Amanda Knox Found Guilty On All Counts By Italian Jury

video

by Rachel Sklar | 6:46 pm, December 4th, 2009

» 7 comments

Amanda-Knox-001 After many, many months, 22-year old American student Amanda Knox has been found guilty of the murder of her British roommate, along with her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 25.

Knox and Sollecito were charged in the 2007 killing of Meredith Kercher in 2007 in Perugia, Italy, where they were studying abroad. The details of the murder were horrible — Kercher’s throat was slashed in what the prosecution luridly alleged was a night of drug-and-alcohol fueled sex between Knox, Sollecito and another man, Rudy Hermann Guede, who was convicted in a separate trial and whose DNA was found on Kercher. Knox and Sollecito claimed to have been out of the house at Sollecito’s apartment on the night of the slaying.

From the LA Times:

The prosecution maintains that a 6½-inch knife authorities found at Sollecito’s house could be the murder weapon; they say Kercher’s DNA was found on the blade and Knox’s on the handle. However, defense lawyers argue the knife was too big to match Kercher’s wounds and the amount of DNA collected was too small to determine with certainty whose it was…The defense maintained there was not enough evidence for a conviction and no clear motive.

In addition to being a high-profile murder trial of a pretty young American girl overseas (the press made much of the nickname “Foxy Knoxy“), there was a great deal of skepticism about the evidence in the case against her, and whether she was the victim of an over-zealous prosecutor. Sarah Horne reported on the case for Radar magazine last fall, and said this:

“Lisa Pasko, a criminology professor at the University of Denver who specializes in young women who commit violent crimes, has been following the case and does not believe that Knox participated in Kercher’s murder…She likens Mignini’s behavior to that of the very vocal prosecutor in the Duke rape case, former Durham County district attorney Mike Nifong, who improperly leaked information to the media in order to beef up his case against the accused lacrosse players.”

There is sure to be an outcry here about the conviction, and the eventual sentencing; the Italian prosecutor asked for the Italian equivalent of life in prison, 30 years; Knox got 26 years, Sollecito 25. Video below:

Related:
Breaking: Amanda Knox Found Guilty On All Counts, Sentenced To 26 Years In Prison [Jezebel] (very comprehensive links)
Amanda Knox Is Not An Assassin [Jezebel]
Guilty Until Proven Guilty [Newsweek]
Amanda Knox Revisited [Opinionator]
Meredith Kercher – Profile [CNN]

(Radar quote via Jezebel)

http://www.abramsresearch.com/ Dan Abrams

This was far from a slam dunk case but there was real evidence. Her own conflicting statements about where she was and who else might have been involved, in conjunction with what prosecutors argued was a mix of her blood with that of the victim in the house, what prosecutors say was her dna and the victims on a knife that could have been the murder weapon found at her boyfriend’s home, and DNA found on the victim’s bra all make for a serious case. With that said, I might still have said there was reasonable doubt due to serious questions about much of the key evidence. But I did not see all of the testimony.

Bottom line, these jurors/judge felt some sympathy for her because prosecutors wanted a life sentence and they didn’t get it. I certainly hope that was not their way of saying they had some doubts about the verdict.
http://lauriebethsgrotto.wordpress.com Laurie Beth

Thanks, Mr. Abrams…on CNN, Wolf Blitzer asked the reporter they had on location if she had received a life sentence or if she had received thirty years, and her response was that in Italy, 30 years *is* a life sentence. That sounded odd to me, considering that 52 would hardly be close to her life expectancy, but the reporter seemed to imply that Ms. Knox had received the maximum sentence, unless I misinterpreted what she said.
Rachel Sklar

Hi Laurie, yes that is what the reporter said, so it’s unclear if the sentence came down after but I link the CNN article where the sentence is spelled out. It seems like 30 years constitutes a life sentence in Italy. Sounds like one. The whole thing is awful all around.
http://www.abramsresearch.com/ Dan Abrams

A 30 year sentence is considered a life sentence in Italy but that does not change the fact that the jurors did not give Amanda or her ex-boyfriend the max.

I am hearing a lot of people talk about this case as if it occured in a remote village with no legal standards or rules of evidence etc. This was not some Afghan tribal court. That does not mean the jurors got it right, but it does mean that this was a closer case than some are making it out to be.
Nachi

Be intreresting to read the entire REAL story of this nightmare. Grisly stuff, this.
http://lauriebethsgrotto.wordpress.com Laurie Beth

Thanks for the illumination, team. It’s very much appreciated.
sarainitaly

I have always thought she was guilty, however the sex game angle seems hard to believe. I almost think Rudy G. has the most believeble story, from what little I have heard in the news. I think the Knox’s did Amanda a huge disservice trashing the legal system in Italy. They didn’t need to prosecute Amanda and Raffello since they had Rudy in jail…. I always believed they must had had a good reason to prosecute them both. Also, they never told a reliable version, between the two of them, on what happened that night. And the fact that Amanda fingered Patrick, another black man, for the crime was a big red flag.

If the trial would have been in USA, Knox perhaps would have gotten off, based on beyond a reasonable doubt, but from what I understand, Italy doesn’t use that as a guideline.

The problem with living overseas is you have to accept their laws and court systems. Just because it is different doesn’t mean it is wrong, or corrupt. I am glad to see Dan defending the system. I haven’t seen much of that in the media. They seem to trash Italy and defend Amanda just because she is pretty.

I feel sorry for her parents, who are completely broke now, but I really feel sorry for Meredith’s family.