reporter: michelle knight there, a woman small in stature, only about four feet tall but she clearly has an indom inable spirit, she stayed there for the whole hearing. they feel if they can close this chapter of their lives and the courage fund set up for them has raised more than $1.2 million. chris? that s great news and to be sure he can never hurt them again. thank you for the reporting from cleveland. nsa leaker edward snowden is free and any moment now may be speaking for the first time since russia dpragranted him a year-long asylum. apparently he s staying with some americans he met online and even has a job waiting for him if he wants it. phil black joins us live from moscow this morning. good morning, phil. good morning, chris.
the sentencing which is on august 1st, less than 90 days and this case is resolved. that s swift justice. and what an extraordinary result including a component where prosecutors took the home that ariel castro owned, sold it, and the money will go to a land bank so that the neighbors, the neighborhood, can decide whether they create a park or another home. and that s a wonderful part of the spirit of what i think the county prosecutors did in this case. i think it s a wonderful ending. and also for these victims, they won t have to testify in trial. more than $1 million has been made in the courage fund for them. you can imagine what a relief it is for them to be able to move forward with their lives. richard, do you think this plea deal was the best resolution? i think it s the best the defense could have possibly gotten here. you talk about a mountain of evidence, this is larger than mt. everest. this is just overwhelming case against him. he s probably one of the most hated peo
hatred. with that being said we need to take a leap of faith and no that god is in control. reporter: they were once known only as silent victims. now they want the world to know they have a voice and have reclaimed their lives. pamela brown joins us live. you ve been following this from if beginning. tell us why you think they came out now, the timing of this announcement and do we think this is the format they will continue to speak about their recove recovery? it s a good question. i spoke to the women s attorney and a family friend of one of the victims and i m told that this is a way for the young women to give a direct thank you to all the people who have not only supported them but donated to the courage fund. more than a million dollars has been donated to the courage fund. as the attorney told me this was their message delivered the way
families, for having so much passion and faith and the strength to go along with us. i would like, personally, to thank the courage fund, everybody, in general, and i m also saying my community, my neighbors. every single one, they know who they are, awesome. so people, i m talking not just people, but parents in general that does have a loved one missing, please do me one big favor. count on your neighbors. don t be afraid to ask for the help. because help is available. thank you, everyone, for your love, support, and donations. which helped me build a brand-new live. i just want everyone to know, i m doing just fine. i may have been through hell and
on youtube, thank everyone for all their support, all their help, and now get back to their private lives, is that right? that s right, yeah, that s right. this is really their way of just saying thank you. as their attorney told me earlier today, they really just wanted to say thank you, as we mention in the story, more than a million dollars has been raised for the courage fund. that will be split up in separate trusts for the victims, the three young women, and the little girl. 9,200 donations, apparently, have gone into that courage fund, according to the website, i looked at that earlier this morning. that s a way for the young women to speak out and show they are taking control of their new lives and just moving forward. very powerful video. let s hope these three these three women can create new lives for them after the horror that they ve gone through over the past decade. pamela, thanks very much. signs are pointing to a fourth straight day of gains in the markets with