Meredith Kercher Found Deceased 11/1/07 - Rudy Guede Sentenced To 16 Years - Amanda Knox And Raffaele Sollecito Found Not Guilty

Amanda Knox Trial Takes Toll of Family Finances, Emotions
Dad Has Lost Job, 'Mortgaged Everything,' Spent Retirement Funds

The long and exhausting defense of Amanda Knox has taken a financial and emotional toll on her family.

For nearly two years, Knox's family has shuttled back and forth 6,000 miles from Seattle to Perugia, Italy, to visit their daughter and sister in the Italian prison that has become her home.

They have had to finance an expensive legal team that includes forensic and DNA experts to help fight charges that she helped murder her British roommate during a drug fueled sex game gone wrong while studying abroad in Italy.

For the Knox family, it has been an unimaginable, emotional and quite expensive journey. And there is no end in sight because if Amanda is convicted, the family will appeal. And if Amanda is acquitted, the prosecution plans to appeal.

The question of how the family could possibly continue to pay for lawyers, travel and living in Perugia is one they cannot definitively answer, other than to say that somehow they will.

"Between Amanda's mother and myself, we have spent over a million dollars so far," said Knox's father, Curt Knox, who lost his job as an executive at Macy's during the ordeal and is looking for work. "We have literally mortgaged everything and used our retirement funds. But we do what it takes because we are not leaving our daughter in a foreign prison for something she didn't do."

This weekend, the lead judge will decide whether or not to appoint an independent expert requested by defense teams. If requests are denied, closing arguments will begin and a verdict will finally be reached. If requests are accepted, the trial will be delayed.

A delay would be another step in the long journey this case has been for Knox's family, one that has left a gaping hole in the family's suburban Seattle life.

"We want to be hopeful and we know she'll be home, but just to assume she's going to be home right now -- it's hard," Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, told "Good Morning America" today. "Because when it doesn't turn out the way it's supposed to, it's devastating."

Mellas, a math specialist in a Seattle school, has made nearly a dozen trips to Italy to see her daughter in prison for only one hour, twice a week.

In an interview with ABC News' Elizabeth Vargas, Mellas explained, "As a mom, are you really going to leave your innocent child in a foreign country alone with no one to visit her?"

Mellas told "GMA" that she'd definitely be in Italy for the closing arguments and the verdict. And when she's not able to be there in person, she's on the other end of the phone.

"I talk to Amanda every Saturday morning," she said. "She's never alone."

Mellas said she has to be hopeful that her daughter is getting a fair trial and is encouraged that the defense has been able to "rip apart" some of the prosecution's evidence.

When Mellas is not in Perugia, Knox's father is. Despite divorcing when Knox was young, her parents are united in their quest to free their eldest daughter whom they wholeheartedly believe is innocent.

Curt, who spent September in Italy, worries about Amanda. "She has been phenomenally strong and kept a positive attitude. But she told me last week there is this huge weight on her chest of having somebody else take your life in their hands and say -- guilty or innocent."

The "somebody else" are the two Italian judges and six jurors who will decide his daugther's immediate fate. During eight months of trial, they have heard nearly 100 witnesses. At points during testimony, some jurors -- and even the lead prosector, Guiliano Mignini -- have fallen asleep.

Amanda Knox's Sisters Pay Price, Too

Curt Knox also worries about his two young daughters, Ashley Knox, 14, and Delaney Knox, 11, who have been growing up with their father away half the time. Curt has lived nearly an entire year in total in Perugia.

Curt's youngest daughter Delaney misses her father, but understands why he's away. "I wish he was here when I had my first day of middle school and for him to take me there or pick me up. He couldn't because he was in Italy, but we know he is over there doing a good thing for Amanda."

Sitting next to her younger sister, Ashley fights back tears. "We all love and support her. The right thing will come out, that she's innocent and we will be able to see her back home soon."

