Story highlights "We're on the home stretch," says a source close to the case

The defense is still considering the deal, a second source says

The agreement would remove the possibility of the death penalty, says that source

Castro is accused of holding three women against their will for close to a decade

Prosecutors have offered Ariel Castro, a Cleveland man accused of holding three women captive for close to a decade, a plea deal that removes the possibility of the death penalty, a Cuyahoga County courts source said Thursday.

The defense is considering the deal, and there is no signed agreement.

The deal would include a recommendation to keep Castro in prison for life, the source said.

"We're on the home stretch," said a second source close to the case.

That source said all that remains to be done to seal the deal is for Castro to plead guilty at the podium, which could happen at a hearing scheduled for Friday.

An attorney for the victims told CNN they are hoping for a plea deal because they do not want to testify at trial.

Earlier, the courts source said prosecutors and defense lawyers were close to an agreement.

Castro, charged with 977 counts -- including aggravated murder, on suspicion of ending the pregnancy of one of his alleged captives -- is set to go to trial August 5 if a deal is not reached.

The murder charges could trigger the death penalty. Castro's defense attorneys have said they want a deal that would take capital punishment off the table.

"Negotiations are close, but nothing is final," the court source said earlier Thursday.

JUST WATCHED Ariel Castro attorneys signal plea deal Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Ariel Castro attorneys signal plea deal 04:37

Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Amanda Berry speaks in a video released on YouTube on Monday, July 8, thanking people for support and privacy. Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight escaped from a Cleveland home on May 6, 2013, after being held captive for nearly a decade. Hide Caption 1 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Amanda Berry vanished a few blocks from her Cleveland home on April 21, 2003. She was 16. Hide Caption 2 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Gina DeJesus speaks in the YouTube video. Hide Caption 3 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Georgina "Gina" DeJesus was last seen in Cleveland on April 2, 2004, on her way home from school. She was 14 when she went missing. Hide Caption 4 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Michelle Knight speaks in the YouTube video. Hide Caption 5 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Knight was last seen on August 22, 2002, when she was 21. Hide Caption 6 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Photos: Kidnapped teens found decade later – In a handwritten note, Knight thanked Cleveland police for their efforts, saying she was overwhelmed with the support she had received from "complete strangers." The note was posted Wednesday, July 31, on the police's Second District Community Relations Committee Facebook page. Hide Caption 7 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Residents gather outside a community meeting at Immanuel Lutheran Church on Thursday, May 9, to talk about the kidnapping case in Cleveland . Balloons were released as part of the ceremony. Hide Caption 8 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – FBI agents and other law enforcement officers stand outside suspect Ariel Castro's home in Cleveland on May 9. Castro, a former school bus driver, has been accused of holding three women captive for a decade in his house. He has also been charged with rape. Hide Caption 9 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Castro hangs his head low while talking with his public defender, Kathleen DeMetz, during his arraignment on May 9. Hide Caption 10 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Ada Colon prays during a vigil held in honor of the kidnapping victims in Cleveland on Wednesday, May 8. Hide Caption 11 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Relatives of kidnapping victim Georgina "Gina" DeJesus hug after she returned to her parents' home in Cleveland on May 8. Hide Caption 12 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Friends and neighbors cheer as a car carrying Amanda Berry arrives at her sister's house in Cleveland on May 8. Hide Caption 13 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Gina DeJesus gives a thumbs up as she arrives at her family's house in Cleveland on May 8. Hide Caption 14 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Ariel Castro was charged on May 8 with kidnapping the three women. Hide Caption 15 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – The family house of Gina DeJesus has been decorated by well-wishers on Tuesday, May 7. Hide Caption 16 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Friends and relatives gather in front of the family house of DeJesus on May 7. Hide Caption 17 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Well-wishers visit the home of the sister of Amanda Berry on Monday, May 6. Hide Caption 18 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Investigators remove evidence from the house on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland where the three women were held. Hide Caption 19 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – An FBI forensics team meets outside the house where three women were held as they investigate the property. Hide Caption 20 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – An FBI forensics team member removes evidence from the house. Hide Caption 21 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – A relative of DeJesus brings balloons to the home of Amanda Berry's sister in Cleveland on May 7. Hide Caption 22 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Children hold a sign and balloons in the yard of Gina DeJesus' family home in Cleveland on May 7. Hide Caption 23 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Bystanders and media gather on May 7 along Seymour Avenue in Cleveland near the house where the three women were held captive. Hide Caption 24 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – A bystander shows the front page of The Plain Dealer newspaper to a friend outside of the house on Seymour Avenue on May 7. Hide Caption 25 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Cleveland Deputy Chief of Police Ed Tomba, center, speaks at a news conference to address details of the developments. Hide Caption 26 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – The house where the three women were held captive in Cleveland was the home of Ariel Castro, who was arrested and is being held pending charges in the case. Hide Caption 27 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – FBI agents remove evidence from the house May 7. Hide Caption 28 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – A police officer stands in front of the broken front door of the house on May 7, where the kidnapped women escaped. Hide Caption 29 of 30 Photos: Photos: Kidnapped teens rescued Kidnapped teens found decade later – Neighbor Charles Ramsey talks to media as people congratulate him on helping the kidnapped women escape on Monday, May 6. He helped knock down the door after he heard screaming inside. Hide Caption 30 of 30

"It's safe to say (Castro) wouldn't take a deal with the death penalty," the source said.

According to authorities, Castro abducted Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Georgina "Gina" DeJesus separately in a two-year period starting in 2002.

The women, as well as Berry's 6-year-old daughter, who authorities say was fathered by Castro, were freed in May after one of the women shouted for help while Castro was away from his 1,400-square-foot home.

Castro, a former school bus driver, pleaded not guilty to the charges this month. He is being held with bail set at $8 million.

Besides two aggravated murder charges, Castro faces 512 counts of kidnapping, 446 counts of rape, seven counts of gross sexual imposition, six counts of felonious assault, three counts of child endangerment and one count of possessing criminal tools.