>> you told me that my family didn't care on on holidays. christmas was the most dramatic 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 your worst enemy. i would have gone. we died a little every day as you think about the 11 years and atrocities you inflicted on us. i will think of you hypocrite particularically going to church every sunday, coming home to torture us. you don't deserve that. you deserve life in prison. >> we stand before you and promise you.

she laughs, she swims, she dances and more importantly, she loves and she's loved. she will finish school, go to college, fall in love and if she chooses, she will get married and have children. she is where we will continue to put in our energy. she was not only a victim but a survivor. >> my sister would say the same things. please respect her privacy. she does not want other people to talk or write about what happened. now that there will be no trial there doesn't seem to be any reason at all why people cannot do what she asks. amanda did not control anything for a long time. please let her control -- have control over this so she can protect her daughter. >> then in a shocking rambling and somewhat delusional

statement ariel castro claimed he created a normal house of harmony for the victims. at one point he even turned toward michelle knight saying, the sex with the women was consensual and blaming his crimes on addiction to porn. >> what i'm trying to get at is these people are trying to paint me as a monster and i'm not a monster. i'm sick. as in sexual problems so bad on my mind but eventually i married, had four children. they have normal lives. >> earlier prosecutors showed photographs from inside the

house of horrors where castro has admitted to holding the three women and one child, including pictures of the chains he used to keep those women captive. under a plea deal castro will not face the death penalty for the 937 charges against him but he will spend the rest of his life in prison. nbc's jay gray is in cleveland. jay, we knew that this was going to be an extraordinary day, that we would hear from perhaps one of these women. we ended up hearing from one and their families. it was incredible to watch from television. what were people saying there? >> reporter: tamron, riveting. while we knew it would be exceptional as you talk about and emotional, there was no way of knowing what would unfold in the courthouse here today. i think a lot of people who were in that courtroom who have been watching this closely still stunned by what unfolded. you know, just the emotion of michelle knight sharing a room for the first time since her escape with ariel castro and then as you talk about, his rambling statement.

very self-serving at times. i think it's important that we remember that this was a man regardless of what he said today in a courtroom who has confessed to more than 900 counts including rape, aggravated murder, kidnapping. this is a man by his own words, by his own admission that will now spend the rest of his life behind bars. but to hear him speak and to see michelle knight not only be in that courtroom and give that emotional statement, but then to sit and listen as castro spoke, just very moving stuff today. >> and the judge also bringing this back to the women in his comments after sentencing castro. a sense of peace. and admonishing castro many times as he attempted while pleading guilty to describe himself as a nonviolent person, basically the judge not hearing any of that. >> no, tamron. i think it was very telling to see castro at times during the

sentencing actually interrupt the judge trying in his own mind, i guess, to correct the record saying that he wasn't violent. at one point he said to the judge, and i want to make sure i get it right here. i want to make sure i get the quote right, but what he said was i never killed anybody and i'm not a murderer. the judge cut him off and then at one point told castro, look, you're highly narcissistic here. you are a narcissist who has just created hell for these women and, you're right, in the end turned it back around to the victims who he said amazingly survived and regained their freedom in a country that respects freedom so dearly. >> all right. jay gray. thank you. now let me bring in the panel we have to discuss what we've witnessed today. jeff dion is the national center for victim crimes, criminal defense attorney john burr, wendy murphy and sirius xm michael mcconnell. jeff, let me start with you

first because i'd like to talk about the victims before we get to what we heard from ariel castro. michelle knight said that it was a living held. she talked about how she cried every night, how she was so alone. years turned into an eternity. down to ariel castro making them watch television where they would see their disappearance. when he turned to her to say he was sorry, she did not plin much. >> well, i think it was a tremendous testament to michelle knight's strength and resilience in the aftermath of that. it's so important that we have victim statements because it's fitting to have the punishment fit the crime. how can we do that unless we know what the women went through and experienced. her experience was more than

anyone could have imagined. that was an important part of today's proceeding. >> wendy, i want to play part of michelle knight's kidnapping. she showed up to say her words in front of the world. let me play what he said. >> when i picked up the first victim i -- i -- i wasn't even -- it wasn't something that i was trying to make it look like i did. i didn't do that. i went to family dollar and i heard her say something and i ran on that. when i got up i did not say, gee, i'm going to try to find some women to pick up. >> wendy, it was excuse after excuse from ariel castro. the victim was here. he capitalized on this. they shouldn't have been there. he subjected himself to pornography and that turned him into what he says is not a monster but a victim here. what do you make of what he said

