An American Nightmare in Italy

Most people have heard of the now infamous case of
Amanda Knox, the Seattle College student who, while studying abroad, was tried and convicted on December 4, 2009, and is currently serving a 26 year term in an Capannne, an Italian Prison for murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher.
Knox, who the media has nicknamed "Foxy Knoxy", a name given to her by childhood teammates due to the way she crouched while playing soccer, was only 20 years old at the time of the murder and had been studying in Italy for just under 2 months. Meredith Kercher, who was 22 at the time of her death, was a British exchange student taking part in the ERASMUS Programme where she would complete her degree in European Studies. The two girls shared an apartment home, Via Della Pergoia 7, in Perguia, a medieval city set 115 miles outside of Rome.

On November 1, 2007 somewhere between the hours of 9pm and 11pm Kercher was sexually assaulted and stabbed in the neck. She was found lying under a duvet cover, soaked in blood. Her neck had been stabbed by a pen knife. The next day Amanda had reportedly returned home to find Meredith's bedroom door locked. Amanda then phoned Filomena, another housemate who arrived at the Villa with her boyfriend. It was the boyfriend who then kicked down Meredith's door in the presence of the police. This account is contrary to what many news sources would lead you to believe; many state Amanda and her Italian boyfriend,  Raffaelle Solliceto were found home alone by police at the scene of the crime. When questioned Amanda Knox, stated she had spent the night at Raffaelle's home after smoking marijuana all evening and had become worried when she could not reach Meredith the next morning.  Both Knox and Sollecito were present at the house when the police arrived after locating Kercher's abandoned cell phones. They instantly became prime suspects in the case. 
A third party was also convicted in this case, Rudy Guede, 21 at the time, was described as a "drug dealer and a thief" and was the only person who admitted to being present at the time of the murder, although he denied having any involvement. He was well known in Perguia as being a thief and as always carrying a knife. According to Guede he and the victim had engaged in consensual sex that evening. Upon completion he had become sick from a "bad kebab" and was in the bathroom listening to music on his ipod when he heard Kercher's screams. According to his testimony Guede said he then emerged from the bathroom to find an unknown Italian man stabbing Kercher. He said he then fled back to Germany due to fear. The Prosecution deemed this a "highly improbable fantasy" and on behest of his own request Guede received a fast track trial, being sentenced to 30 years in prison, nearly a year before Knox and Sollecito even stood trial. (Article on the Conviction). He did not originally testify to having seen Amanda Knox nor Raffaelle Solliceto at the scene. Only after repeated interrogatons did he finally point the finger at the couple saying that they were indeed present and were involved in a dispute with Kercher over money. Despite this forced "confession" Guede was still charged with murder as The Prosecution had developed a theory that the three had acted together to murder Kercher. 
Throughout the trial and investigation Knox and Sollecito maintained their innocence; however, their accounts of that evening did not remain consistent. Knox was arrested a few days after the murder when she allegedly implicated herself by changing her story and admitting she was in the home and heard Kercher's screams. It was later revealed that after spending a total of 40 hours at the Police Station, 14-20 of which were spent in intensive interrogation, Knox changed her story only after being hit in the head and repeatedly broken down by the police. Even so she never confessed to the crime. Later after finally leaving interrogation Knox immediately wrote a letter refuting the statement given under Police duress. She returned to her original story and blamed her tainted statement on Police coercion and a cloudy memory of the night's events due to smoking hashish. (Article on Amanda's Accounts and the case). 
In this coerced statement Knox indicated Congolese Bar owner, Patrick Diya Lumumba, saying that her "friend Meredith" went off with him to her bedroom when she arrived home. Knox said that at one point she heard the screams and became so frightened she covered her ears. She further states that she doesn't recall if Sollecito was present or not and the next thing she remembers was waking up in his bed at his house. Patrick owned the bar Le Chic where Amanda had been working and although he was arrested because of these accusations he was released soon after due to lack of evidencece. (Read Excerpts from the Witness Statements Here). This statement was taken in the grueling long investigation which was conducted without the presence of a lawyer nor an interpreter. 
Sollecito's account remains that he was home with Amanda smoking cannabis but that he was uncertain whether or not Amanda had left at any points in the evening. After the initial questioning both returned to their original sentiments of being nowhere near the home at the time of the murder.

