Meredith Kercher: Amanda Knox Fights, America Slanders Italy And The Book
MEREDITH Kercher is now the subject of a heated media debate (case in pictures here – Knox here). Amanda Knox (American), Raffaele Sollecito (Italian) and Rudy Guede (Ivorian) guilt of her murder. There is chatter of murderer Knox being the victim (really) of anti-American bias. Anorak rounds-up the news and views:
Meet The Kerchers
Daily Mirror: “Anti-American bias accusations branded “ludicrous” by Meredith Kercher’s father”- John Kercher:
“The Americans seem completely ignorant to the fact that there was a mass of evidence other than the DNA. I don’t blame them because they are going on what they have seen and read. But it is upsetting for my family to hear these things. I believe the verdict was based entirely on the evidence and not any media attention around Amanda Knox. The jury saw Knox and Sollecito as a pair, it wasn’t all about her. We have no reason to doubt the Italian legal system.”
Yankee Stay In Prison
The Roman Forum sums up the anti-Italian sentiment: “‘Anti-Americanism’ row brewing over Knox verdict”
Washington State senator Maria Cantwell has pointed to failures in the Italian justice system and Anti-Americanism as the basis for the Seattle-born Amanda Knox’s conviction for the murder of British student Meredith Kirchner.
She’s One Of Ours
Senator Cantwell and Knox’s supporters can count on the sympathy of a large proportion of the US media. Within minutes of the verdict on Friday, CNN had given over its coverage to two correspondents, who condemned the trial and what they saw as a lack of evidence – The Age
America Wins
Americans take for granted the rights our justice system provides defendants. But abroad, the game changes and sometimes results in the mockery that is the Amanda Knox trial – MNDaily
Knox The Victim
The murder of Meredith Kercher is a tragedy. If Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are innocent, then the tragedy is further compounded by a grotesque miscarriage of justice – Michael Rowe
Meet The Knoxes
Edda Mellas told CNN’s Larry King on Monday that her daughter was “completely crushed, devastated” immediately following Friday’s guilty verdicts against her and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, in Kercher’s knifing death. Mellas said she and her ex-husband, Kurt Knox, visited their daughter in prison Monday and found “she’s ready to go, ready to fight on.
“It made me feel good to see she was ready to charge on and she wanted to get back to studying at school and stuff like that,” Knox’s father said. “So we’re going to work on getting that prepared for her.” – CNN
The Appeal
The first of two appeals will be held in Perugia, probably towards the end of 2010. If it fails, a second appeal will be made to the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court) in Rome. The process could take five years, lawyers said -Legal Brief
The Entertaining Murder
John Blake is publishing a book by true crime author Gary King that will tell “the whole story of the twisted murder case” behind the death of British student Meredith Kercher. The Murder of Meredith is due out in January as a paperback priced £7.99. – Bookseller
This news comes equipped with a shot of the grinning author.
The Snotty Americans
Whether or not the furore is justified by the evidence, one thing is for certain: if Foxy Knoxy had hopped on a plane back to Seattle after the murder, she would never have been extradited to Italy to stand trial. The Americans have a chauvinistic world view which holds that no country on earth can dispense justice as fairly as the good old U.S. of A – Richard Littlejohn
Blame The Parents
Articulate and flirtatious with moist Bambi eyes, her status, carefully manipulated by her garrulous publicity-driven parents, morphed from suspected murderer to victim long before the trial. A flight home had been arranged and grandiose plans were afoot for the prodigal daughter’s return with lucrative book deals in the pipeline, movie rights under discussion and TV interviews planned.
Meredith Kercher was murdered. Her killers have been jailed. Justice has been served. But the media and vested interest groups demand more… The case in pictures:
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Edda Mellas, center, mother of U.S. murder suspect Amanda Knox and her husband Chris Mellas, left, talk to lawyer Luciano Ghirga after an hearing in Perugia's court, Italy, Monday, July 4, 2011. The parents of Amanda Knox are standing trial for alleging that Italian police abused their daughter. The charge stems from an interview they gave Britain's Sunday Times years ago in which the father alleged that police had physically and verbally abused his daughter during questioning after Meredith Kercher's 2007 slaying but before Knox was arrested. Police have denied harming Knox. (AP Photo/Stefano Medici).