Amanda's sister, Deanna Knox, 20, says the two are best friends. It was Deanna who traveled with Amanda to Perguia and found her new home, a cottage overlooking the Umbrian hillside that Amanda shared with Meredith Kercher and two Italian roommates.

Deanna recalled, "I actually found [the house] and it was amazing. Nothing in my mind could have imagined that something like this could happen."

A few weeks later, the picturesque cottage became a crime scene, and the lives of Amanda Knox and her family changed forever.

After learning that Amanda's roommate had been murdered, Mellas boarded a flight to Italy to go console her daughter. But during a layover in Switzerland, she answered an unforgettable phone call: Amanda had been arrested.

When Mellas finally arrived in Perugia, she was swarmed by media. Mellas says those first days in Perugia are a blur. "I was in shock. I wasn't eating. I wasn't sleeping. I hadn't seen Amanda. It was just a horrible time."

Knox Family Has Rented Apartment in Perugia

A few days later, Curt flew to Perugia, too.

But back home in Seattle, Deanna was alone in college harassed by media to the point she was provided security guards.

Deanna told ABC News, "It was a little frustrating. I couldn't walk to eat dinner without a police security escort to my cafeteria."

The attention from the media and the stress of the trial has been difficult for Deanna. While waiting for a verdict, Deanna is taking a semester off college and working in retail. She wanted to move closer to home and be with her family.

Deanna has also traveled to Perugia to visit Amanda six times. When home, she has had to fill the role of big sister to Ashley and Delaney while Amanda is gone. But Deanna says she cannot fill Amanda's shoes. "It's been hard to take her role, because no one can really replace what she did. She always took care of us."

Driving around their hometown, Deanna has constant reminders of her absent sister -- the soccer fields they shared, Amanda's favorite bowling alley and a local park they frequented.

"It's different driving in the car now. It was always the four of us -- Amanda, Ashley, Delaney and me... but now there is always an empty seat," Deanna explained.

For more than a year, Amanda's family has rented a small apartment on the outskirts of Perugia because it's cheaper than a hotel. When they are not in court or visiting Amanda in prison, they spend much of their time updating family and friends about Amanda and the trial.

One silver lining for this blended family is their much stronger bond. Both Curt and Edda remarried and live just miles apart, but Amanda and Deanna were raised by their mother.

"Everyone knows my parents are divorced. We have lived with our mom our whole lives and it pushed our dad to the side. But he has really stepped in and became the dad we always knew he could be."

The two families even gather at the Mellas household for Amanda's weekly 10-minute phone calls.

Reflecting on the one-hour visits he has with Amanda, an emotional Curt explained how much stronger his relationship is now with Amanda. "How often do you get to sit down and just talk with your child for one hour?"

Amanda Knox Family "Cautiously Optimistic"

With a verdict approaching, Amanda's family remains "cautiously optimistic." But they are very aware that this ordeal may not be over anytime soon.

Deanna cannot think about the possibility her sister may not come home. "I just can't imagine it in my head. I just can't picture it. I need her home."

There are moments when Edda simply loses hope. There are also moments she dreams of her best case scenario. "Three o'clock in the morning, I think about the plane ride and getting her here, and she talks about the food she wants to eat. She craves ethnic food, Thai food -- or even a really good sandwich. We will take her someplace where boating is involved and the sun. We will find a way to take her and just relax for a while."

What Deanna wants is simple. "I just want her home so I can talk to her about sister stuff and life." Deanna is also holding Amanda to a promise she made in a letter from prison. "Amanda promised me she would be home for my 21st birthday. I'm holding her to it."

Amanda's family refuses to be defined by this chapter in their lives, and, they say, so does Amanda. They acknowledge that life will never be the same, but insist they will find their new normal.

But for now, their normal is having their eldest daughter, now known around the world, locked up in a foreign prison, waiting for the verdict in her murder trial.

The family never forgets that the Italian justice system is different from the United States. Jurors are not sequestered or vetted for biases. They can watch media reports and read newspapers.