So aside from fuzzy accounts of the night in question, what actual tangible evidence did the Prosecution hold against the three accused?? The prosecution spun a tale of sex and drugs implying that in an intoxicated state Sollecito and Knox had propositioned Kercher to join them in a threesome so that they could feel "extreme sensations, intense sexual relations, to break up the monotony of everyday life" (quote from Judge Claudia Matteini).   It was during this interaction that the Prosecution speculated the evening's events turned dangerous and violent. They pontificated that something so horrible had occurred that the accused had no other choice but to kill Meredith Kercher than to risk her "ratting on them". The Prosecution painted a gruesome image of a wild sex party that took a bizarre turn to the satanic sacrificial. 
48 Hours Mystery questions the unusual way the Prosecution came to this story and the multiple holes in their physical evidence:

As for physical evidence, (Complete Physical Evidence Reportt) Prosecution presented a bloody footprint found in Kercher's room which they said "matched the footwear worn by Sollecito". His defense adamantly denied this accusation and managed to disprove this evidence in court. Rudy Guede later admitted that the bloody footprints belonged to him and that he disposed of the soiled shoes in a dumpster in Germany. The Prosecution also released after multiple investigations, that Sollecito's DNA was found on the clasp of Kercher's bra strap which was removed from her body the night of the murder. This clasp was separated from the actual bra and was not investigated until 6 weeks later when the team returned for an additional search. No instruments were used to transfer this item into evidence and video footage shows the clasp changing locations during subsequent crime scene sweeps (CBS, 48 Hours Mystery). They also alleged that the Manga Comics, which portray violent slayings of vampires, had so fascinated Sollecito that this had become a "huge fantasy" for him and had acted as a driving force in Sollecito's desire to murder Kercher. (Complete Summary on Knox Case). 

The Prosecution also alleged that Knox's DNA was found on the handle of the knife used to stab Kercher's neck. This knife was later found at Sollecito's apartment and lab tests "claimed" to have discovered a faint trace of Kercher's DNA on the blade. This "faint trace"  amounted to trillionths of a gram and would in America would not be admissible in court. Additionally this so-called "murder weapon" measured 6 1/2 inches, far too big to be consistent with Kercher's wounds. When this knife was recovered days later from Sollecito's home, the police could find no blood evidence. Even the Prosecution prime witness was not sure of her account of the night's events. This witness was entirely uncertain of the date of the "screams" and "footsteps" she had testified to hearing. The only definite DNA was that of Guede's. His DNA was found inside Kercher, confirming that they had engaged in sexual intercourse, and his feces were also found in the toilet, all of which is consistent with his original testimony. HIS DNA, HIS footprints, HIS confession of being present at the time of the murder and no substantial evidence to place Knox and Sollecito at the scene... yet The Prosecution was hell bent on their involvement.

The trial quickly turned into a media frenzy focusing on the "promiscuous" "party-girl" aspect of Amanda Knox and all but convicting her with a salacious character assassination campaign. On her myspace page (Although deleted, Click here for cached versions) Knox came off as an eager, life-loving, young woman excited about studying abroad and enthusiastic for her future. Also on her profile were blogs of her daily life coupled with short stories as she was a Literature and Creative Writing major. One story in particular intrigued the Prosecution. It was a story about 2 brothers who drugged and raped a young woman named Victoria. (Read More Here). The prosecution was quick to use this in their character testimony of Knox. It was hard for the defense to contend with such tantalizing accusations. Their portrayal  of Knox as an American Amelie was far less Headline worthy than "Foxy Knoxy, The Sex-Craved Thrill Seeking American who murdered her quiet, studious housemate in a sacrificial threesome!" Knox's numerous academic achievements, which included making The Dean's List at the University of Washington, nor her friend's unfaltering accounts of her kindness, were anywhere to found in the Italian Headlines. 


