Amanda Knox - Guilty or Innocent

[Rhodes]

I don't know whether anybody has been following this story on the news and in the press but Knox's family, who have spent some £750,000 fighting the case, seemed absolutely certain she would be found not guilty on Friday and had even booked her on a flight back to Seattle. The US is apparently up in arms this weekend and people even believe the verdict is sweet revenge for the executions of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti in 1927 and question whether anti-Americanism tainted the trial. Alegedly the prosecution did not present enough evidence for an impartial jury to conclude beyond any reasonable doubt that Knox was guilty of Meredith Kercher's murder and the Italian jurors were not sequestered and were freely allowed to view highly negative news coverage about Knox. Another question mark against the Italian justice system is pending charges of misconduct against one of the acting prosecutors originating from another murder trial.

[Ian_W]

There does seem to be several issues with the conviction.

 

The problem is I am not sure how the jury could have been impartial.

[Rhodes]

Ian - I see that Hilary Clinton will shortly be going into battle against the Italian justice system in an attempt to overturn Amanda Knox's conviction, if a miscarriage of justice has occurred, and I'm not suggesting it has, then I'm sure she will be able to unearth it

[sidders]

That should be interesting.....

 

Not sure if she is innocent or guilty

[Lee]

I love the fact they are playing the "anti-americanism" card again. This seems to always happen when something does not go their way.

 

I am not suggesting she is guilty, or innocent for that matter - but I am sure there was some rather compelling evidence against Knox before a judge sentenced her.

[Rhodes]

Lee - The Americans believe, rightly or wrongly, that Knox was convicted by the Judges and Jury, who were all Italian, in a Kangaroo Court. You say that you feel there was some rather compelling evidence against Knox before she was sentenced however there was no DNA evidence in Meredith Kercher room where she was killed whatsoever

[Big J R]

Guilty as Charged, Me Lud !!

[Rhodes]

Big JR - Really, what makes you say that, I'm not so sure and when Hilary Clinton gets involved all will be revealed

[Rhodes]

Did anybody see the Daily Mail yesterday which included an interesting article entitled 'Foxy: The Troubling Doubts'. In it The Mail went to great lengths to point out that despite the dubious verdict of the Italian jury there remain far more questions than answers as to how Meredith Kercher met her gruesome death and that there was insufficient evidence to have proven Knox's guilt. This was their reasoning:

The Murder Weapon

The 12" kitchin knife that is alleged to have been used in the murder is obviously crucial because the prosecution say it had traces of DNA from both the victim, it was found in Knox's boyfriend's, Raffaele Sollecito, apartment linking the couple to the murder however question marks have surrounded whether it was actually the murder weapon at all and how exactly the 'not fit for purpose' Italian Police came to find it, incredibly it was selected from several owned by Sollecito that happened to be in his kitchen cutlery drawer.

The DNA Evidence

At the end of the day the quality of the DNA evidence produced in Court would not have, in a million years, been acceptable in a US or a British Court, Knox's DNA was found by, wait for it, swabbing the handle which wasn't surprising given that she had used the knife to prepare food at the flat, the handle and blade were tested but no presence of blood was found however inexplicably a DNA profile was discovered that was a match to the victim. This match was at such a low level that if it had been tested in the US it would have been laughed out of Court, this was emphasised in a letter signed by nine high profile US experts in DNA who had reviewed the flimsy evidence presented by Italian Police.

The Confession

Knox's legal team say she was brain washed and coerced into making a false confession which she later retracted saying that the Police threatened her with violence. Knox was interrogated for 53 hours over a five day period and largely without a Lawyer present, Italian law is clear that a suspect must not be interrogated without a lawyer in the room. The Police told Knox that they had concrete proof she was at the scene of the crime and would go to prison for the next 30 years and would never see her family again, under this unacceptable pressure Knox understandably described a version of events that the defence say was totally imaginary.

