(CNN) -- Ariel Castro agreed Friday in an Ohio courtroom to a plea deal in one of the most sensational kidnapping cases in recent memory. The deal, reached with prosecutors, would let him avoid the possibility of a death sentence and spare his alleged victims from having to testify at a trial.
The plea deal recommends
that he be sentenced to life in prison without parole -- that he never
get a parole hearing. It would also mean that a trial Castro was facing
on August 5 would not happen and he would not face the possibility of
being sentenced to death. Judge Michael J. Russo went over the deal with
Castro, and told him that he would be labeled as a sexual predator.
Castro replied that he
understood. At one point, he interjected that he was "also a victim as a
child" to which Russo responded that he could make whatever statement
he wanted during the sentencing hearing. Russo also said that victims
would be notified of the hearing and also would then have a chance to
say what they liked.
Russo went through
charges Castro faces relating to the allegations he held three women
captive for a decade and asked him how he pleaded.
Over and over, Castro replied: "Guilty."
At another moment in the hearing, which lasted well over an hour, the judge asked Castro how good his English is.
Castro replied that he is
good at spelling and reading but his comprehension is bad because "my
addiction to pornography and my sexual problem has really taken a toll
on my mind."
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