today? all while admitting his guilt and knowing he was not walking out of that courtroom today. >> yeah, there was a lot of protest, too much if you ask me. i don't know how many times he said i'm not a monster. i mean, if you keep saying it, i think the inference we can draw is that you think you really are. i draw a list down of all the other people he blamed. he blamed the fbi. he blamed the girls' families. he blamed pornography. he did not take responsibility even though at the end he said and by the way i'm sorry. i have to say i think the best moment was when the judge after he finished his craziness, the judge turned to michelle knight and said, i am so sorry. i acknowledge your extraordinary restraint listening to what he just said and what the judge was referring to was this monster saying, and michelle's family didn't even care about her. they weren't even looking for her. if i had been michelle's lawyer, i would have objected because under ohio law, as is true in

every state in this country, victims are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. that was disrespectful and undignified. i would have objected just to make the point that what he said about her at that moment in time was gratuitous, it was harmful and it was absolutely out of line. >> i think the judge should have shut him up. >> each of those victims saying he's not taken their dignity, he's not taken their life. they was' used the platform appropriately in what they were prepared for meaning michelle was able to come in herself. the other two women sent statements through their families. his words will never take their dignity and that's what they're saying. michael, i want to play a little bit of what we also learned. we saw these pictures for the first time inside that home. the people still wonder, as you know, michael, how this even happened, how there were no clues and neighbor's involvement in this. joshua barns, the ohio bureau of federal investigations, he talked about the chains alone in the home. let's take a listen.

>> some of the chains had several smaller chains attached to them by padlocks. i took a length measurement from longest point to longest point so i didn't measure any of the attached chains. so from longest point to longest point of all chains that i was asked to examine, they were a total of 9'99 feet three inches >> michael, what we heard today, i cannot imagine that would not give you pause. >> i think the prosecution did an excellent job today in bringing home all of the tragedy that took place over the span of the decade but i was left unsatisfied with the result. i felt it was too convincing and life without the possibility of parole plus 1,000 years seems lean jent.

>> do you feel he should have faced the death penalty? >> yes. it was a one and done. one of the victims was there and as you pointed out, two of the others were spared the indignity of having to be in that courtroom if they choose to do so. it would have been more painful for them had they gone through a full penalty phase in a death penalty case. if there's a death penalty case out there, i think of what went on in cheshire, connecticut, and i think of this. >> to your point, john, a lot of people were watching this today. first of all, it was an extraordinary setting. we were able to hear ariel castro for such a lengthy period of time even challenging the judge but you have folks who wonder why didn't he face the death penalty and also others who say he seems to be mentally ill but the judge pointed out he knew right from wrong. he had a girlfriend at the time. he didn't do these things to her but he chose to do the things to the three other women and hide it. he had the ability to know what he was doing was horrific. >> i also think if there really was evidence of psychological

disorder, defense lawyers would have i'm certain explored this in depth before they, in fact, entered into a plea because that would have been part of their effort at mitigation. it clearly was not there. he was more narcissistic in terms of personality than not. i frankly thought that what he said -- if i'm his defense lawyer, i would not have allowed him to go through that rant because i don't think it helped him in any way. not that the judge would have changed his mind, but given that he was so insulting to everyone, including the victims, that from a defense point of view i would have preferred that not to han, particularly having pled guilty to all of the charges. you accept what you've done, you've pleaded guilty, you don't try to mitigate. something like this could hurt him when he goes to prison because, you know, number one, prisoners don't like people who mistreat women the way he does. his failure to even acknowledge it now i think could be more harmful to him than not. >> jeff, let me bring you back in. ariel castro referred to the child that he fathered with amanda berry and at one point he

said if you asked her she would say that she had a good daddy and he would take her to church. she is the youngest victim in all of this. was their background in working with the national center for victims of crimes, what happens when a child is caught in the middle of something like this, if this has even happened before. >> well, i think this is really an extraordinary situation and this child didn't know anything el else. oftentimes children will attach themselves to the perpetrator and form bonds of attachment and she might think that she had a good daddy. she might have even said so, but she doesn't have anything else to base that on. and i think that all of these victims, and particularly that child, are going to have to relearn a lot of what life is about and what normal is. and that's not necessarily going to be easy. i think that the children in

