Meredith Kercher murdered in Perugia, Amanda Knox convicted #3

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What? Were they then sent out on missionary work so they couldn't at least mention this before now?
Parents still grasping for straws it seems since they know the motivation report shows the evidence the jurors/judges believed and can no longer state 'lack of evidence' as their main defense. Now the evidence is shown as solid, another 'witness' has been shown to be lying, so convieniently another disappearing nun and priest are brought out that are supposidly saying the same.

Evidence believed.
Alessi not believed.
Vanishing nun and priest not going to work either imo.
 
I hope the true crime books about this case are good. I'd like to know more about AK background.
 
Amanda Knox: The face that launched a fatal stabbing?

Amanda Knox isn't a she-devil after all, nor a criminal mastermind, "a huntress of men, "a typical woman, dirty inside and out," "the dark angel" or any of the names flung at her during the 11-month "trial of the century." It ended when an Italian court condemed her and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito to more than 25 years in prison in a dramatic midnight session last December. Rudy Guede had already been convicted of participating in the crime.

Instead, Amanda and Raffaele were good students who just felt like stabbing Amanda's well-liked British roommate, Meredith Kercher, for no reason on November 1, 2007 in the college town of Perugia, Italy. They were aided by drifter Rudy Guede, a man that Knox barely knew and Raffaele apparently met for the first time in court, but who somehow lured the two college students into a drug-fueled orgy that ended in Kercher's brutal stabbing death.

What sparked Rudy to commit this violence? Amanda and Raffaele say they weren't even in the house that night. According to the latest judge's report, they left Raffaele's cosy apartment after watching a rather silly French movie, stood around in the basketball court in Piazza Grimana for hours, encountered Rudy (a meeting not witnessed by a star witness who claims he observed the two lovers ceaselessly during this time period from his park bench). Raffaele and Amanda then invited Rudy into the house, smoked marijuana with him, and then went into Amanda's bedroom and started making out. Even though they were invisible to Rudy, the very thought of the 20-year-old Amanda making out with her boyfriend turned Rudy on. He then went into Kercher's room, where she was quietly reading, and tried to force himself on her. This excited Amanda and Raffaele, who rushed into the room to help Rudy. When Meredith resisted, Raffaele stabbed her with a penknife. Amanda, inexplicably armed with a giant kitchen from Raffaele's apartment (which she supposedly carried in her purse for protection), plunged it deeply into her friend's neck, a blow so savage that police originally said only a man could have inflicted it.

~~~~~~
"Rape is not an act of sex and will never be an act of sex," writes Linda Lin on Women's Web, like a million rape counselors before her. "Rape has nothing to do with sex. Rape is purely an act of violence and control."

Yet this new judge's report would have us believe that watching such a degrading, disgusting, sickening, frightening and cowardly act would be a turnoff for your average college student, if marijuana was added to the mix and if, like Raffaele Sollecito, one had once looked at *advertiser censored* on a computer screen or read Manga comics with women-in-peril plots (where the hero inevitably rescues the damsel in distress).

The report also turns on another myth, that only women cover bodies after committing a murder. In fact, men commit most murders and covering the body is a common act, an indication that the murderer is young, inexperienced, and still capable of feeling some remorse, according to John Douglas's seminal work Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit. Even serial killers have been known to cover victims, for one reason or another. The notorious Ted Bundy, for instance, shrouded the victims in the infamous Chi Omega murders.

Even though the judges condemmed both Amanda and Raffaele, they did rehabilitate their images, from depraved youth to ordinary college students led astray sans parental guidance. They also conceded that there was no animosity between Meredith and Amanda. They did believe some of the more fanciful witnesses, however, and insisted that the famous window was broken to stage a burglary since it was impossible to climb into (despite the fact that Judge Paolo Micheli described it as easy for an agile person such as Rudy Guede to do).

Meanwhile, Rudy may or may not have confided to various cellmates that Raffaele and Amanda weren't in the cottage on the night of the murder. That was, of course, his original story. But in this new version he claims that he arrived with an accomplice who stabbed Meredith to death because she refused his sexual advances.


More here.
 
In Rome, a discussion of Amanda Knox tries to improve U.S.-Italian relations

Amanda Knox sits in a prison in Italy, convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher.

But in Rome on Thursday, lawyers and professors gathered to consider what would have happened if Knox, a Seattle native and University of Washington student, had been tried in the U.S.

The gathering was not so much an exercise in legal theorizing as one to smooth the hard feelings between Italy and the United States over the trial of one American college student. It's a case that has spawned books, Websites and congressional involvement.

In fact, experts decided they couldn't say what would have happened in an American trial.

"The only answer is, it is impossible to answer this question," lawyer Anthony Sistilli told the audience, according to ANSA Italian wire services that covered the forum. "We do not want to retry the case. We want to help bridge the gap of understanding, which is our mission for this meeting."

The debate, held at a parliamentary annex in Rome, was sponsored by the Italy-USA Foundation. The panelists included Sistilli and two American law professors, Catherine Arcabascio, dean of the Nova Southeastern University Law Center in Fort Lauderdale and Rebecca Spitzmiller, who teaches at the Roma Tre University, as well as the American University in Rome.

"Trial outcomes are unpredictable. You really can't guess what the outcome would be," Arcabascio, who is co-director of the Florida Innocence Project, told the crowd.

"But reasonable doubt is a standard of proof we use in both countries."

Arcabascio also noted that sequestered juries are still used in the United States, but less and less common due to the high cost.

The forum's aim, organizers said, was to bridge the widening gap between observers of the case in Italy and in the United States, where Washington state politicians in particular have made their voices heard on the case.

"No-one had any intention of bringing up criticisms," said Rocco Girlanda, president of the U.S.-Italy Foundation told seattlepi.com. "Our scope was simply to compare the judicial systems and trial processes of Italy and the U.S."

Girlanda ended the evening on a light note, saying that perhaps after the case's expected appeal, the association would even have the chance to have a "special honored guest," meaning Knox.

He also mentioned that the association is continuing to meet regularly with Knox in prison. Italy-USA Association officials said that prison authorities have called Knox's behavior in Capanne "exemplary."

Though she had requested work in the prison laundry, she has been given a less menial task with the prison commissary. Her job, according to foundation officials who meet with her, is to take orders from the various cellmates about what they want from the prison store. Inmates are able to buy items such as candy, cheese, soda or other small shopping items.

When Knox's trial began, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., wrote to Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. They said they would be following the trial and noted that it was "essential to ensure that Amanda Knox receives a fair trial."

Cantwell also sent a letter to Ronald Spogli, then ambassador to the American embassy in Rome as well as a letter to Giovanni Castellaneta, the ambassador for Italy's embassy in Washington D.C.

