Castro should have been kept on suicide watch, his lawyer says
Castro held three women in chains at his Cleveland home for about a decade until May and raped them repeatedly.
Ariel Castro
Ariel Castro, who kept women captive at his Ohio home, should not have been taken off suicide watch in June before his conviction, his lawyer has said.
A post-mortem examination found Castro, 53, hanged himself in his cell, a month after being sentenced to life in jail.
"There's still an obligation to prevent our inmates from committing suicide," Castro's lawyer Craig Weintraub said.
Castro held three women in chains at his Cleveland home for about a decade until May. He raped them repeatedly.
During his trial, Castro was taken off suicide watch after authorities determined he was not at risk of taking his own life.
Prison authorities denied Castro permission to receive independent mental counselling, even though he had previously contemplated suicide and was likely to suffer depression after his life sentence.
Castro’s lawyer revealed how they were never provided any explanation for being denied independent mental health care. "We don't know what the rationale was, to take him off suicide watch,” the lawyer remarked.
Castro was sentenced on 1st August to life imprisonment without parole plus 1,000 years.
He hanged himself on 3rd September in his isolation cell in Orient, Ohio.