particular and these other women have absolutely demonstrated a tremendous deal of resilience as they work to try and get their lives back after ten years, but i think it's going to be very confusing for that child to learn what her experience was and what happened to her father and why she was even there. >> wendy, i know you don't practice family law, you're a prosecutor. is there a chance that he would even have been able to ever see this child? do you have any parental rights when you're convicted due to these types of crimes? >> you know, it's such a great question although i don't traditionally practice in family court, there is a lot of overlap in my work. i do a tremendous amount of work on behalf of victimized women and children and i have a case penlting of a man who impregn e impregnated a woman and he is in fact seeking visitation rights. about 30,000 babies are born from rape every year in this

country and in the vast majority of states the mere biological connection irrespective of how it happened gives that father presumptive rights in terms of parenthood, visitation and other things. we have a really big problem that has yet to be addressed. in ohio, believe it or not, even though he has admitted to these horrific crimes, this man remains a father of that baby born in captivity as a result of the rape and he stands on equal footing with all the good dads in ohio because ohio has yet to address the question. >> john, go ahead. >> you can have -- some courts can terminate this father's rights pretty easily. that's not going to be that much of a challenge. >> they can. >> they can. >> they can but he's entitled to the presumption. >> he can try that but he's going to lose. he's going to lose that particular issue. given the circumstances -- >> lots of guys don't.

>> i think he loses and i think he loses pretty easily. it's really up to the mother and social services to make that effort to terminate his parental rights. >> michael, let me get you back in finally on this. a lot was said about the community and people wondering how something like this could go on for so long. one of the details we learned today was when ariel castro had visitors to the home he took them to a garage where he chained them to a vehicle so that the visitors would not know what he was hiding in that home. is there still some lingering conversation about, you know, looking out your window and questioning or are we so privacy conscious now that that's just wrong? >> i think there's a tendency for people to look at this particular community and to think that it couldn't go on where they reside, but we have become, to use the book title, "a bowling alone society." and i think the awareness that used to exist on our blocks of our neighbors, extended family, so forth, doesn't exist.

i'm convinced this could have played itself out in communities all across the country and not just in one in cleveland. >> i agree with you, michael. people look at neighborhoods and make assumptions about the people. something like this, this could happen anywhere and it did and hopefully these women will be able to move forward with their lives as well as that child of amanda berry. thank you so much for joining me. thank you all. >> thank you. up next, the first words from nsa leaker edward snowden since russia granted him asylum today. where could he be now i should ask? we'll have a live report out of moscow and the latest of what the president is saying. what's coming out of the white house. join us on twitter. find us @tamronhall and my team @newsnation. ent started as hourly associates. there's opportunity here. i can use walmart's education benefits to get a degree, maybe work in it,

or be an engineer, helping walmart conserve energy. even today, when our store does well, i earn quarterly bonuses. when people look at me, i hope they see someone working their way up. vo: opportunity, that's the real walmart. humans. even when we cross our "ts" and dot our "i's", we still run into problems. that's why liberty mutual insurance offers accident forgiveness with our auto policies. if you qualify, your rates won't go up due to your first accident. because making mistakes is only human, and so are we. we also offer new car replacement, so if you total your new car, we'll give you the money for a new one. call liberty mutual insurance at... and ask us all about our auto features, like guaranteed repairs, where if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, the repairs are guaranteed for life. so call...

to talk with an insurance expert about everything that comes standard with our base auto policy. and if you switch, you could save up to $423. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy?

