Bill Would Give Cash, College Tuition To Cleveland Kidnap Victims

Ohio lawmakers are expected to consider a bill this week that would offer cash reparations and other benefits to three women imprisoned for more than a decade in a Cleveland man's home. Ariel Castro pleaded guilty to kidnapping the women, then repeatedly raping and beating them. He was found hanged in prison last month. The House bill proposes to provide the women with annual checks of $25,000 for each year they were held. The state also would seek a waiver to grant them lifetime Medicaid coverage and pay tuition and living expenses at a state university or college. A House committee could vote on the bill Wednesday. A spokesman for Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus declined to comment on the proposed legislation.