How do you feel about Castro's suicide?

[kenny]

SNIP: "(CNN) -- Ariel Castro, who was sentenced to life plus 1,000 years for kidnapping and raping three women, as well as murder, committed suicide in his prison cell Tuesday night, the Frankin County, Ohio, coroner's office said.
Castro hanged himself with a bedsheet, Coroner Dr. Jan Gorniak told CNN Wednesday."

He held 3 women captive, sometimes in chains, for around 10 years, repeated raped them, fathered a child who survives and killed another fetus in the womb.
During his trial he had the gall to say the sex was consensual.

I'm kind of pissed.
He could not even tolerate even one month in jail, after jailing 4 souls for 10 years.
What a coward.

I have deeply mixed emotions about his suicide.
They should have had him on suicide watch so he could have suffered every day for the rest of his natural life.

I wonder whether the victims are angry or glad about his suicide.

 

[Sky56]

Mixed feelings. Happy that the State is spared spending tax dollars, unhappy that he never suffered punishment for his heinous crimes.

 

[Enerchi]

Same as you both - mixed feelings. Here he was, comfortable torturing 4 innocent victims... but couldn't handle the pressure himself?? aw.... muffin....

One comment I read on the many sites this was posted on, said he should have been let out in general pop for a smoke break... that too, would also have saved a lot of money for the state, yet had a somewhat more 'satisfying' end to an evil life.

I think he was a coward.

 

[rubyshoes]

He deserved far, far, far worse. What a nasty piece of work.

 

[Ellen]

I'm sorry he killed himself, as he has now by his own hand sentenced himself to an eternity of utter hell, and it didn't have to end that way. But he will definietly pay for what he did, and the sentence will never end.

 

[amc80]

Mixed feelings. Happy that the State is spared spending tax dollars, unhappy that he never suffered punishment for his heinous crimes.

This. I would have had no problem with him rotting in prison, but our prisons are far too nice. Perhaps a prison in a 3rd world country would have been more fitting.

 

[SB621]

Same as you both - mixed feelings. Here he was, comfortable torturing 4 innocent victims... but couldn't handle the pressure himself?? aw.... muffin....

One comment I read on the many sites this was posted on, said he should have been let out in general pop for a smoke break... that too, would also have saved a lot of money for the state, yet had a somewhat more 'satisfying' end to an evil life.

I think he was a coward.

This exactly! I'm happy my tax money wont go towards him but at the same time I feel he never took any responsiblity or ownership for his crimes. Perhaps it makes me a horrible human being but I think if he was turned loose in prision he would have understood exactly what he did to those 4 souls and yes it would have been deserved.

 

[dragonfly411]

Same as you both - mixed feelings. Here he was, comfortable torturing 4 innocent victims... but couldn't handle the pressure himself?? aw.... muffin....

One comment I read on the many sites this was posted on, said he should have been let out in general pop for a smoke break... that too, would also have saved a lot of money for the state, yet had a somewhat more 'satisfying' end to an evil life.

I think he was a coward.

This exactly! I'm happy my tax money wont go towards him but at the same time I feel he never took any responsiblity or ownership for his crimes. Perhaps it makes me a horrible human being but I think if he was turned loose in prision he would have understood exactly what he did to those 4 souls and yes it would have been deserved.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. What a coward.

 

[Gypsy]

One less criminal my tax dollars have to support.

But yes, he did get off easy.

 

[momhappy]

My first thought when I hear the news was that his suicide saved some tax payer's money. Sad, but true. I don't feel one way or the other in regards to suicide vs. spending years in prison (I suppose it's not all that different than a death sentence).

 

[packrat]

He won't be "punished" by spending the rest of his life in prison, he didn't take responsibility and he's not sorry. My feelings are not mixed in any way. I'll go out and have a coke and a smile cuz I'm not sorry he's dead. I would have preferred a much more satisfying end to him...cue Stuck in the Middle With You..but alas that is not to be.

 

[ChristineRose]

My feeling is that this was almost certainly murder. I obviously don't have the data to prove it one way or the other but the timing and circumstances are suggestive.

 

[JewelFreak]

As the DA said, the coward couldn't take for one month the situation into which he put 3 women for 10 yrs. I hope he's somewhere very very very icky. On this plane, good riddance.

--- Laurie

 

[missy]

I'm happy he's dead. One less evil person in this world and no more burden to the taxpayers. Sure he was a coward and he didn't get the punishment and suffering he deserved here but I believe in karma and hopefully he's in a hell now worse than any of us can imagine.

 

[kenny]

My feeling is that this was almost certainly murder. I obviously don't have the data to prove it one way or the other but the timing and circumstances are suggestive.