In the two years she sat in prison awaiting her trial Knox kept a detailed diary vehemently maintaining her innocence and commenting on the mass amounts of "fan mail" she was receiving from male suitors. (Read about her prison diaries here). Also while in Prison Knox was falsely led to believe she had tested HIV positive and was told to write a list of all her former lovers. Before Knox was alerted that this diagnosis was incorrect, her list, containing seven names, was seized by the Prosecution and used against her in court. Clearly what The Prosecution lacked in evidence they made up for in imagination and slander. They their built a case dependent upon this sex-craved wild child image. They even indicated that Knox and Kercher had a rocky friendship and that at the time of the murder Knox vehemently "hated" her roommate. Kercher's father said that his daughter had complained about Knox's bathroom habits and the fact that she had so quickly hooked up with a man upon arriving in Italy. (Kercher's Family Speaks Out Article).  Yet Amanda and those who knew her insisted that Kercher and Knox were indeed on good terms and respected one another. 
What the media deemed "Knox's strange behavior" during police questioning was also brought under scrutiny. Accounts of Knox doing cartwheels and giggling during the investigation surfaced juxtaposed with images of her smiling face during trial proceedings. This breezy attitude was attacked by the media likening it to psychopathic tendencies and stating she had no notion of the severity of her situation. (Article on Knox's Odd Attitude). Before Amanda went to trial the newspaper and tabloid headlines had all but convicted her in the public's eye. This was particularly damaging as Amanda's jury was not sequestered nor questioned for unfair bias. 

Did the Prosecution spin a salacious story and did the Media convict Knox in the Juror's minds well before she had even gone to trial? Did a random Italian man murder Meredith Kercher as testified by Rudy Guede, the only person who admits to being present at the time of her murder? Or are the holes and inconsistencies in Knox and Sollecito's testimony a confirmation of their guilt? 

Although the Prosecution had pressed for Italy's stiffest punishment, life in prison, both Sollecito and Knox on December 4, 2009, received 25, and 26 years in prison, respectfully. While Sollecito is being transferred to a solitary confinement in a sex offender's wing of the prison, the jury decided that Knox should not be placed under similar restraints. (Article with Video on Hearing) She has returned to her 5 person cell which contains beds, a desk and chair, a television and a place where Knox and her cellmates can cook food for themselves. She is also allowed access to newspapers, books, and writing materials and has spent her last two years polishing her Italian and learning German and Chinese. She is allowed exercise and outdoor privileges as well as in-person visits from family members. (Read about her Prison Comforts). Is Knox receiving special treatment because of her good looks and sunny disposition? Is this the reason for the Jury's leniency in her sentencing versus the isolation handed down to Sollecito?

With good behavior Knox could gain daytime release from prison in 15 years with respect to time served. She has 45 days to request an appeal and it is suspected to take place somewhere in the later half of 2010. 
Even though The Prosecutor was facing charges of abuse of office, obstruction of office, and was concurrently under indictment during Knox's case, The Italian System still allowed him to head Amanda's case. Where is the justice? How can someone accused of lying and breaking the law be allowed to uphold it?


The Italian Justice System clearly does not observe the same laws and standards as the US system. The lack of representation and interpretation for Amanda during her interrogation would be a blatant violation in America and would have resulted in the charges against her being dismissed. The evidence contamination, the lack of conclusive DNA samples, and the outrageous admission of the fraudulently collected "partner's list" should never have been admissible in court. The Prosecution complete lack of physical evidence, their inability to place either Knox or Sollecito at the scene of the crime, left them with nothing more than character assaination campaign and the wildly imaginative recreation of the night's events. 
The US system is quick to condemn Italy for this great abuse of power yet when it comes to conspiracy theories and Media Convictions, what exactly is the difference?  We've seen innumerable cases which resulted in guilty verdicts based on circumstantial evidence and fueled by media slander. (See the case of Mechele Linehan) 

Perhaps if Amanda Knox had to be convicted than is it better for her that she serve it within the comforts of The Italian Prison System which allows far more leniency than that of the American System? Does this system make up for its fallacies with its prisoner handling accommodations? 
Hilary Clinton has recently agreed to look into Amanda's case and her parent's have vowed to fight the conviction with an appeal. Although I feel all of the links presented are highly useful, I urge everyone to specifically take a look at the link attached in Amanda Knox's name in the first sentence of this article. This link, which I feel is important enough to repost, Friends of Amanda, is extremely researched and influential. Please take your time to view all the links on this page and if you feel strongly, contribute your opinion to her case.