Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Media, Politics

Italian High Court Acquits Amanda Knox And Raffaele Sollecito

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Amanda Knox
Amanda Knox

In what hopefully will become the conclusion of an oppressive years long ordeal, Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, overturned the murder convictions against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito.

The news came as somewhat a surprise considering the zeal at which the prosecution fought to ensure the defendants be imprisoned for over two decades. The subsequent court drama and media circuses made it seem an almost foregone conclusion her fate would ultimately rest upon an extradition hearing within the purview of American courts.

We discussed in length the various issues in the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. (HERE HERE HERE HERE HERE and HERE)

Ahead of the Friday Verdict, Knox’s lawyers said there were errors of “colossal proportions” in the guilty verdicts which were ruled for the second time last January.

After the verdict Knox spoke to reporters outside the Seattle home of her mother, Edda Mellas. She was accompanied by her mother and her fiancé, Colin Sutherland.

She stated “Right now I’m still absorbing what all this means and what comes to mind is my gratitude for the life that’s been given to me,” stating further that she was thankful “for the justice I’ve received and for the support I’ve had from everyone -from my family, from my friends, to strangers … I’m so grateful to have my life back.”

Responding to a question about what she would like to say to the Kercher Family, she stated “Meredith was my friend. She deserved so much in this life. I’m the lucky one.”

Co-defendant Rudy Guede’s conviction remains and he continues his incarceration.

Of course, the Italian legal system rescued itself from a potentially embarrassing situation if it ruled against Knox and had a U.S. District Court refuse extradition, declaring that Italy made Colossal Constitutional Errors and violated the civil rights of Amanda Knox.

By Darren Smith

Source:

Deutsche Welle
KOMO News

The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.

76 thoughts on “Italian High Court Acquits Amanda Knox And Raffaele Sollecito”

  1. TJustice

    As you just said, yourself, you were DISMISSIVE of his story. We are all here, I assume, adults, capable of discerning that he was speaking of a particular incident, and this site should be a place where that it welcomed and not dismissed. Having said that, while our judicial system may have its flaws, with all of its warts, there is no place on earth that I would rather have my case adjudicated. There is no comparison to what transpires in the Italian legal system, so, yes, we are generations ahead of the Italian system.

    You want anecdotal? A good friend lives and works in Rome as an attorney. Over the years he has shared quite a few stories. Are we, here, in the US, perfect? By no means. It just seems that way when compared to the Italian legal system.

  2. factchecker

    I agree with most of your post. I think Paul is a great poster. Sure we don’t seem to always agree, but he has insight, an adversarial posture, and a personality in his posts. And most certainly personal stories can be valuable to these discussions.

    The personal part of my post still hasn’t been pointed out. I was dismissive of the story on the basis that it shows our justice system is somehow generations ahead of Italy’s. Ours is better, yes, but with many shortcomings as we all know.

    I did not say anything about Paul, his relative, or their particular situation. Being personal can be cause for criticism not only when one uses it to be rude and evade the point, but when one uses it to be interesting and evade the point. In both cases, it should be criticized for not having enough intellectual muster.

  3. I enjoy your photos, trooperyork, I truly do. I appreciate your injection of humor on this site and your ability to lighten the atmosphere. The excuses used by rappers, however, in justifying the use of the N word in their lyrics, doesn’t fly with me. I find the use of that word, whether the one perpetuating it is black or white, to be equally offensive.

    I’m not a fan of Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama. There is plenty to say about them without resorting to ridiculing their looks or clothing, which seems to be quite popular in the media. It reduces one’s credibility when stoops to that sophomoric level. The is no shortage of valid and substantiated negative info on either, so why not use it?

  4. Well, unlike some people here who just jump to conclusions, I actually looked this up again for a summary:

    To believe that theory you basically have to believe that Knox, aged 20, plotted a bizarre three-sided sexual assault on Kercher with a knife (along with her boyfriend and another dude she hardly knew), and then staged a break-in, and then stole Kercher’s phone, and then dumped it in a nearby garden, and then stayed at the crime scene to cooperate with the police. She did this without leaving her DNA at the scene.

    You also have to accept that it is not enough that a man has already been found guilty of killing Kercher after his DNA, fingerprints, footprints, and poop were found at the scene. That man, Rudy Guede had a history of breaking into people’s houses and stealing knives, and he fled to Germany after the killing, after all but confessing to a friend that he was in Germany because he knew the police would be after him. He’s currently serving 16 years in prison.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/is-amanda-knox-guilty-2015-3

    Sooo, justice was probably done here.

