Broken Chains

The verdict in Cleveland, Ohio to sentence the monster in their midst that held three young women captive for over a decade hit home hard the reminder of the reality of fathomless depravity. The power of one evil person who enslaved three young people in his "House of Horrors" as it became known, leaves one numb, trying to comprehend. It was disturbing and creepy to see the huge rusty chains Ariel Castro kept the women prisoners with. It would be disturbing to see an animal abuser use such chains on dogs, for example, that would be revolting enough, but to see these chains that were used on people the way they were used on slaves 150 years ago, was revolting in modern day 2013 USA. The conviction of life without the chance of parole plus a 1000 years seems lame, unless he lives to be very old, which in this case I really hope will happen, so this depraved man can have a lot of time deprived of his freedom. Michelle Knight's testimony and statement showed an incredibly strong person, determined to mend from the tremendous trauma she endured for 11 years and somehow survived. Her tormentor abused her the worst , probably because she was very feisty and determined just as she was in court . Her strength impressed those journalists who came to witness her courage in court, and my heart goes out to her. That does not make Amanda and Gina any less brave, considering they too survived this unimaginable nightmare. Their survival is testimony to their spirit, their will and determination. They kept diaries, willing themselves to have hope, faith, that someday their hell would end. More than 10 years later, it did. The healing can start, already did start with their testimonies in court, and the PTSD they will deal with will be softened by therapists, family and friends. It is incredibly sad to be reminded of how low as humans we can sink, in spite of thousands of years of civilization. It is hard to fathom in times of war, when man's brutality and inhumanity sinks to truly shocking levels. But it is even harder to comprehend that sort of depravity in peace, in our own country, in a neighbour, in a person who kept his monster mind carefully hidden from family and friends. The evil that lurks within, that you don't expect or suspect in an ordinary looking person like Ariel Castro. I am glad he was afraid of the death penalty, because life in prison might just give him a taste of his own medicine, as the chains are now on him, for what I hope will be a very long time.