In Italy, a verdict is based on a majority vote among the two judges and six jurors, not a unanimous decision.

Curt understands what his daughter is facing. "It's a foreign country that has an extremely different legal system than the United States. And until I hear 'innocent'. ... I just need to hear that."

He cannot imagine another year of waiting and the toll it will have on all of them, especially Amanda.

In a quivering voice, he added, "I just want them to say 'innocent' and then we get to take her home. We just want her home."

http://abcnews.go.com/International/US/amanda-knox-defense-costs-million/Story?id=8782722&page=1

Closing arguments begin in Amanda Knox murder trial

Closing arguments are underway in Perugia, Italy in the murder trial of former University of Washington student Amanda Knox. The prosecution opened today re-focusing on one of its arguments that Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, staged a burglary after the murder. Prosecutors insist the evidence proves Knox and Sollecito killed Knox's roommate, Meredith Kercher. The pair is charged with murder and sexual violence in the 2007 death. Both Knox and Sollecito have denied any wrongdoing.

"The key to the mystery is in that room," lead prosecutor Giuliano Mignini said, adding that it would be nearly impossible to climb that window and enter without hurting oneself and leaving blood traces on the shattered glass.

Also, he argued, that window was the most exposed of the apartment, making it an unlikely choice for a burglar. Nothing in the room with the broken glass, which belonged to one of Knox's and Kercher's roommates, was reported missing, Mignini noted.

"All of this was done to channel suspicions on a stranger, and divert them from those who had the apartment keys," he said.

The 22-year-old Knox maintains she spent the night of the murder at Sollecito's house in Perugia. The 25-year-old Sollecito has said he was home working at his computer that night. He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him or just part of it.

Read more: http://www.ktvb.com/news/regional/Closing-arguments-begin-in-Amanda-Knox-murder-trial-70629337.html

Thanks, Fysty and J4A.... I've been wondering what was happening with that case.

I haven't followed this as closely. I have only read some on it. It will be interesting to see what the jury decides. Some of the defense story didn't add up to the original evidence, from what I read earlier. It just didn't make sense. And, one of the guys has already been sentenced and is in prison, correct?

Rudy Hermann Guede is the person already in prison. He was sentenced to 30 years after asking for a fast-track trial. He is appealing his conviction.

I know I shouldn't be too hasty, but I think she did it. It's a shame that Amanda's family has to suffer, but what about Meredith's family? They will never see her again.

I agree, Babbette. I believe they will find her guilty.

Here is the 48 Hours episode that AJ was talking about.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

I was only going by what I had originally read, and a detailed documentary, which I can't produce because I can't remember what station it was on. It wasn't 48 Hours, I remember that. But they walked thru the apartment and did reenactments. And showed the evidence, or supposed evidence at that time. And pictures from the murder scene. It just didn't make sense to me, and they weren't being biased one way or the other in the documentary.


I had just put all of those together. I hope if she is innocent, justice will be served and the true killer is already imprisoned and Amanda will be freed and be able to return home to the US.

I still think she did it.

I haven't followed this case nearly as closely as AJ has. But from what I have followed of it, I feel that Amanda is not guilty. However, given the fact that this is being tried in another country without benefit of American judicial standards (no offense to non-Americans intended), I believe she will be found guilty.

And that breaks my heart for her and her family. I think Amanda never had a chance......

Amanda Knox's parents say their daughter is no killer

Seattle, Washington (CNN) -- When Amanda Knox's parents head to Italy for closing arguments in their daughter's murder trial they'll be carrying a present they hope desperately she can use soon: a plane ticket home.

In that purchase lies one family's entire hope.

Curt Knox and Edda Mellas say their daughter is nothing like the person they've seen depicted before and during her trial.

They grimace at the description prosecutors have used in court: that Amanda Knox was a resentful American so angry with her British roommate Meredith Kercher that she exacted revenge during a twisted sex misadventure at their home two years ago.

