Italian Court Overturns Amanda Knox Murder Conviction

[beth]

The highest court in Italy on Friday has overturned the murder convictions of Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend in the sensational 2007 stabbing death of her British roommate.

The ruling was the latest turn in an odyssey of international justice for Knox, who spent four years in an Italian jail after the killing. She has returned to the United States and vowed not to return to Italy.

She and the ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted in 2009, then acquitted and freed in 2011. An appeals court overturned the acquittals and ordered a new trial, and they were convicted again last year. Knox was sentenced in absentia to 25 years in prison. Sollecito was sentenced to 28 1/2 years.

Knox and Sollecito were arrested after the roommate, Meredith Kercher, was found dead in a pool of blood in their apartment in the university town of Perugia, as many as 40 knife wounds over her half-naked body.

Prosecutors argued that Kercher was killed as part of a sex game. Knox and Sollecito said they were alone together on the night in question, watching a movie, smoking pot and having sex.
IN-DEPTH

First published March 27th 2015, 5:41 pm

www.cnn.com/2015/03/27/politics/bergdahl-intended-to-walk-to-nearest-base/index.html

[Dex]

It's about time they made a decision one way or another about this one.

[markindurham]

Basis the evidence, or lack thereof, that has been presented, this is the only logical decision that could have been made.The whole thing has been a farce.

I do feel sorry for Miss Kercher's family & friends, but it has to be said that the Italian judiciary hasn't covered itself in glory.

[ladylinda]

In spite of the fact that the police, prosecution and court service have made a number of serious balls-ups in this case, I continue to believe that Knox and Sollecito were the other two parties involved.

The evidence CONSISTENTLY pointed to three killers and we all know that judicial exonerations don't always mean that the perps were innocent.

[beth]

Mar 28, 2015 12:17:28 GMT -5 ladylinda said:

In spite of the fact that the police, prosecution and court service have made a number of serious balls-ups in this case, I continue to believe that Knox and Sollecito were the other two parties involved.

The evidence CONSISTENTLY pointed to three killers and we all know that judicial exonerations don't always mean that the perps were innocent.

Did you actually read the transcripts, Lin? I have no idea whether they were guilty of anything, but the evidence was not enough to convict. The whole thing had become a farce.

[markindurham]

 

Mar 28, 2015 12:25:02 GMT -5 beth said:

Mar 28, 2015 12:17:28 GMT -5 ladylinda said:

In spite of the fact that the police, prosecution and court service have made a number of serious balls-ups in this case, I continue to believe that Knox and Sollecito were the other two parties involved.

The evidence CONSISTENTLY pointed to three killers and we all know that judicial exonerations don't always mean that the perps were innocent.

Did you actually read the transcripts, Lin? I have no idea whether they were guilty of anything, but the evidence was not enough to convict. The whole thing had become a farce.

That was the point I made - the whole thing was a disaster - trace evidence, what little there was, was compromised & it just wasn't enough for a sound conviction. No credible witnesses etc etc...

Mark, I'm sorry. I practically took the words out of your mouth. I'll just repeat .. I read the transcripts and don't think there was enough evidence. Now, I'm wondering whether they could actually drum up another trial.

[Jessiealan]

I read Kercher's mother was very upset.

I could be mistaken but think I saw that in Italian courts, trials could be held over and over again if more evidence became available. Is this true? Could they have still another trial if new witnesses or evidence suggested guilt after all?

[ladylinda]

I've been following this case from the beginning. I've actually posted on various forums transcripts of the evidence.

As I said, I continue to believe in their guilt but the court has decided that it can't be proved so we have to put up with it.

It wouldn't be the first time that guilty people have had their convictions overturned because of flaws in the judicial process.

My thoughts are with Meredith's family.

[ladylinda]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11502544/Meredith-Kerchers-mother-We-have-waited-in-vain.html

Meredith Kercher's mother: 'We have waited in vain'
Arline Kercher says she does not understand why Italian judges acquitted Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of her daugher, Meredith

By Alice Philipson, Rome2:23PM BST 29 Mar 2015
The mother of murdered British student Meredith Kercher has said that she still wanted to know who killed her daughter as she spoke of how her family felt let down by "the failure" of the Italian justice system.

Stephanie Kercher, Meredith's sister, with mother Arline Kercher and father John Kercher
Arline Kercher said she did not understand why judges had acquitted American Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito of the murder of Miss Kercher, in a surprise move on Friday night that brought to a close an eight-year legal battle.
Speaking to Italian media, Mrs Kercher said that after "eight years of waiting, we now know that we have waited in vain".
Miss Knox, 27, and Mr Sollecito, 31, had their convictions for the sexual assault and murder of the 21-year-old Leeds University student overturned by Italy's supreme court after judges deliberated for more than 10 hours.
The former lovers were convicted of the crimes in 2009, then acquitted on appeal in 2011, then saw the convictions reinstated last year.
Mrs Kercher said she and her family spent the day after the verdict at their home in Coulsdon, Surrey, with "none of us wanting to go out, do anything or speak about what had happened".

Meredith Kercher
"I am very surprised and in shock," she told La Repubblica. "Those two young people have already been condemned twice for Meredith's murder. I didn't expect that they'd be definitively cleared.
"I can't understand the motivation behind the sentence. They've told me we have to wait 90 days until we hear why they made the decision. Not that it changes much.
"Eight years we've been waiting and now we know that we have waited in vain."
Mrs Kercher said the family had wanted to know who had killed their daughter and to see the guilty party punished, but that they had now " returned to square one".
"What happened that evening?" she said. "Who killed her? No one seems to be able to get to the truth."
The case has sparked questions about the Italian justice system, which has twice overturned guilty verdicts in the case and has taken eight years to reach a definitive verdict.
"Our family has always expressed faith in the Italian justice system," Mrs Kercher said. "Now we feel let down because the crime has not been resolved and it's finished like this with a question mark.
"The verdict is a failure of the Italian justice system."
Mrs Kercher said she had read in the newspapers about Miss Knox's comments following the verdict on Friday, in which she described Miss Kercher as "my friend" who "deserved so much in this life".
Asked whether she believed Miss Knox was a friend of her daughter's, Mrs Kercher said she did not know and that "she didn't want to talk about that girl".

Mrs Kercher suggested she may make a prison visit to see Rudy Guede, who is serving a 16-year jail sentence for the murder of Miss Kercher, but said she didn't know whether it would be possible.

Rudy Guede arrives at Fiumicino airport in Rome in 2007 (Reuters)
"His sentence made it clear he did not act alone," she said. "Who was with him that night?"
She said she and her family had spent Saturday, the day after the verdict, "quietly, at home".
"None of us wanted to go out, do anything or speak about what happened," she said. "Outside it was cold and raining. It was the type of weather which reflected how we all were feeling."
She told how her daughter was buried in a cemetery near to their home and how the family often visited.
"Now Meredith is at peace," she said. "No one can do her any harm. But we have lost her.
"She was an adorable person. Very kind, friendly, generous. A girl with a heart of gold."