Ariel Castro charged with Murder until Ohio law

[HockeyMom]

for killing the unborn from ONE DAY from conception????? While this monster needs the book thrown at him for what he did to the 3 women, this is NOT the way to do it. Yes, those women could have DIED from those beatings. Attempted Murder of the women, not Murder of a FETUS.

If this is the law, there is a hidden agenda to it. Did these 3 women WANT to have their captive rapist's babies? They were Minors most of the time. One day after conception? Excuse me? What woman, let alone "government", knows that a female has conceived one day after? If a woman is raped, besides the aforementioned, how does she know it was her rapist, her husband's, or BF's baby unless a DNA test is done? That might make all the difference in the world. Do they really think it wouldn't?????? If someone bombed an abortion clinic, and the women waiting there were injured and subsequently miscarried, still prosecute for death of the "unborn"?

We all want the book thrown at this monster, but charging him with something like this is not the answer. It just feeds into the hands of the anti-choice legislators, and sets precedence which I most certainly don't want to see.

Can THIS charge.

[DURHAM D]

1. Huh?

He has not been charged with murder last I heard. The media is screaming about it because the media likes attention. Apparently they are getting it.

[Posteritatis]

2. I heard the prosecutors want to look at charging him with murder, but that's it.

That said, forced miscarriages are fucking vile and should certainly warrant some charge of their own, though I'm not sure about murder.

[bayareamike]

3. It's not anti-choice to charge him with fetal homicide.

Fetal homicide is illegal in most states. If he forced (I believe) five miscarriages as I've heard he can be charged with homicide. Rightfully so, I might add.

I don't see why this upsets you. It isn't some play by conservatives to undercut abortion rights. It's the law and it's a great way to incarcerate this bastard for the rest of his life. Of course, it's only a great way to incarcerate him if they can prove it. I believe that's why they are looking into the matter. They won't pursue it if it isn't the best way of getting him behind bars. That said, it isn't setting a precedent. Fetal homicide has been on the books for as long as I can remember.

A summary of state-by-state laws on the matter:

http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/fetal-homicide-state-laws.aspx

An edit: I believe whether or not it becomes homicide would likely depend on whether or not the women wanted the children. That said, I'm not entirely sure how the fact that they might have been minors at the time impacts the law.

2nd edit: I came across this great article on Slate regarding this issue.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2013/05/ariel_castro_fetal_homicide_should_the_alleged_cleveland_kidnapper_be_prosecuted.html

[HockeyMom]

4. Wrong

because you are giving a FETUS, Blastocyst, Zygote, MORE rights than a living human being, the WOMEN.

[bayareamike]

6. Hm, well I'm not wrong about the law if that's what you are arguing.

I will say this: I understand where you're coming from. I can also see why he should be charged with fetal homicide IF, and ONLY IF, it can be proven that he forced the miscarriages against their will. In that case, he should be charged with fetal homicide. That said, I don't see this happening since it will be a hard case for the prosecution to make.

I also would argue that it is fallacious to contend that charging him with fetal homicide places the fetuses above the women. He can be charged not only for fetal homicide but also for rape, false imprisonment, kidnapping, etc. The rape, kidnapping, and false imprisonment charges alone will be enough to put him away for life. At some point, the prosecution has to, and will, cease to bring charges against him. This guy committed so many crimes over the past decade that at some point it isn't practical to charge him with every last crime.

Bottom line: I doubt that the fetal homicide charges will be brought against him both because a) they will be hard to prove and b) they won't need to to put him away.

Finally, I understand why you don't want them to charge him with fetal homicide. I tend to agree. The state does not need to convict this guy on a proxy (fetal homicide) to put him away until he takes his last breath.

[HockeyMom]

7. Rest in Peace scrawled on wall

with a WOMAN's name. Surely, one of the 3 women did that. Investigate that one. If he killed another woman he kidnapped, then charge him with that murder; not blastocysts, zygotes, embryos, or fetuses.

[bayareamike]

8. Agreed. nt

[Turborama]

13. Kidnapping carries a life sentence and he kidnapped 3 women

I don't see why they need to look for murder charges when 3 kidnappings have taken place, plus numerous rape charges.

There's no way this monster is going to be free in the outside world again.

[DevonRex]

5. There has to be a charge for violently beating a woman for the

purpose of causing a spontaneous abortion against her will. Even if these girls had not wanted to carry their pregnancies to term, they certainly would never have chosen to terminate them in this manner.

[HockeyMom]

9. Not get beaten

or have 5 rapist pregnancies? They could have DIED just giving birtht in the conditions they were living in.

[Bjorn Against]

10. I am pro-choice but I am not entirely opposed to fetal homicide laws

The slippery slope does worry me, but at the same time an attack on a woman that forces her to have a miscarriage is a horrible thing and it should be prosecuted. Pro-choice means just that, choice. When a person forces an abortion on a woman that is taking away that woman's choice just as much as prohibiting her from having an abortion is.

I don't think fetal homicide should be a capital offense, but it should be a criminal offense. There is a huge difference between providing safe and legal abortion services and a domestic abuser beating a woman to force an abortion.

[Gravitycollapse]

12. Killing a fetus should be homicide like killing a dog should be homicide.

In fact, I'd say killing the dog is way worse.

[HockeyMom]

11. Law Enforment need to take their TIME

and cross all their i's and dot their t's and not put together the fastest slipshod case. Investiage EVERYTHING and gather the most reliable case they possibly can, which will guarantee JUSTICE for all the young women involved.