Excellent point.

 

[ruby59]

My feeling is that this was almost certainly murder. I obviously don't have the data to prove it one way or the other but the timing and circumstances are suggestive.

Excellent point.

The coroner has already confirmed it was a suicide. Castro was kept away from the other prisoners. He was checked every 30 minutes. I do wonder if maybe when the guards realized what was happening, it was a slow code; no one went out of their way to save him.

 

[armywife13]

As the DA said, the coward couldn't take for one month the situation into which he put 3 women for 10 yrs. I hope he's somewhere very very very icky. On this plane, good riddance.

--- Laurie

My thoughts exactly!

 

[NOYFB]

Mixed feelings. Happy that the State is spared spending tax dollars, unhappy that he never suffered punishment for his heinous crimes.

This.

 

[Polished]

He was a person who minimised his crime, "I'm not evil, I'm a sex addict". It wouldn't have mattered how long he lived he still would have retained that thought about himself. The fact that he lived long enough to get caught and be given such a lengthy sentence at least made him aware that no one else shared his view and this is really enough for me. My guess though is that there would be some very complex feelings aroused in his victims.

 

[ChristineRose]

My feeling is that this was almost certainly murder. I obviously don't have the data to prove it one way or the other but the timing and circumstances are suggestive.

Excellent point.

The coroner has already confirmed it was a suicide. Castro was kept away from the other prisoners. He was checked every 30 minutes. I do wonder if maybe when the guards realized what was happening, it was a slow code; no one went out of their way to save him.

If it was murder the guards either did it themselves or were complicit. There have been cases where a prisoner was obviously murdered and no one could say how the killer got to him.

I haven't read the coroner's report. I'm not sure there is one yet. It's not clear if there was an autopsy, or if there will be one. I do know that in a case of hanging there's not always definitive proof whether it was suicide or murder. That is, if you forcibly hang someone you can do it in a way such that all the positions and angles are right and there is no way to prove it one way or the other. In a case like that the coroner will rely on the circumstances and other evidence. She would have to talk with the guards, review security tapes, look for clues inside of his cell, look at the furniture and sheets, look for marks of struggle on the body, etc. It is not clear to me if all this has happened.

Finally I have to wonder what the coroner would do if she did find bruises on the body. I really don't know what I would do. Get some poor guard put away for life or let it rest?

According to CNN his attorneys asked for an independent psychologist to evaluate him but were denied, and that the prison and the Ohio Highway Patrol are both ordering reviews. So maybe something more will come out.

 

[VapidLapid]

He did not deserve to get out of his due suffering so lightly

 

[Kaleigh]

Mixed feelings. Happy that the State is spared spending tax dollars, unhappy that he never suffered punishment for his heinous crimes.

This.

Yup. My thoughts exactly..

 

[Laila619]

He deserved far, far, far worse. What a nasty piece of work.

This. He deserved way worse.

Good riddance though.

 

[MissGotRocks]

I told my husband as soon as I heard this how ironic it was that he couldn't stand the lockdown for a month that he held three young girls in for ten years. He didn't even have to live in fear of someone coming in to rape or beat him like they did. Clearly, I was not the only one that thought that way.

He's gone and I'll assume for now it was his choice. We won't have to pay to house and feed him and the girls might feel like their freedom is a little more real without him in the world.

 

[GliderPoss]

Bring back hang-draw & quarter I say! Some people really and truly deserve it...

 

[ruby59]

My feeling is that this was almost certainly murder. I obviously don't have the data to prove it one way or the other but the timing and circumstances are suggestive.

Excellent point.

The coroner has already confirmed it was a suicide. Castro was kept away from the other prisoners. He was checked every 30 minutes. I do wonder if maybe when the guards realized what was happening, it was a slow code; no one went out of their way to save him.

If it was murder the guards either did it themselves or were complicit. There have been cases where a prisoner was obviously murdered and no one could say how the killer got to him.

I haven't read the coroner's report. I'm not sure there is one yet. It's not clear if there was an autopsy, or if there will be one. I do know that in a case of hanging there's not always definitive proof whether it was suicide or murder. That is, if you forcibly hang someone you can do it in a way such that all the positions and angles are right and there is no way to prove it one way or the other. In a case like that the coroner will rely on the circumstances and other evidence. She would have to talk with the guards, review security tapes, look for clues inside of his cell, look at the furniture and sheets, look for marks of struggle on the body, etc. It is not clear to me if all this has happened.

Finally I have to wonder what the coroner would do if she did find bruises on the body. I really don't know what I would do. Get some poor guard put away for life or let it rest?

