Abigail Hernandez Victim Impact Statement at the Sentencing of Nathaniel Kibby

Abigail Hernandez (pictured left) was kidnapped at the age of 14 by Nathaniel Kibby during 2013. After 9 months of captivity, Kibby released Abigail. After initially lying (due to fear) about her abductor's identity, Abigail eventually revealed that Kibby was the one who kidnapped her. 

"I was told that I would have to give a victim impact statement and that I would have my time in court to talk.

It seems like forever - two years - have gone by, both fast and slow, in different senses. But I often think about Kibby and what he did affects my life on a day-to-day basis. My name does not mean the same thing anymore that it did before Oct 9 [2013]. I am attending school and I'm afraid to let anybody know what my last name is. Nobody knows what my last name is.

I fall asleep thinking about you. And, some people might call you a monster but I've always looked at you as human. And I want you to know that even though life became a lot harder after that, that I still forgive you.

I wish things didn't have to work in the way that they do but I need to be safe and so does my family. And I want you to know: I did not do this to you. I did not put you in prison. You put yourself in prison, so I can't carry that blame on my shoulders when it is simply not true that I put you in prison. When you decided to point that gun at me, that was not my choice. It was not my choice to go to your house. It was not my choice for you to rape me. It was not my choice for you to threaten me. You did all that yourself.

I don't want to talk down on you and I hope don't think that I am, I am just telling you the truth because sometimes I feel like I wear this whole thing like a millstone around my ankle. Sometimes I still feel like I'm chained, and sometimes I don't feel like I'm completely free. There are certain aspects of my freedom that I can never get back. 

But in the same aspect I want you to know that I appreciate my freedom because of you and that I enjoy and appreciate life because of you. I never look at sunshine in the same way. I never think about fresh air in the same way. So, I also just want to thank you for giving me my freedom back."

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Jaycee Dugard Victim Impact Statement, Read by her Mother at the Sentencing of Philip Garrido

Jaycee Dugard (left) was kidnapped at the age of 11 by Phillip Garrido in 1991. Both Phillip and his wife Nancy held Jaycee captive for 18 years. Jaycee birthed two of his children. In 2009, Jaycee revealed her true identity to a college campus security officer who subsequently called police. Jaycee opted not to go to Phillip's sentencing; she instead her her mother Terry Probyn (right) read her statement on her behalf.

"I chose not to be here today because I refuse to waste another second of my life in your presence. I've chosen to have my mom read this for me.

Phillip Garrido, you are wrong. I could never say that to you before but I have the freedom now and I am saying you are a liar and all of your so called theories are wrong. Everything you have ever done to me has been wrong and someday I hope you can see that.

What you and Nancy did was reprehensible. You always justified everything to suit yourself but the reality is and always has been that to make someone else suffer for your inability to control yourself and for you, Nancy to facilitate his behavior and trick young girls for his pleasure is evil. There is no God in the universe that would condone your actions. You called yourself an "honest man" but these are just words to you. They were your tools of choice and you wielded them with brute force.

To you, Phillip, I say that I have always been a thing for your own amusement. I hated every second of everyday of 18 years because of you and the sexual perversion you forced on me.

To you, Nancy, I have nothing to say.

Both of you can save your apologies and empty words. For all the crimes you have both committed I hope you have as many sleepless nights as I did.

Yes as I think of all of those years I am angry because you stole my life and that of my family. Thankfully I am doing well now and no longer live in a nightmare. I have wonderful friends and family around me. Something you can never take from me again. You do not matter any more."

--

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Jaycee wrote a book about her ordeal, which can be found here. 

Elizabeth Smart Victim Impact Statement at the Sentencing of Brian David Mitchell

Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped in 2002, at the age of 14, by Brian David Mitchell. Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, held Elizabeth captive in a remote tent in the woods of Utah. After 9 months of torture, Elizabeth was brought to a Burger King by her kidnappers--where she was recognized from her 'Missing Persons' poster by a patron who called police.

"I don’t have very much to say to you. I know exactly what you did. I know that you know that what you did was wrong. You did it with full knowledge...but I have a wonderful life now and no matter what you do, you will never affect me again. You took away nine months of my life that can never be returned. You will have to be held responsible for those actions, whether it’s in this life or the next, and I hope you are ready for when that time comes."

--
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Today, Elizabeth is an advocate for kidnapping survivors and works to help families with missing loved ones. She has written a book about her ordeal, which is available here. An A&E miniseries about Elizabeth can also be found here. 