Prosecutors say Knox directed then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and another man infatuated with her, Rudy Guede, to hold Kercher down as Knox played with a knife before slashing Kercher's throat.

"She is totally nonviolent, almost a passive person," Mellas told CNN in a joint interview with her former husband.

So passive was Knox, the parents said, that she couldn't even continue a kickboxing class because she felt it was too violent. She was so caring, they said, that she would make her friends stop a car to let a spider out rather than kill it.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/11/24/seattle.amanda.knox.parents/index.html

Amanda Knox's Parents Investigated for Alleged Defamation

The parents of Amanda Knox arrived in Italy Thursday to support their daughter in the final days of her trial for murder, and were promptly informed by Italian authorities that they are under investigation for defamation -- allegedly for accusing police of beating Amanda.

In a June 2008 interview with the British Sunday Times newspaper, the two said that Amanda was "abused physically and verbally" by police in the course of an interrogation. They also told the Sunday Times that Amanda told them that she "was hit in the back of the head by a police officer with an open hand at least twice."

Amanda Knox's parents, who are divorced but have kept a united front during their daughter's trial, are puzzled by this latest development, and do not want it to take attention away from the trial's final days.

"Why now?" asks Edda Mellas.

"The timing is suspect since it comes 18 months after the fact and right before the end of the trial," she told ABC News outside of court today.

"We don't have the file yet, so we cannot comment on it, but in that interview we just repeated what Amanda told us, and what she herself later said in court," Mellas said.

Mellas also pointed out that "you have to name someone" in order to be accused of defamation, but they never named anyone, she said.

Police deny mistreating Knox. Defamation through the press carries a sentence of six months to three years in prison and a fine. A person without a police record is unlikely to serve prison time, however.

Read more: http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/amanda-knoxs-parents-investigated-alleged-defamation/story?id=9196514

It is hard to imagine given the crime scene that there would not be some usable DNA of Amanda or her boyfriend if they were involved. I personally know someone who confessed to a crime they did not commit after HOURS of interrogation so the confession means nothing to me. I hope justice is served and both families can move on with their lives.

Emotional Knox makes final remarks.

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I have tried to follow this very closely. AJ, I don't know about you, but I found it difficult to follow it as closely as I'd like. I found it difficult to find JUST actual information that came out of the courtroom and NOT the tabloid type stuff.
I have a bad feeling about this though. I don't trust the Italian court system there. I mean, just the fact they allowed that prosecutor to be the one who tried the case, blows my mind. Had there been even an accusation of this magnitude against a prosecutor in the states, there would have been a new prosecutor appointed.
I also worry there is a bias against her and this may also be the feeling in the jurors. If this case were in the states, I think reasonable doubt would prevail and she would be acquitted. Unfortunately, I just don't see this happening. And if NOT, I believe it will be a great miscarriage of justice.

Praying she will be able to use the plane ticket her parents bought her and come home.
I do feel so very sad for Meredith's family. This must be a nightmare they can't wake up from.

AJ, have you read anything that has detailed the trial of Rudy Guede. I'd like to read about this in more detail. Was it a full blown trial?

AJ~I just wanted you to know that I am here waiting with you....hopefully justice will be served here.

Thanks Tish!!!! You rock! Hubby is watching something on his lunch break and I am cleaning. Coming here is faster since I am always logged on....

For the record, hubby is NOT watching diners, dives, and drive ins.

Oh and You are very welcome AJ, I rely on you for a lot of research that I don't have the patience for...Thanks a lot!!!!!!

Thanks for the update Tish. ABC News seemed to be first site to report the summons, so they may one of the first to report the verdict.

Keep us posted......doesn't it seem like an awfully short time to come to a verdict?

I have to run to the store and I live in the sticks so it will take me an hour or so but I am here in spirit and will check in asap.

