The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. July 29, 2013 Ariel Castro Reaches Plea for Life Sentence in Cleveland Kidnapping, Abuse Case -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Cleveland, Ariel Castro, the man who kidnapped and abused three women in a decade-long captivity, has reached a plea deal to spend the rest of his life behind bars. On Friday, Castro pleaded guilty to hundreds of kidnapping and rape charges in the forced imprisonment of Amanda Berry, Gina De Jesus and Michelle Knight. Castro fathered a six-year-old daughter with Berry after raping her, and also forced Knight to miscarry multiple times through beatings and starvation. The women were often kept bound in chains or ropes and abused. In reaching the plea agreement, Castro avoids the death penalty. .