welcome back. nsa leaker edward snowden's whereabouts are being kept secret for security reasons after russia today granted know den asylum for a year. now there are pictures we got of snowden leaving the moscow airport where he had been stuck since arriving from hong kong back on january 23rd. at the airport his russian attorney showed a copy of the paper snowden was given allowing him to enter russia. meanwhile wikileaks issued a statement over the past eight weeks we have seen the obama administration show no respect for international or domestic law but in the end the law is winning. in the past hour white house press secretary jay carney said, quote, we are evaluating the utility of a planned summit in russia. >> we are extremely disappointed that the russian government would take this step despite our very clear and lawful requests in public and in private to have

mr. snowden expelled to the united states to face the charges against him. mr. snowden is not a whistle-blower, he is accused of leaking classified information and has been charged with three felony counts and he should be returned to the united states as soon as possible where he will be accorded full due process and protections. earlier republican senator lindsey graham said, quote, americans in washington -- we're going to take you now to cleveland, ohio, where we're hearing an update now following the sentencing of ariel castro. >> you heard from them and their representatives. we will always be inspired. the law enforcement was dedicated to find these women. they never gave up. they looked and they searched and no one was -- other than the family, of course, was more relieved or happy than these individual law enforcement

officers. so i want to thank the law enforcement officers for their faith and their willingness to continue. i want to give my heart felt thanks to the cleveland police to the chief calvin williams represented here. chief mcgrath is in another meeting, emergency matter. the second one here is the fbi. the fbi has has been tremendous in all aspects of this case. they worked with the cleveland police and the sheriff's office and bci from start to finish and i want to thank the agent in charge, special agent in charge, steve anthony of the fbi representing a tremendous group, not just here in cleveland but the fbi agents who came in from

washington and agents from different parts of the country to handle different aspects, from the scientific end to the working with the victims or the interviews, handling the interviews of this criminal and the people and behavioral science unit and, of course, the sheriff. we've got a great sheriff here. sheriff frank balda and his representatives are here. you see them in uniform and in person. this is a great sheriff's unit. great detective unit. their help has been instrumental all the way through. want to give special thanks to the individual cleveland police officers and fbi agents and sheriffs who were working on this case continually for over a decade who were emotionally moved at night and are still

moved by this and inspired by these ladies who outwitted this rapist murderer. and the scientific backing we got from bci, the bureau of criminal investigation under the attorney general mike dewine was invaluable as always. this, ladies and gentlemen, formed a tremendous team who with the help of the victims were able to bring this case in 87 days to fruition here to this guy going to prison and never, ever coming out. the families of the victims, our hats are off to them. the -- i've never seen a more thorough investigation in my 40 years here and better cooperation, better team work. this is a great team and we should all be and we all are, proud of michelle, amanda and gina. they are our heroes and they are

survivors. we'll answer questions and pose them to anyone you wish. >> the suggestion that you made that he created a harmonious family environment. >> i'm going to leave that. mr. thomas, step up, assistant prosecutor. >> tom, the thing that was telling about what the true nature of ariel castro is that when we had him sign the deed for the property a few days back after the pleas, he broke down in tears and told ours representative that he was thinking that it was wrong that that property be torn down and that he was so sorry to lose that property because of the many happy memories that he had there with gina, michelle, and amanda. that's how he viewed the world. that's how distorted and twisted he is. >> all right. >> showing the chains and the helmets used in sex acts was

gratuitous and unnecessary. do you feel that you had to -- >> i think it was important for the court to know that the restraints weren't just psychological, it was also physical and it was also daily. they were chained multiple times multiple places only really released from the chains to be allowed to be taken down to the bathroom when he saw fit, rechained as well as the other twist ties and other bondage items that were used. i think it was important for the court to hear about the extent that ariel castro went through to keep these women tied to this house. >> we've had hundreds of years of law enforcement here. there was 92 pounds of chain and 99 feet in length. i don't think that any of us have ever seen anything like that before. >> what's your name and title please? >> adrien lennick, i'm assistant

prosecuting attorney. adrienne lennick. >> did anything about his statement surprise you. >> today? >> yeah. >> anna? you tell them. >> nothing is going to surprise the prosecution when it comes to a defense statement. mr. castro from the very beginning said it was about him in his interviews with the detectives, was continually blaming the victims, that it was a consensual relationship. as you saw and as the gentleman from the ap asked, tom, to mr. castro this was a harmonious living situation, keeping these gals captive for such a long period of time. so, no, we weren't surprised. we were surprised at the length of time that he continued to talk because given the opportunity he would have kept you guys here all day long. >> what's your name again please? >> anna perellia.