I thought this girl was guilty at first too, but when I joined this site and read all the links that are posted, I am convinced she is innocent and hope for justice for her and her family. God bless them and Meredith's family. Whatever the outcome.

Watch the verdict live. http://www.king5.com/home/Video-stream-66419867.html

Amanda was found guilty on all charges.

This is absolutely unbelievable to me! I am SO thankful to live in the United States of America!

Although our system is not perfect, I truly believe it is the best in the world. I also don't believe a jury here would have EVER been able to find her guilty with this same evidence.

Soooo Sad! It also makes me angry.

Amanda got 26 yrs and her boyfriend got 25 yrs!!!!

A lawyer on the live coverage on king5.com said the fact that they weren't sentenced to life means that the guilty verdict wasn't unanimous. He says this helps their chances during the appeal.

I'm also glad that I live in the United States of America Tracey. If Amanda's trial had been in the United States she would have been found not guilty because of the jury vote not being unanimous.

I felt they would find her guilty. I think they had her convicted from the beginning, no matter what the evidence showed.

Oh Noooo....I had a feeling she would be...I just didn't want to make any bad mojo....hopefully she will win an appeal.

Knox upset, tired; gets family visit in prison

PERUGIA, Italy - Amanda Knox sought comfort from visiting family members Saturday on her first day in prison since being convicted of murdering her British roommate. The family of victim Meredith Kercher said the verdict brought a measure of justice. However, they said, it was not a time to celebrate.

Knox, a college student from Seattle, was tired and upset following the midnight verdict and sentence of 26 years in prison, according to family members and a lawyer who saw her.

"Amanda like the rest is extremely disappointed, upset about the decision," Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, said after the visit to the prison just outside Perugia. "We told her that she's gonna get out of here. It's gonna take a little longer."

Knox and Kercher's families came to this central Italian town for the verdict, which was announced at around midnight after 13 hours of deliberations. The court also convicted Knox's co-defendant and former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, and gave him a 25-year jail term for the murder.

Knox and Sollecito are appealing the verdicts.

"She couldn't sleep all night," said lawyer Luciano Ghirga, who spent an hour with Knox at her jail just outside Perugia on Saturday morning. "She's worried for her parents, too, but she is keeping the faith needed for the next steps."

Ghirga said Knox was kept under strict surveillance. He denied reports that she had been put under suicide watch, which is the standard practice in such cases.

Kercher, 21, was Knox's roommate while they studied in Perugia.

Her body was found in a pool of blood with her throat slit on Nov. 2, 2007, at the apartment they shared. Prosecutors said the Leeds University student was murdered the previous night.

"Meredith still leaves a big hole in our lives and her presence is missed every time we meet up as a family," John Kercher Jr., one of her brothers, told a press conference in Perugia.

Kercher's sister, Stephanie, said the verdict "does bring a little bit of justice, for us and for her." But she added: "Life will never be the same without Mez."

The prosecutors said they were satisfied with the ruling and would not seek to appeal, even though the court did not grant their request for life imprisonment. Prosecutor Manuela Comodi said that the verdict "recognizes the defendants are guilty of all the crimes they had been charged with."

In an interview with ABC News in the hours that followed the verdict, Curt Knox said he was "stunned."

"I just looked at them; I looked at the jurors," he told ABC. He then said he thought to himself: "'How could you even do this with what was presented in the court of law?'"

Knox's families and her supporters have long sought to cast doubt on the Italian justice system, contending the prosecution's case largely rested on character assassination.

The prosecutors say on the night of the murder, Nov. 1, 2007, Knox and Sollecito met at the apartment where Kercher and Knox lived. They say a fourth person was there, Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivory Coast citizen who has been convicted in the murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Guede, who is appealing his conviction, says he was in the house the night of the murder but did not kill Kercher.

The prosecution says Knox and Kercher started arguing and the three brutally attacked and sexually assaulted the Briton. They were acting, according to the prosecution, under "the fumes of drugs and possibly alcohol."

