Guards in courtroom during Amanda Knox trial...why so many?

Watching the live feed of the appeal verdict of the Amanda Knox trial and noticed that there are at least 6-7 uniformed security officers in the court room. Three of them are standing directly behind Knox’s chair. Why so many? Is this more for her protection or to keep her from escaping? Seems a bit overkill.

Anyone know the reason or answer?

Oh and by the way…the worst translator ever.

Glad she’s free.

Keep her from orgying people to death in the court room?

Is it a union thing? Like road crews in Chicago.

Italy has a way to go to catch up to Greece in terms of padding the government payroll; but apparently it is a common thing. Plus, this was a very prominent trial, watched worldwide, so they probably decided to have enough manpower to deal with any contingency, anything from avenging or crusading nutbars to nutbars who just want to be on TV.

Yeah, the higher-profile a case, or the more likely there is to be a demonstration/uproar/riot in the courtroom, the more guards you’re going to want to have. I was in a courtroom once when a man was being sentenced to prison. The judge was concerned that he or his family would flip out, so she asked for and had six (I think it was) armed deputy sheriffs in the room when she handed down her sentence. I’ve never felt safer…

I was a juror on a first-degree murder trial (nothing that received much media attention beyond the local papers) a few years ago and while normally there was only one bailiff in the courtroom, the day that the verdict was announced, it was more like three or four of them.

It’s a cultural thing. Italians are obsessed with guards and various forms of police (Polizia Municipale, Polizia, Carabinieri, the Army, Vigilanza Patria, Vigilanza Ambientale etc.) It’s entirely to be expected that they’d go overboard with the guards in a courtroom. The main square of my small town is patrolled by uniformed soldiers in a camouflaged landrover, as well as two other forms of police I mentioned above, every 15 minutes.

I don’t know about the number of guards, but the female one is cute.

Sigh. Wrong on all counts.

Now, in a high profile murder case, it’s not unusual for there to be a couple of guards in the courtroom, right? Especially bearing in mind that the Italian legal system doesn’t have anything like the common law bailiff.

Plus, there’s another factor to add in. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were both in jail; in different jails. And someone, i.e. guards, have to bring them to the hearing and stay there until the hearing is finished. OK, have we got that? Each guard detail is usually made up of two guards, maybe three if there are potential complications.

So, you have a couple of guards in court just to keep the public peace, and at least two each to bring Knox and Sollecito to court. What you wind up with is what looks like a ton of cops, but in reality most of those people are probably penitentiary guards.