Ariel Castro, the Ohio man who abducted three Cleveland-area women and kept them in his home for nearly a decade — and who pleaded guilty to 937 counts of murder, kidnapping and rape — will have a chance to show his “other side” in court sentencing on Thursday, his sister said.
“[People will] see the other side of Ariel Castro … not the monster that everyone thinks he is,” his sister, Marisol Alicea, said on CNN on Wednesday evening.
Castro pleaded guilty last week to 937 different counts as part of a plea bargain for the prosecution to drop the death penalty. He faces life in prison without parole, plus 1,000 years.
He’s due to speak at his sentencing hearing — and his sister said his remarks will go rather long, focusing on his life and explaining who he really is, CNN reported. And even though Ms. Alicea said it’s a chance for her brother to show his “other side,” she also said she wasn’t defending his criminal behavior.
“He must pay for what he did,” she told CNN.
Ms. Alicea said she wouldn’t attend the hearing because she didn’t want to listen to what she feared would be too-graphic details.
SEE ALSO: Ariel Castro’s son says his father should be imprisoned for life
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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