They presented DNA evidence they said was linked to Knox and Sollecito, though these claims were disputed by the defense.

"You have to agree with the verdict. You have to go with the evidence, there's nothing else," Arline Kercher, the victim's mother, said of the verdict.

As part of the ruling, Kercher's parents were awarded euro1 million ($1.5 million) each in compensation, while euro800,000 ($1,200,440) were granted to Kercher's two brothers and sister each, said the family's lawyer, Francesco Maresca. He said this was only an initial sum. Maresca asked for a total of euro25 million ($38 million) from Knox, Sollecito and Guede, and he said this request would be discussed in a separate civil proceedings.

Kercher's family, however, stressed that they were not expecting to receive any money, but the high compensation was a symbol of the gravity of their crimes.

The pair also was convicted of illegally carrying a weapon - the knife - and of staging a burglary at the house where the murder occurred by breaking a window, supposedly in an effort to sidetrack the investigation.

Knox also was convicted of defaming a Congolese man whom she initially accused of the killing. He was jailed briefly but was later cleared. Knox said during the trial that police pressure led her to initially accuse an innocent man.

Written By ALESSANDRA RIZZO and MARTA FALCONI

http://www.news8.net/news/stories/1209/684550.html

wow.

babbette wrote:wow.

I second that Babbette. Seeing the "evidence" that was shown, I don't know how she was convicted. The law certainly lets down some.

Clinton Hasn't Talked to Italians About Knox

Did anti-Americanism taint the trial of Amanda Knox?

That’s the question Sen. Maria Cantwell is posing following the Italian murder conviction of the former University of Washington student.

The year-long murder trial of the 22-year-old has caused an international media frenzy.

The senator argued in a statement released Friday that the Italian prosecution “did not present enough evidence” to convict Knox of the murder of her housemate, and said she would convey her concerns to Secretary of State Clinton.

During our “This Week’ interview airing Sunday, Clinton told me she'd be happy to meet with Sen. Cantwell but she hasn't expressed any concerns to the Italians about Knox ... here's our exchange: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9260088

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "Do you share her concerns about this trial?"

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: "George I honestly haven't had time to even examine that. I've been immersed in what we're doing in Afghanistan. Of course I'll meet with Sen. Cantwell or anyone who has a concern but I can't offer any opinion about that at this time."

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: "So you have not expressed any concerns to the Italian government?"

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON: "I have not, no."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/12/clinton-hasnt-talked-to-italians-about-knox.html

My question is, shouldn't the American Embassy have been notified at the very beginning of her arrest? Shouldn't there have been involvement from the American Government? So there has been none at all over the last two years?

I haven't watched NG in a long time. I found her reporting to be biased and at times totally untrue. She may be able to talk her way out of it like she did when Mark Nejame called her on it, but she does it all the time. I hate the way she was with Crystal Sheffield, although she had a point, it did nothing to help find Haliegh. I agree with everything you said AJ, we need to be a voice for future generations.

What about the two journalists captured in N Korea that former President Clinton assisted? There's others, I just can't think of them right off hand. I don't understand why no one came forward to assist Amanda.

It looks like the Italian judicial system needs an overhaul. There is no way the prosecutors are always right. It is crazy that a jury there is allowed to watch biased media coverage and then convict somebody without a unanimous vote.

To be fair, I just found out I was wrong in an earlier post when I said Amanda's conviction wasn't unanimous. It turns out that all the jurors thought Amanda was guilty and the only difference of opinion was on how long to sentence her. They decided to sentence her to 26 years, but she can serve as little as 10 years if she has good behavior behind bars.

Here is the full episode of Dateline NBC from December 4, 2009. It is in six parts.

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Thanks for posting those J4A. We watched a little of it but got busy doing other stuff. Now I have something to do later!

You are welcome Dis.