>> andy, if you step up here, these two gentlemen conducted the investigation. >> this was an interrogation of the defendant who was an extremely important part of the investigation. with the assistance of the fbi, what these gentlemen did, it was a tremendous job. if you have any questions about the interrogation now, they'll answer. >> was he unusual? have you talked to anybody like this before? >> i have not, no. as i said in my testimony earlier, when i posed a question to him that was incriminating, i felt that he gave me an answer. whether he minimized the horrific details, he still answered my questions. >> did he tell you that he suffers with mental illness? >> no, he never talked about any mental illness. he did talk about sexual

addictions. >> your name? >> jacobs, first name david. >> both testified earlier but, andy, why don't you help them. >> step up to the microphone, too. >> harasimchuk. >> what do you think about him talking about mental illness now? >> i think it's a crutch. i don't believe it. i mean, he was cognitive. he knew what he did was wrong. he said that in the interview. i think it's a crutch. >> what were you thinking when he was taken into court today? >> personally, i -- the first thing that came to my mind was that he's just making excuses. this is not what he portrayed in the interviews. he -- he -- he admitted that he knew what he did was wrong. he said he was a criminal and for him to say some of the stuff today, i just found it hard to believe.

>> how would you characterize this with other people that you have interviewed with similar situations if there is a similar situation? >> i don't believe there is a similar situation, but i would categorize him as someone that when the questions were posed to him, he answered them. typically if you ask an intimidating question during an interrogation, you may never get an answer or they may side step the question. i thought that he faced the questions head on. he answered them. whether he elaborated on the horrific details of that, i don't think he did. >> that's why we sought the help of the fbi behavioral science unit who has the national expertise and who has run into criminals, colossal criminals of this nature, monsters, because we needed help to deal with this guy. we needed expert help. these gentlemen, they followed their interrogation technique and suggestions from the fbi behavioral people and they said don't be confrontational. if he says something, he did something awful, you don't say,

how in the world could you do that. you just say, okay, what happened next and you keep him moving and they kept him moving. between they and the fbi agents who did the interrogation for two full days of very valuable information gathering and that's why he pled guilty here. >> prosecutor, if you could step up to the mic too, please. you had a plea deal in the works. when he went through all of the testimony and be the firsthand accounts, why was that necessary? >> well, if we didn't put evidence in, there was no evidence in the record, there would have been absolutely nothing there and the judge would have had nothing to sentence on. all we would have had would have been the victim statements and then you would have had the defendant's statements. it wouldn't have been in very good context. you saw the judge. he used the evidence that was put there. the judge has received no evidence so far, nothing. what we've put there in our sentencing memorandum and suggested findings of fact is what he operated on. we gave, you know, the benefit of the sheriff's, bci, the fbi

and cleveland police investigation all in one in those 15 or 17 pages and in that 1:52 direct testimony today. without it there's nothing to uphold a conviction. 20 years from now some federal court on a habeus action says, what's he done? there's nothing in the record except his statement, his silly statement. we anticipated something. not that silly but, you know, something absurd. that's how you obtain and maintain a conviction. the -- 90% of federal habeus reversals are because there's nothing in the investigation. we did not want that happening in ten years and then the man would have the opportunity to retry the case. you know what, i want to try it now. i didn't like ten years in the penitentiary, i want to try it.

>> you felt you needed to show the evidence? >> it would be irresponsible and it would be outright negligence of a prosecutor not to present evidence at a hearing. >> all of the forensic evidence -- >> we combined the forensic. we just put one witness up from bci on the forensic side but we combined that in our other motions and that was not being contested by the defense. defense was in a difficult position. they had to argue something and i respect them. another question? >> not working today. can you give us the dialogue going in there? why did she want to be there today? >> who would like to speak to that? erin, you're the most familiar with it. >> i think that you got a glimpse of a young woman that was taken 11 years ago and today was her first day of real liberation. she was able to confront the

person who harmed her for 11 years and she was able to tell you who she was and the pain and the angst that she suffered for 13,226 days. i think you all got a good feeling when she got done speaking because she will survive but she has gone through a lot of physical and emotional pain throughout the 11 years. >> did you talk to her afterwards? what did she have to say about his remarks? >> no. she was taken away by her attorney and the victim's advocate. i think those are going to be only known to her unless she wishes to share them with the media, but i think she was very relieved when mr. mcginty sent the officers out to talk to them about the potential plea. she wanted it to be over. she did not want to have to sit on a witness stand though prepared to do that, all three of them were, she did not want to have to do that and recite

all of the sore details of the continual abuse that she had. >> the attorney described out in the hall, what do you guys think about -- i mean, you can -- >> we happen to have a forensic scientist here so we don't have to pretent to be one here. [ inaudible ] >> correct. mental illness has one meaning to psychiatrists who treat people and another meaning in forensics where it leads towards diminished responsibility, mitigation, exculpability. he doesn't have the kind of mental illness that takes away his ability to know what he's doing. he is a palafelia.

