Amanda Knox - Guilty or Innocent

[Loose]

A lot of the supposed criticism is centered on the changes in the testing of the DNA evidence, that 2 years ago techniques certainly in the US changed, possibly became more accurate or that the process of collecting and storing became more secure or "stronger".

 

Two things about that, firstly I don't see that as a sound reason to challenge convictions which included DNA testing under the previous processes - why is that Rhodes would say, surely that must make it invalid and the US updated techniques making the convictions unsound, he would say. Well then, have we heard of thousands of convicted criminals in the US found guilty on the inclusion of DNA evidence being released? Are they teaming out of US jails because of this wonderful theory? Have we fu*k. Are they fu*k....

 

Secondly, the DNA evidence questioned is such a small part of the trial, of the combined evidence so should the Jury and Judges disregard the weight of all of the other very damning evidence? Should they fu*k...

 

 

Let's try and remember that Knox lied about being slapped by the police, that she confessed, that she accused her boss at the bar she worked at, that hers and her boyfriends bloody footprints were found in the apartment when they claimed never to have gone into the room where Meredith was murdered and found, that her alibi was disproved, that there are records of her phone use when she claimed she was asleep, that she cartwheeled after Meredith's murder, behaved inappropriately - laughing and kissing her boyfriend hours after the body was discovered, and much much more....

 

Let's just remember Meredith and how she deserves justice not the cheap and slanderous campaign orchestrated through blogs masquerading as journalism coming from her friends in Seattle...

 

Let's remember that if the Daily Mail tells you something is so they haven't done any more than cut and paste from a blog or three...

[Rhodes]

Loosely - The only point I agree with in your post is where you say let's remember Meredith and how she deserves justice, in that case then Amanda has to go free in the next week or so after losing the last four years of her young life for a crime she didn't commit. You're right that some of the freedom campaign has been somewhat cheap and slanderous however her family and friends have distanced themselves from all of that. Amanda's parents Curt and Edda may come across as a bit aggressive at times but that's only because they are such eloquent speakers who are luckily able to put their views to the media across forcefully and have devoted their lives to the release of their beloved daughter, what would you do if your child was in Amanda's position out of interest locked up in a foreign Country for a crime he or she had nothing to do with.

[Rhodes]

An interesting article by US journalist and author Candace Dempsey who is covering the appeal over the next week or so prior to Amanda's release from prison:

 

http://blog.seattlepi.com/dempsey/

[RalphC]

Loosely - The only point I agree with in your post is where you say let's remember Meredith and how she deserves justice, in that case then Amanda has to go free in the next week or so after losing the last four years of her young life for a crime she didn't commit.

 

She is a convicted murderer - end of.

[Big J R]

Loosely - The only point I agree with in your post is where you say let's remember Meredith and how she deserves justice, in that case then Amanda has to go free in the next week or so after losing the last four years of her young life for a crime she didn't commit.

 

She is a convicted murderer - end of.

 

 

..... at the moment.

 

 

I'm still keeping an 'open-mind',

 

No matter what the out-come, I do believe she knows a lot more than she has already said in court. Agreed - That doesn't make her guilty.

[Ian_W]

Loosely - The only point I agree with in your post is where you say let's remember Meredith and how she deserves justice, in that case then Amanda has to go free in the next week or so after losing the last four years of her young life for a crime she didn't commit.

 

She is a convicted murderer - end of.

 

 

..... at the moment.

 

 

I'm still keeping an 'open-mind',

 

No matter what the out-come, I do believe she knows a lot more than she has already said in court. Agreed - That doesn't make her guilty.

 

Indeed, nobody really knows until the decision is made.

[RalphC]

have to agree to disagree there.

[Rhodes]

Wealdstone Fan - How come you have suddenly got involved with this thread after almost two years

[RalphC]

Bored - waiting for my chinese after footie

 

Just reading about it on the BBC News website.

Prosecutors have called for an appeals court to extend the sentences given to two convicted murderers of British student Meredith Kercher to life terms.

 

American Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty in 2009 of murder in Italy and jailed for 26 years and 25 years respectively.

 

The pair, who deny any wrongdoing, are appealing against their convictions.

 

In summing up, prosecutors said evidence pointed to the pair's guilt and defended the original DNA evidence.

Independent experts had questioned the reliability of evidence - used in the original trial - from a knife and Miss Kercher's bra clasp.

 

Manuela Comodi, one of the prosecutors making closing statements, showed the jury how she believed the bra had been cut from Miss Kercher. She also showed jurors photographs from the scene.

 

The prosecution told the court the independent experts, appointed by a judge, did not have sufficient qualifications to be described as experts.

 

'Bungled sex game'

They also said the DNA was only one part of the original case against Knox and Sollecito.

 

There was also considerable circumstantial evidence which put the defendants in the flat on the night of Miss Kercher's death, they said.

 

Prosecutors told the court that their evidence showed the pair should not be acquitted but given life sentences - something which they had argued during the original trial.

 

The BBC's Daniel Sandford, who is in Perugia, said the prosecution's demand was something Knox and Sollecito's teams would have been expecting.

 

Closing arguments from the Kercher family's lawyer and the defence are due to be heard next week.

Knox, 24, and her former boyfriend Sollecito, 26, were convicted of the 2007 murder of Miss Kercher in her bedroom after a bungled sex game. Miss Kercher's throat had been cut.

