Trying Amanda again proves to me just how dumb the Italian government is. It is so obvious that the criminal who was convicted, Rudy, is the only guilty party involved. Why would they have reduced his original sentence? Is that why he made up this ridiculous story about Amanda and her boyfriend, because he wanted a lighter sentence? Why is that government so stupid? Rudy had a criminal record and the guy who prosecuted Amanda and her boyfriend has no credibility. He was known to be a nut in the past, before Amanda’s trial. He falsely accused someone else who was involved in a different case. I feel very sorry for her Italian boyfriend, who was prosecuted with her, since he lives in Italy.
That government is making itself appear very foolish to the world.:mad:confused:
It does make me wonder if they’ve lost it. Do they expect us to just say “Sure, we’re going to ignore that whole double jeopardy thing we have, the four years she already spent in your prison, and the fact that you already had a go at her which you guys later said you screwed it up, have her again?”
Double jeopardy doesn’t apply since she was convicted at the original trial. It’s possible in the US for a state Supreme Court (or the Supreme Court) to overule an appellete court & reinstate a conviction.
But since Knox is in the US now she would have to be tried in absentia. Even if convicted AGAIN I’m sure she would not be extradited. So relax people, and let the Italian government implode.
I think Meredith’s (the victim’s) family hit the nail on the head with their statement which was effectively, “there are still a lot of unanswered questions”. I don’t think that the full story has emerged (how did Rudy get in? why was he there?) and Amanda’s stupidity misdirected the police and Rudy’s story enough that the lack of clear answers leaves the overall case quite wide open. So this is quite simply her karma.
Maybe it’s a little different in Italy, but in most court systems that I am aware of, an apparent “lack of clear answers” that leaves the case “wide open” is the sort of thing that leads the courts towards a verdict of acquittal.
Now you’ve got me curious: what exactly did Amanda Knox do that was so “stupid” that it made you decide she deserved to spend four years in Italian jail? Or do you just mean the retrial decision is her karma?
There is one silver lining in this for her: She has a book coming out next month, and this should make sales skyrocket:
Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir [Hardcover]
Amanda Knox (Author)
"Release date: April 30, 2013
Amanda Knox spent four years in a foreign prison for a crime she did not commit.
In the fall of 2007, the 20-year-old college coed left Seattle to study abroad in Italy, but her life was shattered when her roommate was murdered in their apartment.
After a controversial trial, Amanda was convicted and imprisoned. But in 2011, an appeals court overturned the decision and vacated the murder charge. Free at last, she returned home to the U.S., where she has remained silent, until now.
Filled with details first recorded in the journals Knox kept while in Italy, Waiting to Be Heard is a remarkable story of innocence, resilience, and courage, and of one young woman’s hard-fought battle to overcome injustice and win the freedom she deserved.
With intelligence, grace, and candor, Amanda Knox tells the full story of her harrowing ordeal in Italy—a labyrinthine nightmare of crime and punishment, innocence and vindication—and of the unwavering support of family and friends who tirelessly worked to help her win her freedom.
Waiting to Be Heard includes 24 pages of color photographs."
I think the reversal was a very wise move by the Italian government-if Amanda Knox is so foolish as to ever visit Italy again, she deserves jail. This was a ploy to insure that:
-Amanda will never show p for retrial
-the whole story will die
-the Italian justice dept. don’t look like total fools.
Problem solved!
Well, she might have served four years under the murder conviction, but the Italian authorities overturned it and (rightfully, many argue) convicted her of Calunnia, falsely accusing the bar owner of being the killer (for which he did serve 2 weeks in jail). The Italian court then said “You didn’t murder your roommate, for which you served four years - sorry 'bout that. However, you did lie about it which falsely sent a man to jail, which carries a sentence of four years. Therefore, your sentence for Calunnia has been served, so you’re free to go. Now get the fuck out.”
Which she did.
So she was convicted of murder, acquitted four years later, but was found guilty of lying to police, with the four years she spent in jail being considered time served for the Calunnia conviction. So she probably got the punishment she deserved.
IMHO, the Italian authorities are trying desperately to divert the public’s attention away from the fact that their economy is imploding, their political system is in chaos (but what about that is new, really?) and they’re the most likely candidate of a Cypriot-esque haircut.
Amanda Knox ‘Shocked’ By Court Ruling says the news headline.
Well, gee that’s what happens when you brutally murder a beautiful college girl. Just because they screwed up the investigation and trial doesn’t mean the skank gets off. The public knows what she did. But of course she will get off. Along with the millions from her book deal. Dear sweet Amanda will be enjoying her McMansion life in Oregon and laughing her butt off at the family of Meredith Kercher.
Not leaving the country immediately like she could have and others did
Arguably, going to Italy when she couldn’t really speak Italian
Being interrogated and coerced in private, secret sessions (which was against Italian law) by a crazy guy who thought she was a demonic cultist (a common idea of his in many cases) in a language she couldn’t even fully comprehend is not altogether her fault. Having the incompetent authorities arrive at the scene and trample everything before the real police got there, also not her fault. Having the demonic possession guy ignore the very clear evidence against the real culprit while trying to keep her in prison, also not her fault.
Plus, the fact that the authorities cut a deal with the only person who has real evidence against him, so they could get testimony against the (gasp) American ( :eek: ) who they really wanted to be the guilty party is not Knox’s fault either.
The most charitable interpretion of the prosecutor’s actions is that he’s a total, unmitigated moron. A less charitable interpretation is that he deliberately railroaded the foreign suspect, and he should be the person facing prison time.
I view Amanda Knox with the same contempt as Casey Anthony. They both got away with murder.
Except the press fell in love with little Amanda. Can you imagine the outrage if Casey was releasing a book next month? Bookstores would be getting picketed. But Amanda’s book is due out in a few weeks. No outrage at all.
Hopefully Amanda will be back in prison. It may take several years to extradite her. But justice may get served eventually.
Heck, I sat on a jury in a case where the evidence was less than conclusive. There was DNA evidence, and the prosecutors trumpeted the fact that the suspect “could not be excluded,” but really this was just an attempt to spin inconclusive results. There were also two jailhouse witnesses who supposedly heard the suspect confess to murder. One of them looked like he was about 16 or 17, and spent his whole time on the witness stand laughing and obviously not taking any of this the least bit seriously. The other was older, looked a lot like Gordon from Sesame Street, and under cross-examination he very matter-of-factly admitted that he would lie under oath if it benefitted him to do so.
Despite all of this, we ended up convicting the guy of armed robbery, but we acquitted him of murder because we looked at each other and said, “We’re supposed to send a guy to jail for the rest of his life based on this?”