Ariel Castro pleads not guilty in Ohio kidnap case

[dipsydoodle]

Source: USA Today

The man accused of kidnapping and holding three women for a decade pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Cleveland to hundreds of criminal counts that include murder, rape, kidnapping and torture.

The lawyer for Ariel Castro, 52, waived readings of Castro's rights and the charges and entered the plea in an arraignment that took about one minute. A pretrial hearing was set for June 19.

Castro, handcuffed and wearing an orange jumpsuit, did not speak or look up during the hearing. Afterward, Castro attorney Craig Weintraub made a brief statement calling the plea the first step in a legal process.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury's 329-count indictment charges Castro, a musician and former school bus driver, with one count of aggravated murder for allegedly terminating one of his captives' pregnancies, 139 counts of rape and 177 charges of kidnapping, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, three counts of felony assault and one count of possession of criminal tools dating from the time of the first woman's disappearance until February 2007.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/12/ohio-kidnap-suspect-court/2414071/

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Yahoo / AP link here : http://news.yahoo.com/ariel-castro-pleads-not-guilty-ohio-kidnap-case-130829276.html

[catbyte]

1. I know it's a legal tactic, but I always have to say, "WTF?"

When someone who is obviously, blatantly, ridiculously guilty pleads "Not Guilty."

[christx30]

2. Yeah. It was just a quick, 10 year glance

at the kidnapper. It could have been anyone that did it.

[prole_for_peace]

3. I guess they are paving the way for an insanity defense.

Either way I can barely wait to hear his justifications.

[kestrel91316]

4. Good luck with that, you mf.

[Iliyah]

5. Innocent until proven guilty

but through my Terra cards, this Mother fucker ain't getting out.

[Nika]

6. He'll leave prison only after he's a stone cold corpse.

Hopefully after suffering many years behind bars

[SoCalMusicLover]

7. Lawyers & All The Rest Need Jobs

What fun would it be if taxpayer dollars couldn't be taken, over the course of months of trials, and years of appeals?

How could our system survive if people actually took responsibility for their crimes, and admitted their transgressions?

He may have done all those horrible things, for over a decade, but dammit....his lawyers will surely come up with legitimate reasons for his actions.

Because they're completely explainable, the evidence will show your honor. Or he was not able to know right or wrong your honor, because of his mental incapacity.

Ya see, there's always an explanation. Tell that to the girls who suffered unimaginable torment, or their families, or their friends, or any of the thousands who helped search for them.

He should receive an automatic 30 year sentence without early parole, JUST FOR STARTERS. No trial necessary. For the equivalent number of years he stole from those young ladies.