~~~~~
When angry reactions criticizing the Italian justice system flared after Knox's guilty verdict, Girlanda, the association's current president, used his position in the Italian parliament to arrange for a visit to Knox in the Capanne prison.

Parliamentarians are able to request access to the prisons at any time to review prison conditions.

Girlanda, is from a small Umbrian town of Gubbio, near Perugia.

Girlanda has spoken with Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini about concerns raised over the case. He works in public relations.

Behind the scenes, a few observers speculated that Girlanda might become the Italian version of David Marriott., the Seattle public relations expert who represents the interests of Amanda Knox and her family and who has coordinated media appearances of Knox's family and friends in the U.S. Marriott is also the gatekeeper for Italian journalists who have wanted to interview friends and family of Knox's in Seattle.

In the U.S., a new Website in support of Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's codefendant and ex-boyfriend has gone online.


http://www.seattlepi.com/local/416999_knox18.html?source=mypi


Raffaele's new site:
http://www.raffaelesollecito.org./index.html
It is in Italian but with a lot of photos.
 
March 19, 2010 2:23 PM
Amanda Knox Court Victory: Wins Money, Not Freedom in Invasion of Privacy Suit

MILAN, Italy (CBS) Amanda Knox has won a monetary victory in an Italian court, in a lawsuit for invasion of privacy. The Seattle native, who's serving a 26-year sentence for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher in November 2007 -- a verdict she is appealing -- was awarded $55,000 in a judgment against an Italian media company for publishing excerpts of Knox's personal notebooks.

The notebooks were confiscated by police in Perugia, Italy when they arrested Knox, and journalist Fiorenza Sarzanini somehow gained access to them, publishing excerpts in several articles and in a book, entitled "Amanda e gli atria" (Amanda and the Others).


The notebooks did not become evidence in Knox's criminal trial. Under Italian law they are considered her private property, and were eventually transferred to the prison where she's held near Perugia.


Knox's Italian lawyer, Carlo dalla Vedova, told CBS News that the finding in Knox's favor is further proof that even though the notebook material was not part of the trial, the jury was negatively influenced by it, and that the prosecution's characterization of her was completely wrong.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000775-504083.html
 
The problem is: Nobody here is 'touting' that message as important evidence.