December 11th, 2009 at 5:10 am
“…your American bigotry…” Wow. No agreement required, but since all I have done is stated facts to support my opinion and you have not, are you sure I’m the bigoted one?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Dave,
No, letters after someone’s name have not stifled my common sense, the facts just reinforce what my common sense tells me. Obviously your American bigotry and a pretty face has stifled your common sense.
I do not think we are ever going to agree here, so I will leave you to your opinions.
December 11th, 2009 at 1:56 am
Skin washes away easily, with little effort. Blood is very difficult to wash away, and even if well cleaned knives will luminance as it gets into the crevices between the blade and the handle. No blood was found on the knife. Consider the how bloody the scene was, then explain why no blood would be found but skin would be?
DNA can tell you many things. It can’t tell you HOW it got there, or WHEN it got there.
The Italian Medical Examiner testified that the knife did not match 2 out of the three cuts on Kercher. He also testified a different but smaller knife could have made all three. Furthermore, the killer left a bloody imprint of the knife on a sheet at the scene that does not match the knife presented as the weapon the prosecution says Knox used to murder Kercher.
So lets see: No blood, doesn’t match the cuts on the victim, and low copy DNA on the blade. Yeah… that’s a slam dunk.
December 11th, 2009 at 12:33 am
I’m no expert on DNA either but I wonder if blood would wash off easier than skin (presumably if not a fingerprint then off part another of the hand maybe) and was more attention paid to the pointy end when washing than the end one would hold? Presumably one would hold a blade down when washing it….
Just a thought?
December 10th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Logic and common sense trump a PHD every time.
For example:The DNA evidence on the knife is NOT blood DNA. A luminal test of the knife failed to find any blood at all! finding Knox’s DNA the handle of a knife in her boyfriend’s flat certainly is not evidence of a crime! The Kercher DNA on the blade was low copy DNA… a type of DNA so small that it can’t be retested and can only exclude or include someone from the profile.It is NOT a match. LCD is frequently skin DNA, an easily transferable type of DNA.
Consider this: If Knox cleaned the knife so thoroughly that even luminal could find no traces of blood (a very difficult task), how was skin DNA left behind?
December 10th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Elinor: I require no degree to use common sense. Apparently, someone with a few letters after their name is able to stifle yours.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Let’s be honest though, you can dress stats up to show whatever you want. That’s what politicians do all the time!
They only ever give you half the story. It could well be that in those few States that have the Death Penalty, more murders have been committed by black or Hispanic people?
Which, if true, could in turn point to any number of social or economic conditions that have led to this, not least of all poverty. Maybe there’s an unpalatable truth in that life is less respected in some communities than others?
I find it interesting that whites are executed more quickly than blacks. This would lead me to assume that the race argument is being used, rightly or wrongly, as grounds for an appeal. Clearly not an option for most white folk!
December 10th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Dave,
No, too bad it contradicts with your obvious blind belief that this girl is innocent because she is an American.
I guess the poor, pretty little prep student just has the WORST luck in the world, what with lying about everything and just happening to be caught with cleaning supplies at a cleaned up murder scene.
Where did you say you got your degree in scientific/DNA studies? Your law/criminal justice degree?
I think the judge who saw all the evidence might have just a LITTLE more insight than you do into the case.
~off to plan my yearly trip to Italy, ta!
December 10th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Eggman, I know those statistics and you are correct some validity to them. Though interesting, Whites sentenced to death are executed much faster than Blacks are who are sentenced to death. As for Texas, their high rate of executions and the majority of those they execute are Blacks and Hispanics is appalling. (They’ve also executed more innocent people found guilty than other states have.)
Despite the comment Chris made ‘the black guy did it’ (sounded a tad racist to me), Race was not a factor in this case. Drugs and alcohol may have contributed somewhat to what happened but I wonder if the perpetrators didn’t get into an out-of-control frenzy committing such a horrible sexual crime and the victim was killed while they were out of control. Or was it a cold blooded murder to try to cover up they did it.
December 10th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
The fact remains, NO CLEAN UP WAS DONE BY KNOX OR SOLLECITO AT THE CRIME SCENE. Think for a secone. You can’ t SEE fingerprints. You can’t see saliva or DNA. How is it that in the bedroom where the murder actually took place not one piece of forensic evidence of Knox or Sollecito was found, but Rudy Guede’s is all over the place?? At a vicious rape and bloody murder scene?
