Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro found dead, prison official says
Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man who was sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years in July after pleading guilty to imprisoning and raping three women for a decade, was found dead in his jail cell, a prison spokeswoman said early Wednesday. . .
I love this interview. Charles Ramsey, the hero who rescued Amanda Berry and the others involved in that horrible decade-long kidnapping/captivity crime in Cleveland is a marvel of "no bullshit." It's funny, because I heard an LA-based talk show talking about him on Wednesday, lamenting the stereotypical "black next-door neighbor" they trot out on the news.
Ordinarily, I know what they're talking about, and it isn't just a black thing either. It always seems like morons, white, black or varying shades of beige, giving their goofball analysis of what happened in their neighborhood. Not this guy. He may not have eloquent diction, but he is spot on in his analysis of the situation. There isn't an ounce of pretension, not a bit of what he has to say that sounds remotely put-on for television, or embellished in any way. I think this guy is awesome. And I think Anderson Cooper did a great job interviewing him too. And by the way, I think Charles' assessment of Cleveland's 911 dispatchers is pretty spot on too.
UPDATE: It has come to light that Ramsey has a troubled past that includes several cases of domestic violence. This makes him a flawed hero, to say the least. But, America loves tales of redemption (see: Mark Sanford), and maybe this is Ramsey's. For what it's worth, it seems that Ramsey's brushes with the law are a decade and more old.
On Monday night, after hearing all day about the three women (and one child) held captive over a decade in a Cleveland, Ohio house, I turned on Hawaii Five-O on CBS, as I'm wont to do. And I was surprised to find that the episode's plot bore some resemblance to the awful real-life story. Most of the details were different, but it dealt with long-term kidnapping and imprisonment of women. I thought nothing more than that it was an odd coincidence, and was surprised there wasn't a disclaimer, or a scuttling of the episode until later in the season.
Leave it to Rush Limbaugh, classy guy that he is, to try and connect the plot of the episode--having to do with welfare fraud--with the real-life tragedy. And then, to Cleveland voting for Obama? Hey, Rush, America voted for Obama! He's really such a pig.
[Excerpt] Limbaugh links Cleveland kidnappers to Obama and welfare benefits Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday found a convoluted way to use the CBS drama Hawaii Five-0 to link the story of three kidnapped women in Cleveland to President Barack Obama and welfare benefits.
Limbaugh admitted that he had “no idea” about why Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight had been kidnapped and then were able to escape after 10 years. . .
