Michelle Knight might be only about 4 feet 7 inches tall
physically, but psychologically she stands taller than Ariel Castro, the abductor
who kept Michelle Knight a prisoner for 11 years along with Amanda Berry and Gina
DeJesus.
Last week, Ariel Castro pleaded guilty to 937 counts in
order to avoid a possible death sentence. In exchange, Ariel Castro received
life in prison plus 1,000 year.
During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, only Michelle Knight
was in the courtroom. Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus chose to be heard through
their representatives.
Reading and listening to Michelle Knight’s full statement in
court gives her every reason to stand tall and proud.
Here is the full transcript of Michelle Knight's court statement:
“Good afternoon. My name is Michelle Knight. And I would
like to tell you what this was like for me.
I missed my son every day. I wonder if I was ever going to
see him again. He was only 2½ years old when I was taken. I look inside my
heart and I see my son. I cried every night. I was so alone. I worried about
what would happen to me and the other girls every day.
Days never got shorter. Days turned into nights. Nights
turned into days. The years turned into eternity.
I knew nobody cared about me. He told me that my family didn't care even on holidays. Christmas was the most traumatic day because I never got to spend it with my son. Nobody should ever have to go through what I went through or anybody else, not even the worst enemy.
Gina was my teammate. She never let me fall. I never let her
fall. She nursed me back to health when I was dying from his abuse. My
friendship with her is the only thing that was good out of this situation. We
said we would some day make it out alive, and we did.
Ariel Castro, I remember all the times that you came home
talking about what everybody else did wrong and act like you wasn't doing the
same thing. You said, at least I didn't kill you. For you took 11 years of my
life away, and I have got it back. I spent 11 years in hell, and now your hell
is just beginning. I will overcome all this that happened, but you will face
hell for eternity.
From this moment on, I will not let you define me or affect
who I am. You will live -- I will live on. You will die a little every day.
As you think about the 11 years and atrocities you inflicted
on us, what does God think of you hypocritically going to church every Sunday,
coming home to torture us. The death penalty would be so much easier. You don't
deserve that. You deserve to spend life in prison. I can forgive you, but I
will never forget. With the guidance of God, I will prevail and help others
that suffered at the hands of others.
Writing this statement gave me the strength to be a stronger
woman, and know that there's good -- there is more good than evil.
I know that there is a lot of people going through hard
times, but we need to reach out a hand and hold them and let them know that
they're being heard.
After 11 years, I am finally being heard, and it's
liberating.