his preference is young women. that's really called hebofelia rather than pedofelia. that's a compulsion. it's a sexual deviancy. he knows he has it. i think he's trying to explain it to himself and to others because at times he said, i don't know how all of this happened, but i think what all of us are concerned about is he's a very good liar and we don't want him to lie to a medical person or someone who's in a position down the road to grant some kind of clemency based on his appeal. >> you think you've had limited contact -- >> we are listening to prosecutors involved with the ariel castro case. he's been sentenced now to life behind bars. we're hearing from medical examiners, personnel including first responders even there who

were the first on the scene the day the call came in that women were being held captive in that house of horrors. joining me again is jeff dion and john burrs and wendy murphy. john, we heard that michelle and the other victims were prepared to take the stand but they really wanted this to be over, which is part of the reason we ended up with this plea deal in this case. do you hear that usually from victims? >> well, every victim looks at it differently. some victims want to go through that process. it's their opportunity to be heard. i think what was important to these victims was that there would be some finality to this process. if there was a plea deal, they knew that there was going to be -- that he would be convicted and he would go to jail and then they would still have their opportunity to share their story

and assert their power against the person who held them powerless. >> john brurr, the reason we heard this testimony, the testimony, the victim impact statement as well as that lengthy and somewhat delusional as people have referred to statement from ariel castro is they needed to put this in the record so ten years from now he does not attempt to get an appeal of some sort. again, take me through the legal process. do you agree with that? >> i don't know that i agree with that as a necessity. the victim impact of statements is clearly there. a victim certainly has the right to come forward at a sentencing but in terms of once the plea is given, if that plea was given voluntarily and os ten sib bli the charges were there, certain facts were given, that really covers the issue that it was a voluntary in fact confession or admission and that's really all you need.

now what today happened was the victims had a chance to tell their story. that's obviously a positive thing but putting on the psychiatrist and things of that nature really i don't think was necessary. that was good visual and all but it wasn't necessary and it wouldn't have had any impact at any future time if there was an effort to overturn the plea if it was not there but it was important for the victims to make their statement. i think everyone agrees to that. over the last 25 years there's been more of an emphasis on letting the victims participate in the process. that was a very good thing to occur. i don't think the entire process was necessary. i think that they didn't need to do it but they did it because of the optics it presented which was good. >> wendy, let me get your last thought again. we heard prosecutors say all of the women were prepared to take the stand and tell what happened to them. do you agree that a plea deal was the right thing to happen. >> let me put one more thing in. the prosecutor started this by

saying that castro was a murd murderer and rapist. >> with so many charges from an efficiency perspective, tamron, there wasn't a lot of good argument in favor of dragging it out. it would have cost the taxpayers a fortune. it would have taken a good amount of time. that would have weighed heavily in a case like this. that said, the research i'm familiar with says that victims who take the stand actually do a lot better in the long run than those we protect from the trauma of testifying. now, again, it's an individualized assessment but generally speaking it's good for victims to be up there and to describe everything in detail because telling is good. it's good for someone trying to get oversee veer trauma. i will say that forensic person we just spoke to about the sentencing and how this guy did

what he did and why he was compelled, i heard him say multiple times that castro was driven by his desire to kidnap and rape women and i've said it before, i'm going to say it again. the prosecution did not go far enough not for numbers and punishment. you can't go further than they've gn. why is this case not framed as a strie owe lags of those women's civil rights. under ohio law if you are targeted for violence and criminal conduct because you are female, that is a civil rights violation. the prosecutor knows it. he didn't charge it and that part of this case makes me very, very angry. >> it also could be a federal civil rights violation. >> framing matters. calling this a violation of their civil rights when we're talking about slavery for ten years in this country, that is a civil rights violation. under federal law, under ohio law why are we not calling it a