The Alibi

The forthcoming appeal will examine closely how potentially critical evidence on three laptops was destroyed by so called Police commuter experts. The computers, two owned by Sollecito and one by Knox, were seized after they were arrested, the defence team claim examination of the hard drives would have gone a long way to substantiate the version of events given by the pair, two of the computers would have shown they were in use at the time the victim is said to have been killed however the hard drives were inexplicably destroyed.

Knox's Behaviour

Much was made in Court by the prosecution of Knox's eccentric behaviour, she was apparently 'canoodling' with Sollecito outside the scene of the crime and whilst waiting at the Police station to be questioned she performed cartwheels and did the splits. Her family dismissed this behaviour as a sign of her innocence and naivety, they also stated that Knox's infamous nickname, Foxy Knoxy, originated from when she played football as a child and had no sexual connotations whatsoever.

[Rhodes]

I see that Amanda Knox's parents appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show earlier this week which is a sure sign that their beloved daughter is innocent otherwise Oprah wouldn't have had them on the programme. Amanda's Mother stated that her daughter has always maintained that she never had anything to do with Meredith Kercher's horrific murder in Perugia (Italy) and that they were great friends so why on earth would she murder her. It is strongly felt that 'a trial by media' in a kangaroo Court led to Knox's conviction in December and the forthcoming appeal against the ridiculous verdict will see her cleared and released.

[Eastside Urchin]

What is the latest on this case

[Rhodes]

Buzzarboy - How long do you have, she has a Facebook page though with up to the second, sorry, micro second news so I suggest you look on that, just type in Amanda Knox. My guess is she will be a free woman by the end of the year and won't ever need to work again on the compensation money she will receive

[Rhodes]

What do members think of Amanda Knox's new hairstyle, it really suits her and I expect it is far more manageable than the flowing locks she had previously as she patiently awaits her appeal in the autumn against the ridiculous murder conviction and certain release:

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/06/01/amanda-knox-sports-new-haircut-for-court-appearance-115875-22301356/

 

 

[Big J R]

I think it's known as a 'prison-cut'

 

[Rhodes]

Here's confirmation that Amanda Knox was convicted in a Kangaroo Court and is indeed innocent as will be proven at her forthcoming appeal in the autumn, why on earth would she have killed Meredith Kercher as the two girls were the best of friends:

 

http://mafiatoday.com/general-breaking-news/amanda-knox-is-innocent-jailed-italian-mobster-says-his-brother-killed-meredith-kercher/

 

 

[Loose]

Are you writing to her in prison yet Rhodesly?

[Big J R]

Not sure the mafia story sounds very convincing !

[Rhodes]

Are you writing to her in prison yet Rhodesly?

Loosely - As a matter of fact I have and am in close touch with her friends in the US although I very much doubt the incompetent Perugia prison authorities will allow Amanda to receive the thousands of letters of support she receives weekly.

Ahead of her eagerly awaited appeal in October, her legal team have already asked for the removal of 'a crooked' judge and prosecutor who, surprise, surprise, is also officiating in a separate charge of slander against her. Furthermore a former FBI officer concluded that in the US the flimsy evidence against Amanda wouldn't have even been sufficient to get a search warrant let alone take her to trial for murder and that the case is totally flawed and based on naive hunches and Italian bias against her. Roll on the appeal!

[Big J R]

.......... and I noticed a full page article in Saturdays Daily Mail, saying the Mafia connection is looking more and more likely to be true.

[Rhodes]

Big J R - That's right, my guess is that Amanda will be on a flight from Rome to Seattle at the end of October or early November and looking forward to a huge compensation payout.

The evidence against Amanda is totally wrong, contrived, misinterpreted and mis-stated, the DNA evidence in particular is inaccurate and defies belief. Incredibly the Italian lead investigator openly stated that he knew Amanda was guilty of murder without any physical evidence, she was held in custody for 349 days before being charged with murder along with her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Worse of all it was banded about by the sick Italian authorities, whilst Amanda was being held in prison awaiting charge, that she was HIV positive, a scandalous and calculated lie intended to elicit information about her colourful, albeit innocent, personal life, details of which were contorted, exaggerated and leaked to a voracious and twisted Italian media.