, but, frankly, and I'm not trying to get people to turn off our coverage, but I find this almost unwatchable. I mean the degree of evil on display in this courtroom is so extraordinary, and the behavior of Ariel Castro is so horrific and it's been spelled out today in such detail that it's hard to watch and I think the testimony of one of his victims I hope will be therapeutic for her, but it's hard to know how you can recover from something like this.

BERMAN: The horrific detail has been laid out today, extreme detail about how he managed to pull this off, the evil that he committed. But we have also heard testimony today, Jeffrey, of the heroism of these three women. There was a psychiatrist who made a point of saying that Michelle Knight, whom we expect to hear from in a little bit, is an extraordinary human being. She served as a doctor, as a nurse, as a teacher for the other women in there. She took care of them. She protected them. And I imagine it is important to get that out there and on the record also as well.

Jeffrey, you said this is hard to watch. So let me ask you. As an expert of what goes on in these courtrooms and why, why are we hearing this today given that he pleaded guilty and already agreed to the sentence and we know what the sentence will be?

TOOBIN: You know, I think, John, that's a good question, and I don't think it has a completely clear answer. It is true that the judge will need some sort of factual basis on which to impose what will be in fact a life without parole sentence, but I also think prosecutors here wanted to show what happened. I think that they feel, and I'm not sure they're right, but they feel there is some public interest served by showing the people of Ohio, the world, what happened in this one house in Cleveland. But they are spelling it out in more detail than they have to. And, you know, it's only one day, so I think they're showing some restraint by not stretching this out over a really long time. But prosecutors want to show just how awful this man is.

BERMAN: And they have shown that in great detail so far.

Earlier in the day we did hear Ariel Castro very briefly. He issued basically a one-sentence apology. He said, I want to apologize to the victims, he said, and then the judge asked if he would like to speak again later -- or he asked if he'd like to speak again later. But let's actually listen to him, because you want to hear his voice when he says this. Listen right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIEL CASTRO, DEFENDANT: I would like to apologize to the victims. Do I - do I do that now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you may do that now.

CASTRO: I'd like to (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can do it them too.

CASTRO: OK (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is your -- part of your opportunities to speak.

CASTRO: (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: They are all standing up in the courtroom right now. We do expect to hear more from there. Let's listen to what they're saying.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ms. Roberts (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, your honor.

As part and parcel of the state's presentation this afternoon, the most important part is the victim impact statement. All three victims, two of them are represented by family members and one victim, Michelle Knight, is present here in the courtroom and will address you.

We'll begin this afternoon, judge, with Sylvia Colon, who is representing Gina DeJesus. And accompanied by Kevin Tyler (ph), the attorney for the family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would they be comfortable at the podium or would you like (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They, I believe, are going to stand in front of you, your honor, and direct you. We were asked (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon, ma'am (ph).

SYLVIA COLON, DEJESUS FAMILY MEMBER: My name is Sylvia Cologne, and I am a cousin and spokesperson for the DeJesus family. We have enjoyed our low key lives and pray we can continue to saver our privacy. On behalf of my entire family, we would like to thank the honorable judge, Michael Russo, Office of Prosecutor Timothy McGinty and staff, as well as the defense team for an accelerated resolution to the Castro case. Today, we will close this chapter of our lives. Family members, we love you. To our friends, neighbors, FBI, Cleveland Police, Attorney Henry Hilles (ph), and our attorneys at Jones Day (ph), the great city of Cleveland, and too many others to name, thank you and God bless you. For nine long years you have been by our sides, encouraging and supporting us. We shall never forget you. You are now part of our family.

To the Castro family, we are saddened that you are burdened with this horror and will unfortunately forever be tied to these atrocities. Please know that we do not hold you accountable and pray that you can one day be whole again. Continue to love and support one another. We promise you that with this recipe you will be triumphant. Our family recognizes it is not for us to judge or determine any punishment. Only our higher power can do that.

Today is the last day we want to think or talk about this. These events will not hold a place in our thoughts or our hearts. We will continue to live and love. We stand before you and promise you that our beloved family member thrives. She laughs. She swims. She dances. And more importantly, she loves and she's loved. She will finish school, go to college, fall in love, and if she chooses, she will get married and have children.

She is where we will continue to put in our energy. She lives not as a victim, but as a survivor. Her insurmountable will to prevail is the only story worth discussing. We continue that -- we ask that you continue to give her and our family privacy as we continue this journey back into society.

To Ariel Castro, (SPEAKING SPANISH).

Gracias and thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your honor, next is Beth Serrano, accompanied by James Wooley (ph), the attorney to the family, and her husband, Mr. Serrano, on behalf of Amanda Berry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, your honor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning. Mr. and Mrs. Serrano, welcome. What would you like to say?

