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Today this brave woman stood up in court against her captor and torturer. From stories I have heard, he (who does not deserve to have a name) treated her the worst of the 3 girls. He held her the longest. And worse, her family gave up on her. It seemed that no one knew she was missing.

But today was her day. Bravo to her and I wish her great success in her healing.

I saw this on the news. Very stoic indeed.

Very strong and beautiful lady. That scum never defined her.

Her spirit could not be broken.

She is a very inspiring woman.

Oh boy this woman pulls at my heart. I don't get the impression she had "family" to come back to as the others did. I think her whole life has been laced with dysfunction and abuse. Someone collected Social Security checks in her name the entire time she was gone . She just blew me away with her statement yesterday and I so very much want the best for her, for all of them. She's going to make it.

She's amazing. Truly amazing.

As a Clevelander, and this story has hit me on many levels.

All three girls have stayed with me, but Michele's story is the one that has gotten to me the most. One of the things that was reported early on was that Ariel Castro forced the girls to watch the yearly candlelight vigils and the news stories about the searches for Amanda and Gina on television.

This had to be heartwrenching for them, but can you imagine what this was like for Michele? To know that there were no vigils for her? That it was assumed she'd simply disappeared?

I've read that the DeJesus family has taken her in.

I hope and pray that her strength carries her onto great things.

Wolf

Here is a link to the Editoral Cartoon in today's Plain Dealer:

http://www.cleveland.com/darcy/index.ssf/2013/08/castro_horror_storys_happy_end.html

[This message edited by WhiteWolfWinning at 2:44 PM, August 2nd (Friday)]

I am deeply impressed with this woman in particular. She suffered the most, she was most alone, and she has the most to overcome. And yet she stood there and faced her abuser, and said her peace- with dignity and courage. There are not many who could have endured what she did and come out of it on the other side as strong as she is.

She deserves everything good for the rest of her life.

She was amazing. I've seen many victim impact statements over the years, and it takes an incredible amount of courage to speak in court in front of that scumbag. She was strong, clear, and clearly taking her power back. It was touching and absolutely empowering to watch.

I wish all four of them (I'm including the child, because she's a victim too) continued strength, love and growth, as they find their way through rebuilding their lives.

I'm extremely grateful he plead and they avoided a trial, but a monster like him is exactly what the death penalty was created for, though I think the hell he will now live in for the rest of his life is also appropriate.

[This message edited by persevere at 2:47 PM, August 3rd (Saturday)]

but a monster like him is exactly what the death penalty was created for

The death penalty is too easy for a monster like him. He should spend the rest of his life in general population.

If he was in general population it'd be a short life indeed.