CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) – Newly released documents show that three women held in a Cleveland house before escaping a year ago Tuesday all hoped to avoid a trial for their captor.
Meanwhile, one of the three says she has forgiven the man who held her captive.
Documents released by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office Monday say Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight (above) understood the need to put suspect Ariel Castro in prison for life.
The documents also indicate that the FBI and the Cleveland Police Department did not want the women to be re-traumatized by a trial.
The women were held for a decade before escaping after Berry broke through a screen door and sought help from a neighbor.
Castro, 53, pleaded guilty to hundreds of charges last year and committed suicide in prison shortly after beginning a life sentence.
Knight, interviewed Monday on NBC’s “Today” show, says Castro deserves forgiveness because she’d want to be forgiven if she did wrong, and in her words, “that’s the way of life.”
Knight — who has a book coming out Tuesday — says she’s a singer who just recorded a song, and she’s also training to be a boxer.