Meredith Kercher murdered-Amanda Knox appeals conviction #14

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Salem

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Please continue here and please be mindful of the TOS. Some leeway is allowed in this thread BUT you should always remain respectful of one another.

Thanks,

Salem

Thread 13
 
Please continue here and please be mindful of the TOS. Some leeway is allowed in this thread BUT you should always remain respectful of one another.

Thanks,

Salem

Thread 13

Thanks for the new thread!
 
In response to a comment from the last thread ...

So the appeals process is simply a gesture, a process of jotting the is and crossing the Ts, and the convictions being upheld is already a done deal. If this is truly the case, Knox's parents have been led down the primrose path by the media. I just do not know what to believe at this juncture....

I don't think that media has misled the Knox/Mellas parents, I think the Knox/Mellas PR machine has misled the US media. Amanda's mother said, prior to the verdict, that the appeal was the real trial. I think it's important to recognize that Amanda's mother was saying this before the trial verdict as it tells us that she was fully expecting a guilty verdict, or at least preparing the public via the media that a guilty verdict was likely. That also tells us that she realized that evidence was overwhelming. Now we are at the appeal stage. I suspect that Amanda's mother was expecting a full retrial similar to what happens in the US ... and now has to face the reality that it is not a retrial, but merely reconsideration of specific, limited items of evidence.

If the analysis and review of the two items of evidence leaves unanswered questions, I think additional DNA evidence could be reviewed ... such as the DNA in the bathroom sink. If all the evidence were reconsidered, it would be like a retrial ... but is that really the purpose of the appeal court? I don't know the answer to that.
 
In response to a comment from the last thread ...



I don't think that media has misled the Knox/Mellas parents, I think the Knox/Mellas PR machine has misled the US media. Amanda's mother said, prior to the verdict, that the appeal was the real trial. I think it's important to recognize that Amanda's mother was saying this before the trial verdict as it tells us that she was fully expecting a guilty verdict, or at least preparing the public via the media that a guilty verdict was likely. That also tells us that she realized that evidence was overwhelming. Now we are at the appeal stage. I suspect that Amanda's mother was expecting a full retrial similar to what happens in the US ... and now has to face the reality that it is not a retrial, but merely reconsideration of specific, limited items of evidence.

If the analysis and review of the two items of evidence leaves unanswered questions, I think additional DNA evidence could be reviewed ... such as the DNA in the bathroom sink. If all the evidence were reconsidered, it would be like a retrial ... but is that really the purpose of the appeal court? I don't know the answer to that.

<modsnip> I can respect your protective feelings toward the Kerchers, but basic decency demands that you realize Knox and the Mellases are also faced with losing a daughter.

There is no PR "machine." If AK's family consulted a PR rep, it was only because public discourse was dominated by a corrupt prosecutor who chose to charge with little evidence and from the beginning preferred to try his case in the press. AK's family were forced to defend her in the media just as they hired an attorney to defend her in court.

If Ms. Mellas expected a guilty verdict, it wasn't because the evidence was overwhelming, it was because she could see the Italian trial system was rigged in favor of the prosecution. If she is hopeful that the appellate stage will end differently, she is simply being a mother and clinging to whatever hope she can.

In the U.S., appellate courts do NOT conduct full reviews of the evidence, nor do they replicate the trial. They hear claims of error in the original trial and rule on whether any errors committed there were significant enough to deny the defendant a fair trial. If yes, then the entire case is sent back down to a trial court and a new, full trial begins there.

It is Italian appellate courts that actually review evidence and revisit the verdict, not those of the U.S.
 
I'm sorry, otto, but your malice toward the Knox/Mellas family seemingly knows no bounds. I can respect your protective feelings toward the Kerchers, but basic decency demands that you realize Knox and the Mellases are also faced with losing a daughter.

There is no PR "machine." If AK's family consulted a PR rep, it was only because public discourse was dominated by a corrupt prosecutor who chose to charge with little evidence and from the beginning preferred to try his case in the press. AK's family were forced to defend her in the media just as they hired an attorney to defend her in court.

If Ms. Mellas expected a guilty verdict, it wasn't because the evidence was overwhelming, it was because she could see the Italian trial system was rigged in favor of the prosecution. If she is hopeful that the appellate stage will end differently, she is simply being a mother and clinging to whatever hope she can.