According to CNN his attorneys asked for an independent psychologist to evaluate him but were denied, and that the prison and the Ohio Highway Patrol are both ordering reviews. So maybe something more will come out.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/05/20336885-two-probes-launched-after-ariel-castro-hangs-himself-with-bedsheet?lite

Maybe I have watched too much CSI and other crime shows, but yes a competent coroner can tell the difference between a hanging by one's own hands and one done by someone else. And according to the above article I believe it was already ruled as such.

I think the investigation is not about whether he committed suicide, but that proper precautions might not have been taken to prevent it.

Besides, the concensus here seems to be that he got off too easy by killing himself. If you watch any of the shows about prison on TV, life sentences, especially ones where someone is held in solitary, is worst than death. Prisoners talk about how it slowly drives them mad. Why would the guards want to make it easier for him, nevermind put their own careers and lives in jeopardy?

I do think a mistake was made in not putting him on suicide watch. He initially left a suicide note at his house when he was first captured. His own family said he was very depressed. IMO, the coward took his own life, and good riddance that he will never hurt anyone else again. He is in eternal h*ll.

 

[ChristineRose]

My feeling is that this was almost certainly murder. I obviously don't have the data to prove it one way or the other but the timing and circumstances are suggestive.

Excellent point.

The coroner has already confirmed it was a suicide. Castro was kept away from the other prisoners. He was checked every 30 minutes. I do wonder if maybe when the guards realized what was happening, it was a slow code; no one went out of their way to save him.

If it was murder the guards either did it themselves or were complicit. There have been cases where a prisoner was obviously murdered and no one could say how the killer got to him.

I haven't read the coroner's report. I'm not sure there is one yet. It's not clear if there was an autopsy, or if there will be one. I do know that in a case of hanging there's not always definitive proof whether it was suicide or murder. That is, if you forcibly hang someone you can do it in a way such that all the positions and angles are right and there is no way to prove it one way or the other. In a case like that the coroner will rely on the circumstances and other evidence. She would have to talk with the guards, review security tapes, look for clues inside of his cell, look at the furniture and sheets, look for marks of struggle on the body, etc. It is not clear to me if all this has happened.

Finally I have to wonder what the coroner would do if she did find bruises on the body. I really don't know what I would do. Get some poor guard put away for life or let it rest?

According to CNN his attorneys asked for an independent psychologist to evaluate him but were denied, and that the prison and the Ohio Highway Patrol are both ordering reviews. So maybe something more will come out.

Maybe I have watched too much CSI and other crime shows, but yes a competent coroner can tell the difference between a hanging by one's own hands and one done by someone else.

Besides, the concensus here seems to be that he got off too easy by killing himself. If you watch any of the shows about prison on TV, life sentences, especially ones where someone is held in solitary, is worst than death. Prisoners talk about how it slowly drives them mad. Why would the guards want to make it easier for him, nevermind put their own careers and lives in jeopardy?

I do think a mistake was made in not putting him on suicide watch. His own family said he was very depressed. IMO, the coward took his own life, and good riddance that he will never hurt anyone else again. Hopefully, he is in eternal h*ll.

Yeah, you've watched too much CSI. They could tell for example if he had been strangled in a horizontal position and hanged after death, but not if he had been restrained by several people and forced into a noose.

Millions of people would have liked to have been the one who killed him. I suspect many of the people posting here would have done it.

 

[ruby59]

/I would assume that in protective custody there are cameras everywhere recording the prisoners. Unless it comes out that footage has been tampered with, it is unlikely that it was a group effort. Also, if you read my updated post, he left a suicide note when he was initially captured. His family said he was very depressed.

I also question your premise about people here willing to kill Castro themselves. I can only speak for myself in that no matter how heinous his actions were, he was tried by a jury of his peers and sentenced. I am not one to take the law into my own hands.

I can understand why they are investigating. They need to know how he was able to get away with it to prevent this from happening again as they have a duty to protect the inmates from harm. If the prison did make a mistake, imo, it was not putting him on suicide watch.

 

[AGBF]

Bring back hang-draw & quarter I say! Some people really and truly deserve it...

Thanks for the image. I was having a bad day already. All I can say is, this was a man I was very, very glad to see permanently removed from the streets. His acts were unspeakable and I could not bear to read about them, but I did, because they happened. I didn't have to imagine cruel and unusual punishment as well, though. Doing so doesn't cheer me up.

AGBF

 

[lyra]

I was a bit shocked at first, but I'm fine with it. The only positive I can think of, and it's a big one, is that his victims will never have to think about him again. Obviously they will never forget, but the media surrounding the case will end much sooner this way. There will be no updates on him, it's finished. I think they would be relieved in some way. It's done.