BETH SERRANO, AMANDA BERRY'S SISTER: Hi. My name is Beth Serrano and I am Amanda Berry's sister. The impact of these crimes are our family is something that we do not want to discuss with people we don't know. Even if I wanted to talk about it, it is impossible to put into words. For me, I lost my sister for all those years and I thought it was forever. And we lost my mother forever. She died not knowing, my mother and sister, the two most loving people in the world. It is impossible to put into words how much it hurts.

Amanda is no here today. She is strong, beautiful, inside and out, and is doing better every day. She is not just my only sister, but the best friend I have, the best person I know. She does not want to talk about these things. She has not talked about these even with me. She does not want others to talk about these things. The main reason she does not want anyone to talk about these things or be forced to talk about these things is because she has a young daughter. She would love to be the person who decides to tell her daughter when to tell her daughter, how to tell her daughter of certain things.

When people say things and file things in court, it is public, it is written and talked about by people we don't know. Amanda's concern is that her daughter will hear about things or read about things said by the wrong people, the wrong way, at the wrong time. Before Amanda thinks the time is right to tell her daughter, my sister has asked me to say the same thing she has been saying since this case started, please respect her privacy. She does not want other people to talk or write about what happened. Now that there will be no trial, there doesn't seem to be any reason at all why people cannot do what she asks. Amanda did not control anything for a long time. Please let her control -- have control over this so she can protect her daughter. She will do anything to protect her daughter.

She also asked me to say that she is grateful this case is over. She wanted me to say thank you to the people that have supported her and our family, including James Wooley, Adam Khilo (ph), Edward Kimmel (ph) and everyone at the Jones Day Law Firm, the FBI, Cleveland Police, the DeJesus family, the entire community and everyone else whose continued to stand by our side. We appreciate everyone's support and kindness.

Thank you.

JUDGE: Thank you, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your honor, Michelle Knight will address you. She's accompanied by her attorney, Kathy Joseph, and a member of the victims (INAUDIBLE) Lisa (INAUDIBLE).

JUDGE: Thank you.

Good afternoon, ma'am.

MICHELLE KNIGHT, KIDNAPPING VICTIM: Good afternoon. My name is Michelle knight. And I would like to tell you what this was like for me.

I missed my son every day. I wonder if I was ever going to see him again. He was only two-and-a-half years old when I was taken.I look inside my heart and I see my son. I cried every night. I was so alone. I worried about what would happen to me and the other girls every day.

Days never got shorter. Days turned into nights. Nights turned into days. The years turned into eternity.

I knew nobody cared about me. He told me that my family didn't care even on holidays. Christmas was the most traumatic day because I never got to spend it with my son. Nobody should ever have to go through what I went through or anybody else, not even the worst enemy.

Gina was my teammate. She never let me fall. I never let her fall. She nursed me back to health when I was dying from his abuse. My friendship with her is the only thing that was good out of this situation. We said we would some day make it out alive, and we did.

Ariel Castro, I remember all the times that you came home talking about what everybody else did wrong and act like you wasn't doing the same thing. You said, at least I didn't kill you. For you took 11 years of my life away, and I have got it back. I spent 11 years in hell, and now your hell is just beginning. I will overcome all this that happened, but you will face hell for eternity.

From this moment on, I will not let you define me or affect who I am. You will live -- I will live on. You will die a little every day.

As you think about the 11 years and atrocities you inflicted on us, what does God think of you hypocritically going to church every Sunday, coming home to torture us. The death penalty would be so much easier. You don't deserve that. You deserve to spend life in prison. I can forgive you, but I will never forget. With the guidance of God, I will prevail and help others that suffered at the hands of others.

Writing this statement gave me the strength to be a stronger woman, and know that there's good -- there is more good than evil.

I know that there is a lot of people going through hard times, but we need to reach out a hand and hold them and let them know that they're being heard.

After 11 years, I am finally being heard, and it's liberating. Thank you, all. I love you. God bless you.

JUDGE: Thank you, Miss Knight.

(Inaudible) you were going to cover some of the sentencing criteria?

ANNA FARAGLIA, PROSECUTOR: Yes, your honor.

Pursuant to criminal rule 2929.11, (inaudible) and 2929.12, seriousness of crime and recidivism factors, Judge, as you well know, the purpose of the principles of sentencing are to punish the offender and to protect the public.

This case speaks volumes with regards to the defendant's actions. If we look at the harm that has been caused to this victim, the only thing I need to tell you is 13,226 days of captivity.

His actions of luring these victims, vulnerable victims, a victim that wanted to see her son, luring that woman for puppies and then keeping her held captive for the next 11 years.

Luring the other two young women, their ages 16 and 14, that is something you need to take into consideration, under the guise of coming to see his own flesh and blood, his daughters, and then holding them in captivity for the next 10 years for Amanda, and nine years for Gina.