In the U.S., appellate courts do NOT conduct full reviews of the evidence, nor do they replicate the trial. They hear claims of error in the original trial and rule on whether any errors committed there were significant enough to deny the defendant a fair trial. If yes, then the entire case is sent back down to a trial court and a new, full trial begins there.

It is Italian appellate courts that actually review evidence and revisit the verdict, not those of the U.S.

You lost me with the first sentence. It is a fact that the Knox/Mellas family hired a PR group as soon as Knox was arrested and it is a fact that this PR group has done everything they can to present Knox as a victim - that was the job they were hired to do. This included media contacts and managing media information such that Knox was presented favorably. It is a fact that the families of murderers have their own loss when a family member is imprisoned ... but that loss is of their own doing. That is, the murderer is not the victim of a crime, but is in fact the criminal that is experiencing the consequences of their actions.

Regarding the appeal, I was pointing out that Amanda's mother probably expected that a successful appeal (which was automatic for the three convicted murderers) meant a retrial, as is normal in the US. I do wonder if she realized that the Italian appeal meant that only some evidence would be revisited.
 
Here's an example of the PR Team efforts:

"Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:40pm EDT

Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Regarding The Amanda Knox Case: Statement From The Knox, Mellas Families March
27, 2008

SEATTLE, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Information being attributed to Rudy Guede regarding the investigation into the murder of Meredith Kercher is impossible to believe. There is no evidence to support his suggestion that Amanda and Raffaele Sollecito were present when Meredith was murdered. Guede lacks credibility just as his current statement lacks credibility.

We find it quite interesting that this information comes forward just a few days before a Supreme Court hearing in Rome to determine whether or not Amanda should continue to be held in the Le Capanne jail in Perugia. Guede said before that he did not see Amanda and Rafaelle that night, and
is now telling a different story. We know that Amanda is innocent. There is no evidence against her, and we
await her release.

SOURCE The Knox family; The Mellas family

David Marriott of Gogerty & Stark Marriott, +1-206-292-3000,
dmarriott@gsminc.com, for The Knox, Mellas Families"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/03/27/idUS250728+27-Mar-2008+PRN20080327


"On November 5, 2010, three years to the day after her daughter was interrogated and taken into custody, Edda Mellas sat in the 29th-floor office of Gogerty Marriott, the PR firm that has managed the Knox message since the beginning.

http://www.seattlemet.com/issues/archives/articles/seattle-prep-amanda-knox-1210/6/

""These are old charges," said David Marriott, spokesman for the family. "They've been around since 2009." The story in question was published in 2008, he said, and Knox's parents were repeating what their daughter had told them.

The indictment, Marriott said, finalizes the charges the prosecutor had filed and is "nothing surprising."

Knox's parents' focus is not on their case, he said, but on her appeal of her conviction, which is under way. There is a break in the proceedings for experts to retest forensic evidence, he said.

"This is, I guess you'd call it, a bit of a minor distraction," Marriott said."

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-15/...-mellas-luciano-ghirga-knox-s-dna?_s=PM:WORLD

"The diminutive Edda is braced for an emotionally tough ride, a box of Kleenex at her side. Curt, who speaks in a slow, measured tone, sits ramrod-straight, sipping Coca-Cola. Deanna, blonde, attractive and bubbly, nibbles at chocolates for comfort. The family has built up a small but determined team from scratch; they have hired the Seattle PR veteran David Marriott, a former TV journalist, two Italian lawyers and two forensic experts. They can count on the moral support of Knox&#8217;s university friends. But they have no powerful contacts and are considering appealing to their congressman for help."

June 15, 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4113087.ece

"Knox's family engaged the services of David Marriott of Gogerty Stark Marriott, a Seattle-based public relations firm, to address what they felt was misinformation about Knox in the media."

en.wikipedia.org

"The Knox family have hired PR consultant David Marriott in their home town of Seattle in Washington, who has been at the centre of the negotiations with ABC and Mediaset, the Italian TV company owned by billionaire controversial Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ew--spending-1m-legal-fees.html#ixzz1OLpjwY1Q
 
Here's an example of the PR Team efforts:

"Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:40pm EDT

Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Regarding The Amanda Knox Case: Statement From The Knox, Mellas Families March
27, 2008

SEATTLE, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Information being attributed to Rudy Guede regarding the investigation into the murder of Meredith Kercher is impossible to believe. There is no evidence to support his suggestion that Amanda and Raffaele Sollecito were present when Meredith was murdered. Guede lacks credibility just as his current statement lacks credibility.

