This is going to be raw, I am sorting my thoughts and feelings on this as I write.
On Tuesday of this week Ariel Castro, who kidnapped and enslaved 3 girls for up to a decade, died in his cell by hanging. This was only after 1 month of serving his 1000 year sentence. I am and have been super bothered and emotional about this since I found out last night. A part of me is screaming UNJUST, UNFAIR, COWARD.
I also scream for those three girls. These girls suffered under the hands of this man for years, 10 years for the first girl he took, raped and imprisoned. Then, when they finally get free and justice is brought, their captor only suffers for 1 month and then takes the easy way out by killing himself. Ugg, I couldn’t imaging what they must be going through, it’s not fair, they continue to suffer and he isn’t anymore. This is one of the reasons why I am so against the death penalty, this and that I don’t believe that taking another persons life is right, no matter what he/she has done.
Then there is the other side of me. The side that tries to see Ariel Castro as Jesus see’s him, as His son who made a horrible decision when he took those girls. I see the side where if he was sick, which he claimed to be with this quote “At his sentencing, Castro told the court that he had been “driven by sex”, adding: “I’m not a violent predator… I’m not a monster, I’m a normal person.” “I’m just sick. I have an addiction, just like an alcoholic has an addiction” that he felt unable to control himself. I wonder if when the realization of what he had done hit him could he just no longer live with himself? I wonder if he met Jesus in those last hours? I wonder if he killed himself out of regret over what he had done, or fear of what his life was going to become?
I feel rage, sympathy, anger, remorse, pity, frustration, helplessness and confusion. I pray that I don’t forget to continually bring those 3 girls to Jesus in my prayers. They need healing, they need hope. It is not a hope that comes from their captor being caught, it is a hope that comes from Jesus, their maker.
What are your thoughts regarding this?
