Amanda Knox Verdict Today

[haribobo]

Surprised there's no thread on this yet- last thread I could find was from several years ago. Final statements were given today, jury is deciding now. What I don't understand is why the Kercher family is hoping for Knox and Sollecito's sentences to be upheld when there is no real evidence they did anything and the murderer is already in prison. It just seems mean-spirited IMO. Everything I've read about this case points to Knox being Brokedown Palace'd into providing a false statement. I wonder if she's seen the movie...

[julieann]

What I don't understand is why the Kercher family is hoping for Knox and Sollecito's sentences to be upheld when there is no real evidence they did anything and the murderer is already in prison.

I think they just want them (anyone) to pay for the crime, no matter if they committed it or not. I guess Knox and Sollecito being too close to the victim didn't help them in the parents eyes. I hope they can find some closure no matter what the outcome is.

[skatingfan5]

I think they just want them (anyone) to pay for the crime, no matter if they committed it or not. I guess Knox and Sollecito being too close to the victim didn't help them in the parents eyes. I hope they can find some closure no matter what the outcome is.

But someone else (whose DNA and fingerprints were all over the crime scene) has been convicted and is in prison for the crime. I guess the Kercher's must have believed the prosecution's far-fetched "satanic/sex orgy" theory of what happened. Evidently the British tabloids really ran with that.

[Vash01]

I think they just want them (anyone) to pay for the crime, no matter if they committed it or not. I guess Knox and Sollecito being too close to the victim didn't help them in the parents eyes. I hope they can find some closure no matter what the outcome is.

If they follow the path of hatred, they are never going to find the closure. They may experience temporary relief, but not real closure. I feel so sad for Amanda and her family.

Meredith's sister complains that Meredith has been forgotten. I don't think anyone has forgotten the victim, but how is convicting an innocent person going to find justice for her dead sister? Meredith's family is going to feel even worse when they realize that they destroyed an innocent life (may be two, if Sollecito was also incorrectly convicted0.

[BigB08822]

I have somewhat followed this case but it was so upsetting that I tried not to get too involved. I am nervous for the verdict, I don't have any faith in the Italian justice system.

[Vash01]

I have somewhat followed this case but it was so upsetting that I tried not to get too involved. I am nervous for the verdict, I don't have any faith in the Italian justice system.

That's my feeling too.

[julieann]

But someone else (whose DNA and fingerprints were all over the crime scene) has been convicted and is in prison for the crime. I guess the Kercher's must have believed the prosecution's far-fetched "satanic/sex orgy" theory of what happened. Evidently the British tabloids really ran with that.

I didn't say I believed it, I'm just assuming what Kercher's parents might be thinking. Parents of victims us usually don't let facts cloud their emotions/grief.

[Oreo]

I'm curious that the Kercher family (and my condolences to them) say they want the original verdict upheld because they believe in the Italian justice system. If so, how can they now ignore the bogus DNA evidence? If Amanda and Raffael's verdicts are overturned, then shouldn't they have faith in this decision, too?

And the guy whose DNA was at the murder scene, how did he get a lesser sentence to begin with?

[PeterG]

I admit that I do not follow these stories, so I'm pretty much in the dark... (When I opened the Casey Anthony thread, I had no idea why why people were so furious - that's pretty in the dark, huh?) Anyway, I'm posting because I'm curious about the verdict and want to know more about the story. I'm wondering about something I read, I believe it was the prosecuting team that said something like Amanda Knox had "eyes of the devil" or was "Satan's child" or something like that. What was that all about?

[BigB08822]

From what I recall, Amanda was basically convicted for being a nasty American bitch. Not because there was any evidence she murdered anyone. This whole attack played out in the trial and heavily in the media. The jurors were never sequestered so they were able to watch the news and were fed all this vicious stuff about Knox. It seriously makes me never want to go to Italy, just in case...

[Alexa5]

I am so hoping she is freed. I didn't follow the case closely from the beginning, but I never had a feeling she did it....the whole story the prosecution came up with just didn't make any sense to me.

[taf2002]

I read a lot about the evidence when they were on trial the 1st time. They had DNA evidence then...it's not new. Her DNA & Raffaele's DNA was on the knife & the knife was found at his house, not at the murder scene.