We find it quite interesting that this information comes forward just a few days before a Supreme Court hearing in Rome to determine whether or not Amanda should continue to be held in the Le Capanne jail in Perugia. Guede said before that he did not see Amanda and Rafaelle that night, and
is now telling a different story. We know that Amanda is innocent. There is no evidence against her, and we
await her release.

SOURCE The Knox family; The Mellas family

David Marriott of Gogerty & Stark Marriott, +1-206-292-3000,
dmarriott@gsminc.com, for The Knox, Mellas Families"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/03/27/idUS250728+27-Mar-2008+PRN20080327

Nice try Otto. Marriot himself has stated that his role is limited to managing PR requests as well as advice on how to present themselves. You continue to push this line of thinking and once again simply makes your arguments less valid. The links are to news agencies such as cnn, reuters etc.


"From that day forward, there has been continuous intense pressure from national and international media to talk with members of the family about their daughter. Gogerty Marriott has sought to relieve as much of the media pressure from the family&#8217;s shoulders as possible"

http://www.gogertymarriott.com/showcase/amanda_knox/
 
SMK contrary to what some individuals have tried to state here this is not a done deal nor will they be ruling on just the items you have seen to date.

They use the previous trial record, are allowed to come to a different conclusion from the trial of the first instance, will rule on the items in the appeals of both RS and AK as well as the prosecution appeal. They can rule the same or differently from the original trial, or ask for additional witnesses. I believe Malkmus in the last thread explained this process
 
SV I don't believe that this "new theory" was tentative by Mignini. I think they know there is a good chance the DNA evidence will be tossed thus another theory needed to be presented
 
Nice try Otto. Marriot himself has stated that his role is limited to managing PR requests as well as advice on how to present themselves. You continue to push this line of thinking and once again simply makes your arguments less valid. The links are to news agencies such as cnn, reuters etc.


"From that day forward, there has been continuous intense pressure from national and international media to talk with members of the family about their daughter. Gogerty Marriott has sought to relieve as much of the media pressure from the family’s shoulders as possible"

http://www.gogertymarriott.com/showcase/amanda_knox/

I don't continue to push anything. It is a well known fact that the family immedately hired a PR firm. PR firms are notorious for managing the public image of an individual - in this case Amanda Knox. The links are indeed to news outlets, including links connecting Marriott to those news outlets ... which is my point ... that the PR firm regularly manages the image of the murderer in US media and regularly communicates with news outlets regarding managing information about Knox.
 
New Hope for Amanda Knox

Update on from 20/20 for those that are interested

http://abcnews.go.com/2020

I was amused to see the blurb about the knife was sandwiched between stories about Spice (a legal drug used by young people in the US to really mess up their heads) and the bulge (glutony).
 
I don't continue to push anything. It is a well known fact that the family immedately hired a PR firm. PR firms are notorious for managing the public image of an individual - in this case Amanda Knox. The links are indeed to news outlets, including links connecting Marriott to those news outlets ... which is my point ... that the PR firm regularly manages the image of the murderer in US media and regularly communicates with news outlets regarding managing information about Knox.

Are you calling Marriot a liar as well? As well whom is the representative in Italy that is there to manage AK on behalf of Marriot?
 
HHHMMMMMMMMM IAK

Innocent Amanda Knox never thought of that one
 
Again Otto, although the experts themselves could not attend someone was appointed to represent them during the DNA testing on that particular occassion. As well as pointed out to you on a number of occasions it is quite common for experts not to be in attendance as they usually come to a case after the forensics are done but kindly stop stating that there was no defense representative there

As for the TOD information there also appears to be misinformation being stated to this as well from what I can determine from the last thread and I will try and post more on that when I have more time.
 
(snip) It is a fact that the Knox/Mellas family hired a PR group as soon as Knox was arrested and it is a fact that this PR group has done everything they can to present Knox as a victim - that was the job they were hired to do. (snip)

Really, Otto, you should be more careful when declaring such things as facts. I think what this shows is that sites such as TJMK have been more misleading than anything the Knox family has ever said or done. Not to mention, I don't think you've ever been able to cite anything that is for a fact a falsehood on their part. You've tried to criticize the 50 hours of interrogation angle unsuccessfully, as well as the "no official interpreter" one. Whereas the information put out by the Italian press has for a fact (a real fact by the way) been misleading and was the very reason any PR was needed in the first place. Now what you've cited are quotes from the family expressing they think Amanda is innocent as if that's somehow damning...?
 