He locked the doors. He kept them chained. He used dirty socks when they screamed for help. There was duct tape and motorcycle helmets. That's what you need to consider, your honor.

Repeated pattern of sexual abuse, physical abuse, laying a hand on a woman, on anybody, is a crime in this country. He repeatedly did for his own benefit. That's what needs to be considered, the impact on the victim, slapping them, punching them, stomping them on their stomachs.

He dictated. He dictated when they ate, when they slept, when they could talk, when they could interact, and he dictated when they could go to the bathroom and if that commode needed to be emptied based on their defiant behavior.

He tormented them by allowing them to watch their vigils where members of our community circled around the families looking for them on their anniversary dates, and he even had the audacity to attend them and to talk to the family members knowing full well that these women were in his captivity; they were right underneath his roof.

Again, what kind of impact on this victim? As Michelle just told you, he would go to church on Sundays and come home and torment them. He told them that they had to respect their elders. He was their elder, and they had to do exactly what he wanted, when he wanted, and whatever he wanted.

He bartered and gave them money and took it away. He made them clean to earn their keep. He provided no medical attention from the oldest victim to the youngest, a child was born in a swimming pool.

That impact alone, your honor, that child wasn't breathing, and but for a young woman who had the courage to breathe some life into that child, that child may not even be here, and to exacerbate that, he further kept the placenta in the refrigerator as a memento and he discarded it when they were getting close to him being caught.

Brazen behavior, your honor, giving the appearance that he was a good guy in the community, that he would take out the six-year-old child, his own daughter, and represent her as the daughter of his girlfriend, that is brazen behavior of a cold, calculating, self absorbed human being that does not need to see a light of day.

You as a judge are entrusted with the powers of sentencing. This is a court of law. It is not one of mercy. This court doesn't impart mercy. Only God gives mercy.

His actions have spoken so loud in this community and by this plea we hope that anybody else who challenges law enforcement or anybody else in the field that will prevent this kind of behavior from ever happening again.

I think Michelle said it best to you. It was an eternity, your honor, and that's what he deserves in this sentence.

The minimum is a thousand years, but this court can go higher. and the reason for our hearing today was to give you a picture of what happened at 2207 Seymour.

It was by no means any way to disparage, to humiliate, or to embarrass or to tell a story to a child.

It was information that is being given to a court of law to impose a sentence. And that's what we did.

Thank you.

JUDGE: Thank you, Miss Faraglia.

Mr. (Inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, your honor. Ultimately, I think that the statement that I made prior to presentation reflects our true feelings about the ultimate prosecution and in our opinion we feel that it was inappropriate.

Ad I think, as Miss Knight said, as well as some of the other family members that were here on behalf of victims, these were really private matters.

And I understand why for sentencing purposes, but the sentence was agreed upon and Mr. Castro waived all rights and stipulated to facts in this case.

This is a highly unusual case. He has agreed to life without parole and will suffer as a result of this, and the thousand years -- minimum of 1,000 years is also seems to be superfluous (inaudible), but we understand the reasons why the prosecutors included that in the plea agreement.

Thank you.

JUDGE: In terms of law, the court has allowed discretion under the sentencing statutes in terms of its findings, but I don't think that the presentation by the prosecutor, although more lengthy than one we would ordinarily have in a case, the facts of this case and the span of the crimes are unprecedented in this county.

And if you are aware, as I am sure you are, State versus Venice (ph), which is a recent decision from May in our court of appeals, when there are consecutive sentences sought or to be imposed, the court must comply with 2929.14(c)(4) and I have to make specific findings relevant to those factors.

And, you know, since there was not a trial, in the trial I would have heard all the facts and could have applied them for sentencing, but here there was a plea and there was no PSI, so I understand why the state presented some of the information.

It was toned down greatly as far as I can understand the original potential testimony, so I respect the defense position, but at the same time in order to determine whether impose the recommended sentence, I have to make those findings and I have to have a basis for them, so it has been relevant in that sense, and in my view, necessary.

Anything that was seeking to generate any prejudice or emotionalism, I have discarded and that will not be part of my decision here.

(Inaudible), is your side -- you're done, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, your honor, unless the defendant makes a statement, we would -- then I would reserve the ability to counter.

JUDGE: Well, if you want to make a statement, make it now. Then if Mr. Castro is allowed to -- wants to make a statement, that will be the end of it. OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your honor, thank you.

The -- as you have noted these are unprecedented crimes and call for an unprecedented sentence. We have great confidence in this court's ability to decide the correct sentence based on your experience and your understanding of the law and the 937 convictions before you. The presentation and the facts that now (inaudible) the record of the facts demonstrate the defendant's depravity and the time appropriate.

We agree to a recommended minimum sentence of a thousand. There are 9,245 years available, $11 million, 650,000-plus available in fines.

We do not want this man to profit now or in the future from his crime.

We appreciate whatever sentence you deem appropriate.