civil rights violation for the three women who were targeted because of their gender. they were impregnated. abortions compelled upon their bodies. they had babies. they were beaten. it was all very much based on their gender. why are we not talking about this case as a violation of those women's civil rights. >> prosecutors do not involve themselves in civil rights violations. >> that's the law in ohio, john. that's the law in most states. >> there's so much more to talk about. >> sure. >> obviously the most inspiring part of the story as this will continue. the bravery and the courage shown by those women who did not know if they were ever going to leave that home alive but believed they would and when the opportunity presented itself that day, they were able to get out of there. thank you all for your time and your insight. i greatly appreciate it. again, today we witnessed ariel castro sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars for the crimes committed in that home in ohio. we'll be right back. ♪ i'm a hard, hard worker every day. ♪

♪ i'm a hard, hard worker and i'm working every day. ♪ ♪ i'm a hard, hard worker and i'm saving all my pay. ♪ small businesses get up earlier and stay later. and to help all that hard work pay off, membership brings out millions of us on small business saturday and every day to make shopping small huge. this is what membership is. this is what membership does.

his dad knows he's not. that's why dad got allstate accident forgiveness. it starts the day you sign up. [ female announcer ] with accident forgiveness from allstate, your rates won't go up just because of an accident, even if it's your fault. call 866-735-9100 now. kim and james are what you might call...overly protective. especially behind the wheel. nothing wrong with that. in fact, allstate gives them a bonus twice a year -- for being safe drivers. [ female announcer ] get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. switch to allstate today! call an allstate agent now and see how much you could save. now that the kids are out of the house,

so are frank and sandy. hitting every flea market they can find. but the best deal so far... is the one from allstate. [ female announcer ] drivers who switched to allstate saved an average of $498 a year! how much could you save? call 866-735-9100 and find out. [ dennis ] let an allstate agent help you save. are you in good hands? [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

welcome back. we're following breaking news right now out of the state department. a state department deputy spokesperson marie harp has released a statement saying in part that the department of state has instructed certain u.s. embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations on sunday, august 4th. the department has been apprised of information that out of an abundance of caution and care for employees and others that may be visiting our installations that indicates we should institute these precautionary steps. when conditions warrant take steps like this to balance their continued operations with security and safety. we're working to get more information on this. the state department has indicated on sunday, august 4th, some u.s. embassies and consulates will be closed because the state department has been apprised of information that has led to security considerations. we'll have much more on this breaking news. also, the public spat between governor chris christie

and rand paul is turning into one of the summer's best dramas, you might say, and it could be a preview of the contentious gop primary battle in 2016. so far the two have not made any public barbs at each other, at least for today. yesterday things got interesting when senator paul taking a page from president obama's book, you might say, suggested he and the governor meet face to face for their own beer summit. >> we're going to have to patch things up if we can sit down, i'm inviting him for a beer any time he would like to come down and sit down at the pub right around the corner from the senate. >> i'm running for re-election in new jersey, i don't really have time for that in a moment. if i find myself down in washington, i'll certainly look him up, but i don't suspect i'll be there any time soon. i've got work to do here. joining me now, nbc's mark murray. if i ever invite you to a beer and you say you'll look me up when you're in new york, i'm going to interpret that to new york. >> tamron, if you ever invite me for a beer, i'll be there.

if i have to come to new york, or you come to d.c. >> that's because we're friends. rand paul, chris christie, he's really not willing at this point to be a frenemy or a friend it seems to rand paul. >> we have a huge republican family feud going on. tamron, you and i have been talking about this for a week. first it started on national security, then it turned to pork barrel spending and now it got personal to having a beer summit and someone pretty much refusing that. i will have to say that the talk of chris christie and rand paul is good for two people, chris christie and rand paul. very, very early, but the fact that we're talking about this feud, that we are talking that these are the two people who might be the top tier folks for the 2016 is good for them, probably not good for anyone else who might want to get into that orbit. they're trying to suck all of the oxygen out of this. this feud actually helps that. >> some believe this elevates chris christie. he's the governor of new jersey

but now he's head lining the newspapers and even these shows with a senator. i want to show the favorability ratings amongst republicans. senator rand paul, 70% among tea party republicans. governor chris christie, 48% among nontea party republicans. what can we read into those numbers? >> chris christie had his numbers dip a bit after he reached out to president obama after hurricane sandy as well as his backing of some gun control measures. it wasn't too long ago he wasn't invited to the cpac in february or marve this year. you're right. chris christie has tried to occupy part of the conservative republican party that is very tough on national security, that goes toe to toe with rand paul and his more libertarian views on that issue. that gives chris christie a way to cozy up to a lot of concerttive national security hot conservatives. >> mark murray.

