Cleveland Kidnapping Suspect, Ariel Castro, Likely to Mete Lower Penalty, Lawyer Says
Terry Gilbert, a criminal defense lawyer in Cleveland said that proving aggravated murder against Ariel Castro poses real challenge for prosecutors, Yahoo News reports.
Amidst the horrible ordeal that Gina de Jesus, Amanda Berry and Michelle Knight went through, Gilbert said that the crime aggravating circumstances does not constitute a death penalty.
She said that defense lawyers may question whether aggravating circumstances of kidnapping, assault and crimes beyond murder, can be applied to the unborn child. The three women were reportedly forced into having abortion through physical abuse.
Gilbert explains that, "Under Ohio law, a person can be charged with murder for causing the termination of a pregnancy. The prosecution, however, will need physical, medical, and forensic evidence in this case."
"You're going to have a body. Somebody saying that (the women's pregnancies were terminated) may not be enough. There's a lot of road blocks to get to the death penalty. It would be a highly unusual and difficult kind of prosecution to make."
Meanwhile, public defender for Ariel Castro, Kathleen DeMetz, refuses to give comments about her client's behavior. She had a 30-minute meeting with Ariel Castro before his arraignment to brief him about the crimes he was being charged and how the whole trial process will go through.
Brian Murphy, an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor proposed for the court to impose a $5million bond on Ariel Castro and that the suspect should not be allowed any communication with his family if in case he was able to pay the bail.
The judge, on the other hand, imposes an $8 million bail to Castro. There is no way that Ariel Castro can pay for he is currently unemployed.
As the situation gets tougher for the brothers, Amanda Berry and Gina de Jesus were finally allowed to come home and be reunited with their families. Police escorted them amidst the crowds until they were safe home.
While Michelle Knight needs to stay at the hospital for further medical attention, Amanda and her daughter Jocelyn went home to Amanda's sister. Beth Serrano, Amanda's sister were kind enough to explain to the crowd that Amanda still needs time to recuperate before she can have enough courage to speak publicly.
Beth addressed the crowd by saying that, "At this time our family would request privacy so my sister, niece and I have time to recover. We appreciate all you have done for us for the past ten years. Please respect our privacy until we are ready to make our statements."
Gina de Jesus went home to her parents' bungalow house where she was emotionally welcomed back. Gina was immediately asked to get inside their house without her speaking or showing her face. But Gina was able to sneak a thumbs-up to the reporters and people who are waiting for her outside.
Felix de Jesus and Nancy Ruiz are grateful for the police and FBI who assisted Gina on her way home. As for the reporters and onlookers, Felix and Nancy told them that the family is not ready to answer question and give statements as of the moment. They ask for patience and understanding.