- Sources: Ariel Castro could agree to deal to allow him to avoid death penalty
- The defense is considering the deal, which could be announced Friday
- Three young kidnapping victims could be spared another ordeal if there's no trial
- Castro is accused of holding three women against their will for about a decade
(CNN) -- Friday could bring an end to the legal battle over one of the most sensational kidnapping cases in recent memory. It could also give the three young women at the center of the case what they want -- the chance to avoid testifying and rehashing the horrors they say they endured as Ariel Castro's captives.
Prosecutors offered a plea deal, which could be accepted Friday by Castro's defense attorneys, a Cuyahoga County courts source told CNN. The deal stipulates that he stand at a podium in an Ohio courtroom and plead guilty. In exchange, he would trade the possibility of the death penalty for life in prison, the source said.
Timeline: Three Cleveland girls go missing
An attorney for three women told CNN that they are hoping for a plea deal because they do not want to take the stand at Castro's trial, which is set for August 5.
Castro is charged with 977 counts, including aggravated murder on suspicion of ending the pregnancy of one of his alleged captives.
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
Kidnapped teens found decade later
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Earlier this month, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is being held with bail set at $8 million.
Castro's defense attorneys have said they want a deal that would take capital punishment out of the equation.
Castro abducted Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Georgina "Gina" DeJesus separately in a two-year period starting in 2002, according to authorities.
Snapshots: Who are the three women?
The women and Berry's 6-year-old daughter were freed in May after one of the women shouted for help while Castro was away from his 1,400-square-foot home. DNA tests have confirmed that Castro is the rescued child's father.
Their cries for help were heard by neighbor Charles Ramsey, who was sitting down to eat at his home nearby.
"I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of a house," he told CNN affiliate WEWS. "I go on the porch and she says, 'help me get out. I've been in here a long time.' "
Figuring it was a domestic dispute, Riley kicked in the bottom of a door and the woman came out with a little girl and said, "Call 911, My name is Amanda Berry," according to Riley, who said he didn't recognize the name or know she was missing.
Read more: Charles Ramsey: I'm no hero
Finally free, Berry pleaded for a phone.
"Help me, I am Amanda Berry," she told police in a frantic 911 call from a neighbor's house. "I've been kidnapped, and I've been missing for 10 years. And I'm here, I'm free now."
Read more: Freed women reunite with families
Berry was last seen after finishing her shift at a Burger King in Cleveland in 2003. It was the eve of her 17th birthday.
DeJesus disappeared nearly a year later, in April 2004. She was 14.
Knight vanished in 2002, at age 21, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper.
In early July, Berry, DeJesus and Knight released a YouTube video offering their thanks to all those who have helped them since they were freed.
"I want to thank everyone who has helped me and my family through this entire ordeal. Everyone who has been there to support us has been a blessing," Berry said in the video. "I'm getting stronger each day."
Read more: Thank you video from alleged kidnap victims
