CLEVELAND — The Cleveland man accused of holding three women captive in his home for about a decade pleaded guilty this morning in a deal to avoid the death penalty.

In exchange, prosecutors recommended Ariel Castro be sentenced to life without parole plus 1,000 years.

Castro, 53, said he understood that he would never get out of prison, saying he expected he was “going to get the book thrown at me.”

Castro, wearing glasses for the first time in court, was far more interactive than in previous court appearances when he mostly kept his head down and eyes closed. During today’s hearing, he answered the judge’s questions in a clear, intelligible voice.

Castro had been scheduled for trial Aug. 5 on a 977-count indictment, but he was pleading guilty to 937 counts. The indictment included two counts of aggravated murder related to accusations that he punched and starved one woman until she miscarried.

The former school bus driver also was charged with hundreds of counts of kidnapping and rape, plus assault and other counts.