Maybe they are innocent...I haven't read the transcripts of either trial & I don't know. But why does everyone assume they are innocent based on some news stories?

[haribobo]

And the guy whose DNA was at the murder scene, how did he get a lesser sentence to begin with?

The only thing I read about Guede's reduction in sentence from 30 to 16 years was that he is the only of the 3 accused that apologized to the Kercher family for not having done more to help her. Amanda and Raffaele didn't apologize because presumably, what kind of sense would that make, if they weren't even there and had no idea it was happening? This case is one of the most bizarre and inexplicable things ever, right up there with that Goldman boy being kidnapped and held in Brazil for years while his father who did nothing wrong was in NJ trying to get him back.

Keeping Amanda Knox and bf in jail would be like throwing Nanny Zanny in jail for her purported involvement in the Casey Anthony case.

[milanessa]

Pretty much the police botched the case. I don't know if Knox and her boyfriend are guilty or not but the evidence used to convict them was shaky to non-existent and likely contaminated. The levels of DNA on the knife (which may not have been the murder weapon - it didn't have the victim's blood on it) and on the bra (which was not collected from the scene for some weeks) are so low that most labs wouldn't even attempt to test it since the results would not be definitive. She (Knox) apparently was a bit of a "wild child" away from home for the first time, at least that far away from home and the Italian/English press and Italian police pounced on her partying ways.

[haribobo]

I read a lot about the evidence when they were on trial the 1st time. They had DNA evidence then...it's not new. Her DNA & Raffaele's DNA was on the knife & the knife was found at his house, not at the murder scene.

Maybe they are innocent...I haven't read the transcripts of either trial & I don't know. But why does everyone assume they are innocent based on some news stories?

All that evidence against Amanda and bf was tainted and manufactured. All of it. The knife was proven to be the wrong size to make the stab wounds, and there was never any of Meredith's DNA on it- that was false info. I don't have proof but read the reports online it will make more sense.

[skatingfan5]

I read a lot about the evidence when they were on trial the 1st time. They had DNA evidence then...it's not new. Her DNA & Raffaele's DNA was on the knife & the knife was found at his house, not at the murder scene.

That supposed "DNA evidence" is what is being challenged as not being valid in this appeal.

Maybe they are innocent...I haven't read the transcripts of either trial & I don't know. But why does everyone assume they are innocent based on some news stories?

I will admit that for me what was presented on ABC's 20'20 seemed to make a compelling case (here's an article that summarizes a lot of it)-- especially the background on the prosecutor and the original story of Rudy Guede, the guy convicted of the murder/rape (whose DNA was all over the murder scene). The various and changing scenarios that the prosecution presented just seemed to me to be much less believable than the ones that didn't involve Amanda and Rafael's being part of the murder.

ETA: Rudy Guede originally was sentenced to 30 years, but appealed the sentence and it was reduced to 16 years (thought in large part to be because of his "help" with the prosecution's case of Amanda and Rafael).

[Vash01]

Maybe they are innocent...I haven't read the transcripts of either trial & I don't know. But why does everyone assume they are innocent based on some news stories?

The Italian media seemed to influence this case a lot, by portraying Amanda as an evil person. Who knows if the jury was quarantined or not? If there is a reasonable doubt about her innocence, she should be freed.

[Oreo]

That supposed "DNA evidence" is what is being challenged as not being valid in this appeal.I will admit that for me what was presented on ABC's 20'20 seemed to make a compelling case (here's an article that summarizes a lot of it)-- especially the background on the prosecutor and the original story of Rudy Guede, the guy convicted of the murder/rape (whose DNA was all over the murder scene).

I saw that 20/20 program, too. Essentially, for those who don't have time to read the above article. The prosecutor has been "convicted"--but final verdict and appeals have been postponed until after Amanda's trial--of abuse of office. So, this whole fiasco has been politics on his part. And you gotta love the part that what was found on the supposed knife at Raffael's was something like rye.

[BigB08822]

When will the verdict come? Isn't it getting late in Italy?

[milanessa]

When will the verdict come? Isn't it getting late in Italy?

There's no deadline. It was only guessing on the US media's part that suggested a verdict will be rendered today.