Italy’s Highest Court Overturns Acquittal of Amanda Knox

[jettakd]

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
Published: March 26, 2013

ROME - Italy’s highest court on Tuesday ordered a new trial in the sensational case of Amanda Knox, an American student accused of murdering her 21-year-old roommate, Meredith Kercher of Britain, in 2007.The judges’ announcement that an earlier acquittal had been overturned was greeted by a shocked

Comments

[clevermanka]

[clevermanka]

while the criminal justice process in the United States is fragmented, confusing and often unjust, things like this make me appreciate part of it

Exactly.

[moonshaz]

This.

[world_dancer]

Guilty or innocent, at this point I just feel sorry for the kid (more so if she's innocent).

Also, this has provided a grand example of why, even if some people get away with crimes due to our double jeopardy laws, the law is ultimately more just this way. I can't imagine being on trial for the same crime for the THIRD time.

[chaya]

I'm really unfamiliar with the details of this case - is there new evidence or evidence that turned out to be corrupted somehow? What's the reasoning behind opening this up again beyond "we didn't like the ruling"?

[jettakd]

No new evidence to my knowledge. In fact, a lot of the original evidence was tainted by police. Whether she did it or not, the way it was handled by officials is really sketchy.

[chaya]

So the evidence was biased in prosecution's favor, she got off even then, and they're trying her a second time?

[world_dancer]

Prosecution messed up the evidence in the first trial, where she was found guilty.

That verdict was thrown out, and she got a SECOND trial. She was acquitted.

The acquittal has now been thrown out because the judges threw out DNA evidence in that one and the Supreme Court said they shouldn't have. They're now gearing up for the THIRD trial.

I haven't been following any further than that, and I have no opinion on if she's guilty or innocent. So far as I can tell, the evidence is so fucked up beyond belief, I don't really think there's anyway to conclusively prove things.

[atomic_joe2]

There is some talk that the US government might block her extradition for the retrial because of the double-jeopardy rule. Err... that doesn't apply in Italy where the crime took place!

If she is convicted in absence she could find herself a prisoner in her own country. There are EU-wide arrest warrants which rules out any trip to Europe (probably with the exception of Switzerland, where Roman Polanski is still shamelessly hiding from justice).

Add to that almost all the English-speaking countries apart from the US (like Australia, New Zealand, Canada) are in the Commonwealth who presumably have an extradition treaty with the EU, what with the UK being a member of both.

[jettakd]

However, as a US citizen extradition during a double jeopardy case would be a violation of her constitutional rights and a violation of the Universal Bill of Human Rights...which Italy helped write and signed. So there genuinely is a chance the US won't extradite her for that reason. Of course, as you say, she could likely never leave the US again.

That's assuming the courts will be able to prove anything, and what with the situation of the evidence is doubtful.

[atomic_joe2]

There's something about her that puts me right on edge though, you know? In every TV report or photograph I have seen of her her eyes look exactly the same, blank like a shark. While that isn't evidence of guilt or anything, it's still spooky to me.

[jettakd]

Yeah but let's be honest, a lot of people have that. Jeremy Renner from Avengers has that. As creepy a look as it can be, when associated with a suspect, the actual evidence points at her not really being involved.

[bestdaywelived]

This makes me so irrationally angry. I realize that the Kercher family blames Knox because it's easy for them to be angry with her, but WHAT THE FUCK.

The drifter who ADMITTED TO KILLING AND "HAVING SEX WITH" Meredith Kercher is in prison. He's only getting 16 years for killing her because he concocted a story about Sollecito and Knox involving him.

She deserves to move on with her life. So does Raffaele. They've already lost 4 years each to the ridiculous injustice of the Italian legal system and Giuliano Mignini.

[jettakd]

I agree tbh. I've always been on the "Knox is innocent" side of things, particularly after hearing how much the police botched the evidence and how obsessed the prosecutor was with the idea of a Satanic witch cult being involved somehow...

[moonshaz]

Same here.

I don't believe she committed that murder any more than I myself did. And I've never even stepped foot in Italy!

[jettakd]

Seriously. I totally understand her being a suspect since they were roommates, but the actual evidence says she didn't do it, and tis prosecutor just seems to have had a vendetta.