Judge Micheli’s rejection of the “lone wolf” theory sounds great. Too bad it contradicts science, the evidence and common sense.
December 10th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Hi Cheryl,
That’s an interesting link, thanks very much. It says 37 men were executed in 2008: 20 white and 17 black. Which is quite convincing until you look a bit further: the total black population of the United States is 12.8 percent. Now some of the states will have smaller black populations (eg Texas has 11.3% and they executed 18 people, can’t find stats tho) but it does worry me that, overall, it seems you could argue you are more likely to be executed if you are black?
That said, it’s only the stats for one year and, I’ll have to be honest here, it’s not really my problem and there’s nothing I could do about it anyway! But it’s food for thought, maybe?
December 10th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Dave,
Tabloids= judges report…WRONG.
http://www.zimbio.com/Amanda+Knox/articles/58/Understanding+Micheli+2+Judge+Micheli+Rejected
What was that about a mop and bucket NOT being there?
Further reading
http://www.zimbio.com/Raffaele+Sollecito/articles/81/Understanding+Micheli+4+Staged+Scene+Returned
December 10th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Sorry Dave, you appear to be wrong again:
“Highlights Of The Testimony On 6 February And 7 February”
…
“The communication police seem to have found Knox and Sollecito embarrassed and surprised when they arrived, and they were apparently encountered with a bucket and a mop.”
http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/highlights_of_the_testimony_on_6_february_and_7_february/
“Sollecito mentioned the mop and bucket in a letter he wrote to his father shortly after his arrest that was released to an Italian news site:
Appena arrivati in casa ho riposto il mocio nell’ingresso e mi sono diretto nelle altre stanze per vedere che diavolo era successo. Quei momenti li ricordo bene perché ero agitato e allarmato. Mi sembra di aver visto che Amanda prendeva il secchio del mocio e lo portava in un’altra stanza. http://quotidianonet.ilsole24ore.com/cronaca/2007/12/08…
Translation: “As soon as we arrived in the house I put aside the mop in the entrance and I directed myself towards the other rooms in order to see what the devil had happened. Those moments I remember well because I was shaken and alarmed. I seem to have seen that Amanda had taken the mop bucket and it carried it in to another room.”
And then of course Knox’s own testimony made mention of the mop and bucket, wherein she claimed she had taken it to Sollecito’s flat in order to clean up a mess associated with cooking pasta and was just returning from there with the items.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:58 am
Working towards equality at last. It may not be what MLK was thinking of but it’s a start
December 10th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Laura, think back re Scott Peterson’s conduct throughout his trial and the similiarity of Amanda’s throughout her trial – both of them smiled every day throughout their respective trials and both had the smiles wiped off their faces when found guilty of the murders they were charged with! Scott Peterson knew he was guilty as sin of killing his wife and unborn son and yet he smiled every day throughout his trial …
December 10th, 2009 at 6:44 am
Amanda Knox is a cavaliere fiend, admittedly smoked dope the night of the murder, and surprisingly (actually no surprise) her boyfriend said she wasn’t at his house the night of the murder!
The Italians are quite capable of holding a trial and don’t toss teenagers (including one of their own) into jail. Maybe if Amanda’s mother and father had been more “hands on”
they wouldn’t have the problems they are facing now…
December 10th, 2009 at 4:22 am
eggman, the statement you made is not totally true. You are aware that more Whites are executed than Blacks? That more Whites are sitting on death row than Blacks?
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cp.htm
Also the number of Blacks put in jail on drug charges is dropping and the number of Whites put in jail is increasing on drug charges. I can’t put two links on here. But if challenged on what I just wrote I can back it up with a link.
December 10th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Chris, that’s pretty much the whole ethos of American justice summed up in five words. “The black guy did it.”
He must have, because he’s black!
December 10th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Oh come on. More tabloid reporting from the more informed. There was no mop and bucket… that’s bogus tabloid story… no such story was presented at trial.