Are you calling Marriot a liar as well? As well whom is the representative in Italy that is there to manage AK on behalf of Marriot?

Marriott has been in contact with ABC news, and CNN (see links). I have no idea why Marriott's main focus has been in the US, but it's possible that the language barrier is a factor that worked to his advantage. That is, people in the US generally did not have access to Italian news content (because it was in Italian). They were made aware of the case through the PR team. Interest in the case required English language information ... and that was primarily managed by Marriott, Knox and Mellas (eg: there were numerous talking head show appearances by the parents). In Italy, people had direct access to news about the case through news publications, so misinformation from the family was viewed for what it was.

Why do you think that Marriott's primary focus for managing the image of Knox was in the US?
 
Marriott has been in contact with ABC news, and CNN (see links). I have no idea why Marriott's main focus has been in the US, but it's possible that the language barrier is a factor that worked to his advantage. That is, people in the US generally did not have access to Italian news content (because it was in Italian). They were made aware of the case through the PR team. Interest in the case required English language information ... and that was primarily managed by Marriott, Knox and Mellas (eg: there were numerous talking head show appearances by the parents). In Italy, people had direct access to news about the case through news publications, so misinformation from the family was viewed for what it was.

Why do you think that Marriott's primary focus for managing the image of Knox was in the US?

Maybe for individuals such as yourself that PURPOSELY click on a BATH SALT link instead of the article cited to purposely misrepresent the information on AK with the information on BATH SALTS. Shakes head at individuals like this. Again it proves the lengths individuals will go to purposely mislead. They should be ashamed of themselves
 
Again Otto, although the experts themselves could not attend someone was appointed to represent them during the DNA testing on that particular occassion. As well as pointed out to you on a number of occasions it is quite common for experts not to be in attendance as they usually come to a case after the forensics are done but kindly stop stating that there was no defense representative there

As for the TOD information there also appears to be misinformation being stated to this as well from what I can determine from the last thread and I will try and post more on that when I have more time.

"The hearing began with a surprise defense request to have the charges (or at least the DNA evidence) against the two thrown out, because the new, detailed information was only provided July 30, too late, they argued to allow for preparation of a proper defense strategy.

The jury rejected their requests, however, with Judge Giancarlo Massei noting that consultants for the defense had the right to be present at the time that DNA tests were carried out and the accompanying documentation was made available just two weeks after it was formally requested."

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/arti...-knocks-DNA-evidence-895012.php#ixzz1OMFPHmef

Could you please provide a media/news or legal document link contradicting this claim, and stating that experts for the defense were present during the initial DNA testing.

The time of death cannot be pinpointed accurately, but can be placed between the time that Meredith returned home, and the phone call from her father shortly after midnight. The call from her father is after the murder, as the cell phone tower in pinged on was near the location where the phones were found (in a yard some distance from the cottage).
 
"The hearing began with a surprise defense request to have the charges (or at least the DNA evidence) against the two thrown out, because the new, detailed information was only provided July 30, too late, they argued to allow for preparation of a proper defense strategy.

The jury rejected their requests, however, with Judge Giancarlo Massei noting that consultants for the defense had the right to be present at the time that DNA tests were carried out and the accompanying documentation was made available just two weeks after it was formally requested."

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/arti...-knocks-DNA-evidence-895012.php#ixzz1OMFPHmef

Could you please provide a media/news or legal document link contradicting this claim, and stating that experts for the defense were present during the initial DNA testing.

The time of death cannot be pinpointed accurately, but can be placed between the time that Meredith returned home, and the phone call from her father shortly after midnight. The call from her father is after the murder, as the cell phone tower in pinged on was near the location where the phones were found (in a yard some distance from the cottage).

I should state what you do that it is all over the internet but here is your cite

But Presiding Judge Giancarlo Massei rejected the defense request and ruled that proceedings should go on. He argued that defense consultants were present when the DNA tests were carried out by forensic experts and said relevant documents had been made available a month and a half ago, suggesting that defense teams had enough time to review the DNA findings

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-09-14/news/17932422_1_dna-findings-dna-evidence-dna-tests

ETA In the one instance someone was actually appointed when the experts themselves could not be there
 
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