Breaking News: Amanda Knox Found Guilty of murder

[NYCHoosier]

WSJ Article

Dow Jones Newswires

American student Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were found guilty Saturday of the murder and sexual assault of U.K. national Meredith Kercher in a court in Perugia, Italy.
Ms. Knox was sentenced to 26 years imprisonment and Sollecito was given a 25-year sentence, Sky News reported.
The partially naked body of 21-year-old Kercher was found in a pool of blood with her throat slit in her room in Perugia in November 2007.
Both Ms. Knox, 22, and Mr. Sollecito, 25, maintained their innocence through the trial.
Prosecutors said Ms. Kercher, who was studying at Leeds University, was stabbed to death in an extreme sex game.
They said she was tortured and eventually killed because the game went too far and she knew her attackers.
Ms. Knox addressed the jury in Italian Thursday, saying she feared "having the mask of a killer forced onto my skin."
She said she was "confident my conscience is clean."
Mr. Sollecito also addressed the court Thursday. He said no motive had emerged for his alleged role in the murder
A third person, Rudy Guede, 22, from the Ivory Coast, has already been convicted of the murder and sexual violence and sentenced to 30 years in jail. He is appealing the sentence.
Ms. Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, said before the verdict the family would continue to battle for her daughter's freedom if she was convicted.
—This article provided by NewsCore, which aggregates news from around News Corp., owner of Dow Jones. Write to Dow Jones Newswires editors at asknewswires@dowjones.com

I read this earlier this afternoon.
I don't know what to think... I don't think I followed the whole story close enough but I guess deep down I really hoped that she and her boyfriend had nothing to do with the murder. There seems to be many holes in the evidence so I am interested to see what will come of the appeal.

[NYCHoosier]

Re: Breaking News: Amanda Knox Found Guilty of murder

I read this earlier this afternoon.
I don't know what to think... I don't think I followed the whole story close enough but I guess deep down I really hoped that she and her boyfriend had nothing to do with the murder. There seems to be many holes in the evidence so I am interested to see what will come of the appeal.

My dad was a prosecutor for 28 years, so I grew up learning about the American justice system and the prosecution's burden of proof.
While proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt made my dad's job more challenging, he instilled in me the appreciation of that burden to insure that innocent people were not wrongly convicted.
It's possible Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend are guilty. But beyond a reasonable doubt? I don't think there is enough evidence for a conviction in the states.
I know there are nations that are far less just and doing far worse things. It's just surprising when having to face the differences with other "first world" countries.

[ladymoreta]

Somewhat random, but I read that they were also sentenced to pay 5 million euros (about $7.4 million). How does that work? Do they just have to take out loans? Since they're in prison, how do they make money to pay it? Or do their families have to pay? Not really relevant, but I'm curious...

[OrionGrad]

It's possible Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend are guilty. But beyond a reasonable doubt? I don't think there is enough evidence for a conviction in the states.
I know there are nations that are far less just and doing far worse things. It's just surprising when having to face the differences with other "first world" countries.

I couldn't agree more. Obviously, I don't know Amanda Knox on a personal level or anything, but I still just can't even begin to comprehend how awful it would be to be in a situation like this if you really were innocent.

And it's additionally scary because (assuming she's innocent, which I believe she is) something like this could really happen to any of us who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[SoonerTexan]

Seems like there was an anti-American twinge to the whole thing--then again, it happens here with people from other nations.

Somewhat random, but I read that they were also sentenced to pay 5 million euros (about $7.4 million). How does that work? Do they just have to take out loans? Since they're in prison, how do they make money to pay it? Or do their families have to pay? Not really relevant, but I'm curious...

I was wondering about that too?


I really don't feel like there was enough evidence to convict and I think that is the frustrating thing about this whole case.

I can't even imagine what she is feeling IF she is innocent. Insanely frightening.

[MDPhDWife]

I couldn't agree more. Obviously, I don't know Amanda Knox on a personal level or anything, but I still just can't even begin to comprehend how awful it would be to be in a situation like this if you really were innocent.

And it's additionally scary because (assuming she's innocent, which I believe she is) something like this could really happen to any of us who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

These were my thoughts. I actually was shocked when I discovered the verdict had come back guilty. I was convinced in my heart that there wasn't enough evidence and the verdict would reflect that.

I actually told DH last night that as much as I love to travel to foreign countries, this has really been a wake up call for me at the vulnerable position you're in should something arise. You're completely at the mercy of another legal system which could potentially be corrupt even in a first world country. Will it stop me from traveling? No, but it's made me think twice.

Anyone know if the appeal process in Italy is similar to the one here?

[McPants]

You're completely at the mercy of another legal system which could potentially be corrupt even in a first world country.

Which first world countries do you regard as having corrupt legal systems?

[MDPhDWife]

Which first world countries do you regard as having corrupt legal systems?

First one that comes to mind is Brazil. Have you heard about the Sean and David Goldman case?

http://bringseanhome.org/

[McPants]

First one that comes to mind is Brazil. Have you heard about the Sean and David Goldman case?

http://bringseanhome.org/

I wouldn't regard Brazil as a first world country. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World That said, no - I haven't heard of the Sean and David Goldman case. I doubt it's received major news coverage outside of the countries involved.

[MDPhDWife]

I wouldn't regard Brazil as a first world country. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World That said, no - I haven't heard of the Sean and David Goldman case. I doubt it's received major news coverage outside of the countries involved.

McPants, you are indeed correct about Brazil's first world country status. My bad, I wrongly assumed they were.

[MDPhDWife]

See, I thought that she very well had a part in the murder. Do I think she killed her? No, but I do think she was part of the situation. I think Amanda's girlfriend killed her. That's just my hunch of course.

Which girlfriend? Did I miss something?

Somewhat random, but I read that they were also sentenced to pay 5 million euros (about $7.4 million). How does that work? Do they just have to take out loans? Since they're in prison, how do they make money to pay it? Or do their families have to pay? Not really relevant, but I'm curious...

They have to pay and from what I read/heard the point of this fine is so that neither she nor the young man can never profit from the case. Basically when she if finally out of prison she will be working and giving most of her money over to the Kercher family. And if she does write a book or get major interviews for big bucks she will not be able to pocket any of it - at least until that fine is paid and in 26 years there is a chance that perhaps writing a bestselling account of her life would pay off that debt quickly.

I feel so bad for her and all of the families involved. The prosecutions case - that Meredith died in a crazy sex game and Amanda got over zealous and slit her throat - just seemed outlandish to me. And the crux of the evidence - Karcher's DNA was on the blade of the knife and Knox's was on the handle did not seem like enough. Knox lived in that apartment. Wouldn't her DNA be all over it?

[OrionGrad]

The prosecutions case - that Meredith died in a crazy sex game and Amanda got over zealous and slit her throat - just seemed outlandish to me. And the crux of the evidence - Karcher's DNA was on the blade of the knife and Knox's was on the handle did not seem like enough. Knox lived in that apartment. Wouldn't her DNA be all over it?

That's certainly how it seems to me.

Call me naive, but normal 20-something girls with no prior criminal record or history of anything crazy just don't kill people. Especially not in that violent way. They just don't.

There has to be more to this story.