    Squeeky Fromm
    Girl Reporter

    1. Squeeky – the Italian police also like to add Satanic rituals to crimes like this just to add spice for the devoutly Catholic. I was surprised they didn’t add it here, but they already had someone who confessed.

  5. Mr. Schulte

    Stats from adminiatrative office for US Courts. The numbers are probably more like 95 percent. Federal courts

    For state courts obviously the number will vary. In mississippi, where judges are elected, many are proud to boast about the fact that criminal appeals are affirmed more than 95 percent of the time.

    There is a subtle nuance to disclose. These numbers do not include shortened sentences given on appeal. This is because the litte discretion judges have to change sentences does not qualify as overturning or reversing a lower courts decision.

    1. TJustice – just got back from the site for the Court Administrator for the US Courts. They have all sorts of stats, but none that look like your. Where are you looking on their site?

  7. Hey fatchecker just think of me as a rapper dropping the n-word. A fat guy can make fun of fat guys.

    Isn’t that the rule these politically correct days?

  8. William Berry

    If you are truly awake, you will realize that I made no comment about any automobile accident, or, for that matter, any accident at all. I also never stated that I was in charge. You are wrong on both accounts.

    As I said, there is a palpable change in energy and tone once certain individuals enter the fray. It is undeniable. You were never referred to by name, but if the shoe fits. . .

  9. @factchecker:

    Who died (auto accident or otherwise) and left you in charge?

    I’m awake!

  10. I’m thinking evidence.

    As presented by America media, Italy produced no evidence against Knox even as it revealed the corruption and incompetence of prosecutors and its system.

    Apparently in Italy and America evidence has little bearing in a “corrupt of law.”

    For openers, take evidence less than a dead body and a smoking gun for a TRO against a police officer and the court’s bias/corruption will prevail. That’s small potatoes. Incidentally, China executes officials for corruption, in many cases, compelling a degree of honest, moral, legal and ethical behavior.

    The most egregious malfeasance is that of the SCOTUS. Everyone can read the Constitution which precludes the government from compelling the purchase of a product as Congress INSISTED Obamacare was NOT A TAX. Everyone can read Obamacare which says the exchanges must be state not federal. You don’t need to be an arrogant, tyrannical and oppressive Justice of the SCOTUS to read and understand that which was written in clear and simple terms in 1789.

    And Hillary is above any law as she was the “sole arbiter” of which e-mails were public and which private and she, ultimately, purged the entire server so that public inquiry could not be made. At that level, corruption is understood, right. Nixon did a whole 18 minutes.

    P.S. Italy should compensate for time, pain and suffering and for crimes against the humanity of Amanda Knox while it insulted the intelligence of the entire world in an attempt at global fraud.

    P.P.S. What can one possibly make of a society that executes a deity and subsequently worships it; acute bipolar or schizophrenia?

  11. trooperyork

    He has lost a considerable amount of weight since this photo was taken. As much as I enjoy your photos, I choose not to poke fun of anyone who is overweight, especially someone who is morbidly obese. I poke fun at their politics, but one’s weight or looks should be off the table, even when that person is a public personality. Unless he is running for beauty queen, where looks come into play, his size is irrelevant. People balloon up in weight for a myriad of reasons. There are some medical issues which will also cause weight gain.

    BTW, I am not overweight. Just sensitive to having others ridiculed for their appearance.

  13. TJustice

    Paul should not be instructed by you, or, by anyone else, to refrain from his anecdotal stories. You only speak for yourself when you ask him to give you a break. The rest of us, I assume, have no problem with his anecdotal accounts, as it adds to the texture of this site. There is much to glean from the stories that others have to share. Your dismissive tone has been absent until now. I, for one, enjoy Paul’s examples. If you have something that is contrary to one of his examples, state it. No need to tell anyone to give you a break when they share an anecdotal tale. You can disagree without being disagreeable.

    I can hardly wait for the rude and insulting response.

    1. trooperyork – if he can get through that ice cream cone before it melts on his shirt, I will vote for him. 😉

  20. Mr. Schulte,

    Give me a break with the anecdotal stories about the US justice system. Criminal appeals are affirmed more than 90% of the time in our land. I would definitely not want to be charged with murder in Italy, but wouldn’t welcome it in the US either.

    1. TJustice – would you cite your source for the 90% affirmation rate?

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