Yeah, she’s so good, she managed to clean ONLY her and Sollecito’s microscopic DNA, and fingerprints but managed to leave Guede’s all over the place.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:15 am
With all due respect, Anne, Scott Peterson is a murderer and has nothing to do with Amanda Knox. If you want to go toe to toe about that case then go to another website. And when you think about it if you are going to play the whole “poor innocent Scott Peterson” card doesn’t that make you just as bad as the Americans who are thnk Amanda is innocent and in prison? Sounds to me like you are a hypocrite. Just sayin.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Dave:
It is not just about forensics at the scene of the crime. Neither Knox nor Sollecito can show any evidence that they were somewhere else that evening. Their inconsistent alibi’s did not hold up to scrutiny.
Knox lived in that apartment – right? Guess how many of her fingerprints the forensics people found in the apartment…… one, that’s right, just one. Rudy Guede does one hell of a crime scene clean up after himself, doesn’t he? He leaves his bloody hand-print on the bedroom wall, the pillow and in the bathroom, but he kindly wipes down every other surface in the apartment to get rid of any of Knox’s fingerprints, missing just one on a glass. What a gentleman – if you just ignore not flushing the toilet.
When the police turned up at the apartment the following day, they found Knox outside with a mop and bucket….. You don’t suppose It wasn’t Rudy who did such a thorough spring clean, do you?
I know, she was actually just on her way back from Sollectto’s flat where she had spent the night bonking him – having first gone there with the mop and bucket from her flat – and then spent the whole morning after cleaning his apartment with bleach, and just happened to be returning with the mop and bucket when the police arrived.
What a gal!
December 9th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I, too, believe Amanda Knox guilty. From saying she plugged her ears while her room mate was murdered to doing cartwheels immediately after seeing the butchered body of her supposed friend, yes, her image was bad. But it is the evidence listed in many of the judges reports that I find most compelling. She lied before she supposedly knew there was a body in her flat to postal police that showed up at her neighbours to investigate a bomb threat. They began to ask her if she knew anything AS SHE STOOD IN FRONT OF HER BUILDING WITH A MOP AND BUCKET. She lied about who she had and had not called in the 24 hours around the murder. Then there is the DNA evidence…
So she is pretty, that does not make her innocent, Ted Bundy was good looking.
Interesting they are both from Seattle, as am I. As a matter of fact, Amanda Knox is from no more than a half mile away from where I live.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:09 am
I’ve followed this case since the beginning, and it’s clear to me that Knox and Sollecito were railroaded. Not one bit of forensic evidence AT THE SCENE of the crime of Knox or Sollecito. No fingerprints, no DNA, no saliva, sperm, NOTHING. Guede’s is all over the place. Too bad for Knox and Sollecito that Guede came to light two weeks after glory seeking prosecutor Giuliano Mignini was full on into his “satanic sex orgy gone wrong” scenario, and had declared, “Case closed.”
Who fled the country after the murder? Not Knox or Sollecito. Guede did.
What presecutor is under criminal investigation for misconduct and facing 10 years in jail himself? Giuliano Mignini.
Just because I’m American doesn’t mean I auromaticaly fly to Amanda Knox’s defense. If she’s guilty she should rot, but this case is bogus.
December 8th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
The italian justice system is a joke, no evidence, prosecutor with vandetta and a pile of media lies fed to the jury. I hope the US steps in and stops this injustice… the black guy did it, no question. he fled to germany right after… hmmm
My thoughts and prayers are with the Knox family.
December 8th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Is this the face of a woman whose friend was savagely murdered or is the face of a psychopath? She’s laughing and her parents and even Rush Limbaugh want her free!!!
It’s time to stop denigrating Italians and their Judicial System.
December 8th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Not all Americans are outraged by the conviction and sentencing of Amanda Knox. I have followed this bizarre and tragic case for some time now, reading international press accounts instead of just American ones. It is clear to me that there was no anti-American bias on the part of the judge, jury and prosecutor. It is clear that there was forensic evidence that placed her at the scene, not to mention her confession–and I don’t believe for one moment that she was mistreated by the police. In addition to her confession, there were the statements she made to friends indicating detailed knowledge of the sealed-off crime scene, and there were her cell phone records showing calls to Rudy G. (who was indisputably involved) both before and after the murder. She got a fair trial.
Please don’t hold it against my fellow countrymen for being so upset by the verdict. They just swallow the garbage the American press feeds them, and the American press was always in favor of Amanda. Also, if any American tells you we would never put someone in jail on such flimsy evidence, ask them why Scott Peterson is currently on death row for slaying his wife, when the only evidence against him was his callous attitude, his infidelity and his lack of a solid alibi.