thank you very much, mark. talk to you tomorrow, buddy. >> thanks. up next, texas police stop george zimmerman for speeding in the state. what he told the officer and what happened next. we have the video of that traffic stop. be sure to like the "news nation" on facebook. we're at facebook.com/newsnation. thanksd resilience and determination of the american people, we've been able to clear away the rubble from the financial crisis. we started to lay a new foundation for stronger, more durable economic growth. but we're not there yet. what we need is not a 3-month plan or even a 3-year plan. we need a long-term american strategy: job security with good wages and durable industries. a good education. reducing poverty. reducing inequality. growing opportunity. i'm going to keep pushing to make high-quality preschool available for every four-year-old in america

it's time for the minimum wage to go up. (cheers) but i won't be able to do it alone, so i'm going to be calling... on all of us to take up this cause. good jobs; a better bargain for the middle class... and the folks who are working to get into the middle class; an economy that grows from the middle-out. that's what we need. (cheers)

you can join the "news nation" on twitter. find us at our twitter page @newsnation. meanwhile, strikes from fast food restaurants across the nation tops our story today. the protesters picked up steam this week. workers are growing louder for higher wages and the right to form a union. the national restaurant association which represents many of the restaurants where workers are protesting claims they operate on very thin profit

margins and raising wages could hamper their ability to hire. >> dozens of people exchanged vous at midnight as same-sex marriage became legal in those states. couples in rhode island began tying the knot this morning. and george zimmerman resurfaces again, this time texas dash cam video shows an officer pulling him over for speeding sunday afternoon in the small town of forney. 25 miles from dallas. he told the officer he had a gun in the glove compartment and that he was going nowhere in particular. zimmerman had a permit for the gun and was given a warning for speeding and was sent on his way. time now for the "news nation" gut check. we talked earlier about nsa leaker edward snowden being granted asylum for a year. snowden has left the moscow airport where he's been stuck since arriving june 23rd.

the white house said russia's actions could put a planned summit in russia in jeopardy. republican senator lindsey graham said, quote, americans in washington should consider this a game changer in our relationship with vush sha. today's actions by the russian government could not be more of provocative and is a sign of disrespect. what does your gut tell you? do you agree edward snowden being granted temporary a psy lunl and being allowed to leave is a game changer. go to facebook.com/newsnation. take a look at what "news nation" said yesterday. do you agree with a federal court decision not to require the government obtaining a warrant to track cell phones. 57% of you said yes, 43 no. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. "the cycle" is up.

he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap. ♪ ♪ even superheroes need superheroes, and some superheroes need complete and balanced meals with 23 vitamins and minerals. purina dog chow. help keep him strong. dog chow strong. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word... if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts... well muddlers, muddle no more.

try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour one on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour three. zyrtec®. love the air. that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they help save you up to thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp... and provided by unitedhealthcare insurance company,

which has over 30 years of experience behind it. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. o0 sarabut also wants to save. a lunch like this from walmart is less than $1.50. whoa! if you switch out fast-food lunch just twice a week you can save over $470.00 bucks a year. $470 bucks. that's a ton of money. yeah. save on hot pockets sandwiches backed by the low price guarantee. walmart.

we begin with the horrible story, at least in the court that came to an end today when ariel castro was sentenced on 937 charges. he will spend the rest of his life in jail. we heard chilling, frankly horrific testimony in the sentencing hearing today for ariel castro, the man who kidnapped and then held those three women captive in his home for a decade. he lured one of them with a premise of a puppy for her child. he gagged them with socks. even after all of that he stood up and said this. >> accused me of being a monster and i'm not a monster. my sexual problems are so bad on my mind. i'm impulsive.