The important evidence is imo:
The REPEATED lies told by the accused which has been documented/described here over and over. Your 40+ hr interrogation point is a MYTH.
The destruction of their alibi. Both AK and RS lied about what they were doing that night. When confronted with this, BOTH changed their alibi!!! Why on earth would innocent people do this? NO WAY can RS's reaction to MK's dna being on the knife be seen as anything but a guilty one... he makes up a lie about MK eating dinner with him. OBVIOUSLY the knife and the possibility of her dna being on it was a legitimate concern for him (which is unexplainable from an innocent point of view). AK accuses PL of the murder saying SHE WAS AT THE CRIME SCENE AT THE TIME OF THE MURDER... not once but at least twice. When this false accusation plays out and PL is found completely not involved, she suddenly can not remember what she had done that night (because of pot smoking... come on)... not the 'I was at RS's all night' either (which she claimed first and in emails home later) because RS was no longer providing THAT alibi for her. Seems to be a tangled web she wove... which she then got herself tangled up in.

Well done:) :applause::applause::applause:
 
March 19, 2010 2:23 PM
Amanda Knox Court Victory: Wins Money, Not Freedom in Invasion of Privacy Suit

MILAN, Italy (CBS) Amanda Knox has won a monetary victory in an Italian court, in a lawsuit for invasion of privacy. The Seattle native, who's serving a 26-year sentence for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher in November 2007 -- a verdict she is appealing -- was awarded $55,000 in a judgment against an Italian media company for publishing excerpts of Knox's personal notebooks.

The notebooks were confiscated by police in Perugia, Italy when they arrested Knox, and journalist Fiorenza Sarzanini somehow gained access to them, publishing excerpts in several articles and in a book, entitled "Amanda e gli atria" (Amanda and the Others).


The notebooks did not become evidence in Knox's criminal trial. Under Italian law they are considered her private property, and were eventually transferred to the prison where she's held near Perugia.


Knox's Italian lawyer, Carlo dalla Vedova, told CBS News that the finding in Knox's favor is further proof that even though the notebook material was not part of the trial, the jury was negatively influenced by it, and that the prosecution's characterization of her was completely wrong.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20000775-504083.html

Unfortunately, even though they weren't submitted as evidence, we can't say for sure they didn't sway the jury's opinions, you know?
 
I would have felt a lot better with the verdict if the jury's report had made sense, but it made no sense to me. Their concocted story points more towards reasonable doubt than guilt. Note, I'm not saying AK is absolutely innocent, because I wasn't there and surely I don't know, but I'm not sure there was enough to say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she participated in the murder. At least not based on the jury's tale of what they thought went down that night.
 
I would have felt a lot better with the verdict if the jury's report had made sense, but it made no sense to me. Their concocted story points more towards reasonable doubt than guilt. Note, I'm not saying AK is absolutely innocent, because I wasn't there and surely I don't know, but I'm not sure there was enough to say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she participated in the murder. At least not based on the jury's tale of what they thought went down that night.

I do not think Amanda was the one who killed Meredith, but i DO think she was either in the room or in the cottage as Meredith was being killed.

P.S. Does anybody know how long it takes for Maryjane to leave the system of a person?
 
I do not think Amanda was the one who killed Meredith, but i DO think she was either in the room or in the cottage as Meredith was being killed.

P.S. Does anybody know how long it takes for Maryjane to leave the system of a person?

Usually about 3 weeks. If she was there she is just as guilty as the one that did the actual fatal stabbing.
 
Apology over Meredith won term cut
March 22, 2010

An appeals court said it shaved 14 years off the sentence of a man involved in the murder of British student Meredith Kercher because he was the only one of the three defendants to apologise to her family.

Rudy Hermann Guede denied killing Ms Kercher, 21, a Leeds University student from Surrey, but said he should have done more to help her as she lay bleeding in her room in a Perugia flat she shared with Amanda Knox, the American student from Seattle who was also convicted of her killing, Italian reports said.

The appeals court in December upheld Guede's conviction in an earlier trial for sexual assault and murder but cut his prison sentence to 16 years from 30.

By law, Italian courts must give a written explanation of their rulings within a few months of the end of trial. The ANSA and Apcom news agencies said the appeals court also said that while Guede sexually assaulted the woman, he was not the one who stabbed her.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jbTFj5z_Z30u_ryBzWC1wU0ZXi1Q
 
Amanda Knox documentary to air on TV, but which version?
March 22, 2010

"The Trials of Amanda Knox," is a documentary about the West Seattle UW student currently serving a 26-year jail sentence in Italy for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. The film was released on Great Britain cable TV early January. Google the title and you will find numerous reviews with unshakable takes on the trial based on the evidence presented in the film.