 

Year-long appeal

Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, south London, had been sharing a flat with Knox in Perugia while on an exchange year abroad from the University of Leeds.

 

Knox and Sollecito have spent almost a year appealing against their convictions.

 

Earlier in the appeal, independent experts suggested that the original DNA evidence fell short of international standards, with police failing to wear the correct protective equipment and wrapping evidence in plastic bags instead of paper.

 

They also said the genetic profile on the knife's blade, which was attributed to Miss Kercher, could not be attributed with certainty.

The original testing did not follow recommendations of the international scientific community for dealing with DNA testing, they added.

 

The review did support original tests which found the genetic profile on the knife's plastic handle could be attributed to Knox, they said.

 

A third person, 21-year-old Rudy Guede, was also convicted of Miss Kercher's murder in a separate trial and is serving a 16-year term.

 

The outcome of the appeal is expected by early October.

[sjj2112]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8786940/Meredith-Kerchers-friend-Perugia-can-be-a-dark-place.html

[missunderstood]

Having read a great deal about this case over the past year or so, and taking into account the lies and odd behavior of Knox I would almost certainly conclude she was guilty if I was part of the decision making process.

[Eastside Urchin]

too many different reports for me to actually know whether she is guilty or not.

The piece by kerchers friend seems to be damning but it is after all by her friend so could be very biased.

Something doesnt sit right with me about this case though,not sure i can see what it is though

[RalphC]

On the BBc site today

 

 

A lawyer has described Amanda Knox, who is appealing over the murder of Briton Meredith Kercher, as "diabolical" and "a witch of deception".

Carlo Pacelli is representing Patrick Lumumba, a barman seeking damages from Knox as part of a civil case which forms part of her murder appeal.

Knox, an American, and Italian Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty in 2009 of killing the exchange student in Italy.

They deny any wrongdoing and are appealing against their convictions.

During the initial investigations, Knox had accused Mr Lumumba of killing Ms Kercher, 21, of Coulsdon, south London, who shared her apartment in Perugia at the time of her death.

As a result, Mr Lumumba was briefly detained but was later cleared. He is now suing Knox for defamation.

Knox has previously said that she made the statement incriminating Lumumba under pressure, after being struck by a police officer and forced to speak without a lawyer or translator present.

Speaking on Monday during the convicted pair's appeal trial, Mr Pacelli said the 24-year old Knox "has a double-faced soul" with a split personality.

One side is "angelic, good, compassionate, and in some ways even saintly", but the other side is "Lucifer-like, demonic, satanic, diabolic" and "longs to live out borderline extreme behaviour", he said.

"She is both one and the other. This is the Amanda of 1 November, 2007," he added, referring to the night Ms Kercher's body was found.

Mr Pacelli also said: "Who is Amanda Knox? Is she the mild-looking, fresh-faced person you see here, or the one devoted to lust, drugs and alcohol that emerges from the court documents?"

And he went on to say that his client is the "second victim" of the crime.

The court will hear closing arguments from the Kercher family's lawyer and the defence on Thursday. Knox and Sollecito, who are former lovers, were jailed for 26 years and 25 years respectively.

They have spent almost a year appealing against their convictions and are expecting to learn whether they will walk free by early October.

A third person - Rudy Guede, 21 - was also convicted of Miss Kercher's murder in a separate trial and is serving a 16-year term.

[Big J R]

At least in this country, you are always innocent UNTIL proved guilty.

 

Other countries, however.................

Edited September 27, 2011 by Big J R

[Rhodes]

Up to the minute, sorry, second, news from CBS News in the US and an interview with Amanda's Mother and Attorney Ted Simon highlighting the appalling behaviour in Court yesterday of out of control prosecutor Carlo Pacelli who incredibly called Amanda 'a diabolical she devil' amongst other things:

 

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7382515n&tag=cbsnewsSectionContent.0

[Loose]

Up to the minute, sorry, second, news from CBS News in the US and an interview with Amanda's Mother and Attorney Ted Simon highlighting the appalling behaviour in Court yesterday of out of control prosecutor Carlo Pacelli who incredibly called Amanda 'a diabolical she devil' amongst other things:

 

http://www.cbsnews.c...ectionContent.0

Sorry Rhodes but just for accuracy this was from Patrick Lumumba's lawyer who has been allowed to make a representation on behalf of an "injured party" - not one of the prosecution team.

 

Totally bizarre but maybe it loses something in the translation!!

[Ian_W]

I hear that should the appeal work the prosecution will appeal again at a higher court.

[Loose]

Yes as could Knox still appeal to the Supreme Court if this one fails. This could still run and run and run...

 

Of course Knox still faces a court case for slander also.

[Rhodes]

I hear that should the appeal work the prosecution will appeal again at a higher court.

Ian - That's their business but my understanding is that Amanda will be free next week if, sorry, when the appeal is successful and I can't see her being dragged back kicking and screaming to Italy, infact she must be hoping that Perugia will somehow be wiped off the map, Hiroshima and Nagasaki style, after what she has been put through there

[Loose]

We seem to have missed quite a few of your deadlines though don't we. Good job you didn't bet the house eh? (...er..)

 

Loosely - You've been quiet on this topic lately, welcome back, is that because you've come to realise Amanda Knox is innocent and will be as free as a bird on 23 September