Elizabeth Thomas Victim Impact Statement at the Sentencing of Tad Cummins

Elizabeth Thomas was only 15 years old when she met a teacher named Tad Cummins at her high school in Tennessee. Elizabeth met Tad during her first experience with public school. She had been a victim of childhood abuse and Tad preyed on her vulnerability and manipulated her into to running away with him in March 2017. The pair was found at a commune in California nearly 40 days later. 

"It is very difficult for me to stand here and fully describe the impact that Mr. Cummins' crimes have had on my life. The effects have been devastating and permanent, and they are not over. They are still an ongoing struggle that I experience one day, and sometimes even one moment, at a time in my life.

Mr. Cummins, what you did to me is unspeakable. I don't know that any words could ever accurately express how much pain I have suffered and continue to suffer because of you. When I started school, you picked me out of the crowd. I was just a kid who wanted to make friends, but you were someone who had a plan. You saw a broken girl, who was lonely, scared, and traumatized. You made her feel safe and loved because you saw what she needed and made her believe you would be her "protector." I was at a point in my life where I needed to be protected the most. And when it came down to it, that was all a part of your plan. All you were was a man who wanted sex, and you manipulated me and used me just for that.

I don't know if you have ever taken or could ever truly take responsibility for those actions. First, you said I was to blame. Then, you said the devil made you do it But if that's true, then you are the devil. Your choices were yours and yours alone. A 17-year-old girl should not have to tell a 52-year-old man this, but choices have consequences. Your choices destroyed not just my family, but also yours.

You act like you care now and that you're full of all this regret, but where was any of that before? Where was any of that when you first had me alone in your classroom and told me you wanted to see me naked? Where was any of that when you directed me into your classroom closet and violated me over and over again for months? Where was any of that when you spent untold amounts of time and effort into manipulating, pressuring, and deceiving me into thinking that you were the only person who cared about me? Where was any of that when I told you I was depressed and wanted to see a therapist, but you talked me out of it? Where was any of that when you convinced me to get in the car with you on March 13, 2017? Where was any of that when you sexually assaulted me night after night? Where was any of that when you made me sleep without my clothes on? Where was any of that when you made the decision to keep me away from my home and my family not once, not twice, but for 38 straight days?

It is convenient that you only say you're sorry now, while sitting in a courtroom, in front of a judge who is about to sentence you. But the truth is, it doesn't matter how much time you have to serve, you will never be able to undo what you did to me. You may someday have the luxury of moving past it, but I never will. I will have to live with the scars you left on me forever.

You preyed upon a vulnerable girl and robbed her childhood. For the last two years, I've been picking myself up, piece by piece, and proving to myself that I am much, much stronger than you convinced me I was. I choose to surround myself with people who pick me up, who cherish me, and who truly love me. Because of that, I'm able to stand here today, face you, and tell you that you don't have the power over me that you used to have. You can't hurt me anymore. I really hope that no matter what happens today, you learn from your actions. You did this. No one made you. No one influenced you.

I hope the Court is able to see the truth about Tad Cummins. This is not a man who has the convenient opportunity of using a troubled upbringing, bad relationships, or poor mental health as excuses for his actions. Mr. Cummins was a man who could have had anything he wanted in life. He had a good career, a family who loved him, and a community who admired him.

But Mr. Cummins is also a man who craved power and control. He is a man whose needs came first to him. Mr. Cummins always made it clear that if anyone found out what he was doing to me, everyone would take his side, and no one would believe me. He could have had anything in life and he chose to be a sexual predator. He chose to prey on me, knowing the problems I had in my home life, and he convinced me that I was weak. He chose to belittle me, degrade me, and abuse me. There is no doubt in my mind that if Mr. Cummins had never been caught, he would have eventually discarded me like a piece of trash and made another impressionable young woman his next chosen victim. Tad Cummins is a sick, disgusting criminal. I believe Mr. Cummins' sentence should be 38 years in prison-one year for each day he kept me away from my family. Thank you."

--
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Michelle Knight Victim Impact Statement at the sentencing of Ariel Castro

Michelle Knight reads her victim impact statement at the sentencing of Ariel Castro in August 2013. Castro kidnapped Michelle and two other girls during the early 2000s. They finally escaped from his Cleveland home in May 2013.

"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 wondered 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.

Thank you, all. I love you. God bless you."

--Castro's two other victims, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, were not present at Castro's sentencing.

[source] [Michelle Knight's book on her ordeal]