The problem is, there is more than one version of the film. Some versions are more sympathetic to Amanda Knox than others. So, which one will Americans see when it airs here this Sunday, March 28, 8pm, on The Learning Channel?

According to Chris Mellas, Amanda's step-father, there are at least seven versions, and he personally possesses five.

"They contacted our family and wanted our input," said Mellas in an exclusive interview with the West Seattle Herald, referring to the British producers, Eye Films.

"Our initial reaction was 'no.' Then they provided us with little bits (of footage) here and there and our opinions changed a bit. As they investigated more, they found Amanda innocent. The production company felt this wasn’t suitable for a U.K. audience, especially after she was found guilty. The director and filmmaker we were dealing with have been forcibly removed from this production and as a result, the documentary was re-edited and has gone back to its initial focus, that Amanda probably did it. It's been a bitter nasty thing."


http://www.westseattleherald.com/2010/03/22/news/amanda-knox-documentary-air-tv-which-version
 
Apology over Meredith won term cut
March 22, 2010

An appeals court said it shaved 14 years off the sentence of a man involved in the murder of British student Meredith Kercher because he was the only one of the three defendants to apologise to her family.

Rudy Hermann Guede denied killing Ms Kercher, 21, a Leeds University student from Surrey, but said he should have done more to help her as she lay bleeding in her room in a Perugia flat she shared with Amanda Knox, the American student from Seattle who was also convicted of her killing, Italian reports said.

The appeals court in December upheld Guede's conviction in an earlier trial for sexual assault and murder but cut his prison sentence to 16 years from 30.

By law, Italian courts must give a written explanation of their rulings within a few months of the end of trial. The ANSA and Apcom news agencies said the appeals court also said that while Guede sexually assaulted the woman, he was not the one who stabbed her.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jbTFj5z_Z30u_ryBzWC1wU0ZXi1Q

That's difficult, you know? Would you apologize for something you didn't do? Especially if you were being wrongfully accused? I wouldn't. I'm sure Guede didn't know that his sentence would be shortened by apologizing.
 
No I would not apologize for something I didn't do. I would defend myself as aggressively as I could.
 
I would have felt a lot better with the verdict if the jury's report had made sense, but it made no sense to me. Their concocted story points more towards reasonable doubt than guilt. Note, I'm not saying AK is absolutely innocent, because I wasn't there and surely I don't know, but I'm not sure there was enough to say, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she participated in the murder. At least not based on the jury's tale of what they thought went down that night.

HI Everybody! First time posting on this case here... not sure why, since I've been obsessed with it from the beginning and have followed it religiously! For me, the jury's report made more sense than I'd expected... . The evidence was clear (to me - I realize not everyone agrees, and I don't mean to offend) that AK and RS knew more than they were telling, but the prosecutions theory NEVER made sense to me. Way too far-fetched to assume a couple of a few weeks would a) be bored enough having sex with just another to want an orgy (?) and b) would trust someone they had only known for 2 weeks in committing a murder together.

In that regard, I found the jury's report much more plausible. I'm still not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that they were involved in the murder, but I do think they were involved to an extent.

The main fact I noticed from the jury's report, though, is that their idea of what went on that night doesn't support a first degree murder conviction at all, since they threw out the prosecutions theory of premeditation. So AS and RK should end up getting a significantly reduced sentence in appeal, which I agree with.... I don't think either of them are lifetime 'killers'. Justice for Meredith deserves for AS and RK to spend time in prison, but 25 and 26 years is harsh, based on the circumstances and motivations outlined in the jury's report.
 
That's difficult, you know? Would you apologize for something you didn't do? Especially if you were being wrongfully accused? I wouldn't. I'm sure Guede didn't know that his sentence would be shortened by apologizing.

I would think his attorneys would know that an apology might lessen his sentence. They seem to have a weird, imo, system of justice. You get a lesser sentence if you agree to a short trial. You get a lesser sentence if you apologize. I hope they keep a good eye on Rudy when he gets out. Deport him maybe? He can then be somone else' problem.
 
I would think his attorneys would know that an apology might lessen his sentence. They seem to have a weird, imo, system of justice. You get a lesser sentence if you agree to a short trial. You get a lesser sentence if you apologize. I hope they keep a good eye on Rudy when he gets out. Deport him maybe? He can then be somone else' problem.

I agree! With all of the stories he's come out with, it's clear he'll say ANYTHING if there's a chance it will reduce his sentence. It's lucky for him he had some savvy lawyers, since I doubt the person who openly admitted he left Meredith to bleed to death and didn't do anything to save her has a lot of genuine remorse. I wonder if Meredith's parents agree with his sentence basically being reduced by half because he says sorry after the fact.
 
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