Here is the entire 48 Hours episode from December 5, 2009 featuring Peter Van Sant's in-depth report on the Amanda Knox case.


Watch CBS News Videos Online

Prison guards on suicide watch with sex killer Amanda Knox have revealed they don't believe she is guilty, it emerged today (monday).

Guards say Knox - serving 26 years for the brutal murder of British flatmate Meredith Kercher - should be freed on appeal, reports Il Messaggero newspaper.

"She's not a witch playing a role, she's a real person who is suffering. I don't think she's guilty," one guard from the jail in Perugia, Italy told them.

Guards tried to raise her spirits when she returned from her sentencing hearing on Friday saying: "Come on Bambi, don't be like that."

Staff at the prison last year dubbed Knox Bambi, after the doe-eyed Disney cartoon fawn.

Prison priest Father Saulo Scarabattoli told Repubblica newspaper: "At the start of the trial she was very optimistic
- but recently she started to dread being sentenced."

http://www.austriantimes.at/news/Around_the_World/2009-12-07/18653/Knoxy_not_guilty_say_guards_

Thanks for the kind words AJ. I try to be fair even though I probably don't always succeed. I think I pretty much have a neutral personality, so that sometimes helps me stay objective. There are many of these cases where I haven't seen enough evidence to make up my mind one way or the other, so I usually hold off on giving an opinion in those cases.

In this case I can't be a hundred percent certain that Amanda is innocent, but I feel there was enough reasonable doubt to where she should have been found not guilty.

Knox Counting on Appeal to Clear Her name

By MARTA FALCONI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

ROME -- Amanda Knox is counting on an appeals trial to regain her freedom after a court sentenced her to 26 years in prison for murdering her British roommate, an Italian lawmaker who visited the American student said Wednesday.

A jury in Perugia last week convicted Knox of murdering Meredith Kercher in the house they shared in that university town. Knox maintains she did not commit the crime.

Walter Verini, an opposition lawmaker in the Chamber of Deputies, spoke with Knox Tuesday as part of his monitoring of conditions in Italian prisons.

Verini said in a telephone interview from Perugia that the 22-year-old Knox still has faith in the Italian justice system, including the appeal her lawyers are preparing.

"She looked tranquil and confident that her arguments will be heard, sooner or later," Verini said. "Her eyes are the eyes of a young person who just got sentenced to 26 years, but also of someone who has not given up."

Verini said he spoke to Knox for only a few minutes as he visited the Capanne prison on the outskirts of Perugia.

He said Knox was writing when he arrived and welcomed him "with a kind smile."

Books were on Knox's bed in the cell she is sharing with a 53-year-old woman from New Orleans who is serving a four-year sentence for drug dealing, the lawmaker said.

Knox has asked for permission to work in the prison laundry, and she seems to have a good relationship with the other inmates, he said.

"She is able to socialize and I think she's treated well," Verini said, adding that he was not allowed to discuss details of the legal case with Knox.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1103ap_eu_italy_knox.html?source=rss

okay.. dont throw shoes at me...



Amanda is not innocent.. whether or not she commited this murder.. i do not know.. i must admit, i did not follow this closely, so i am lax on all the details, but i can assure you one thing, from what i have seen/heard. . this girl is FAR from innocent..

I agree, randilynn. From the moment this all happened, her behavior speaks volumes.

I don't know what I believe anymore. I just wanted to share this link for anyone who is interested. This is a website for Meredith Kercher. I just think it's important not to ever forget she was the real victim. I am only hoping and praying, two more young lives aren't being lost to this tragedy, if in fact, they aren't guilty.

To me I guess if they are not innocent, it sure seemed to be reasonable doubt. But then again, I have been reading at this site and see a lot of things differently. I don't know what is true. I'm just hoping the jury here did and really felt they did they right thing and nothing else was at play.

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php

Sollecito: Amanda Knox 'Incapable of Killing

December 11, 2009

Rome, Italy (CNN) -- The man convicted of killing British student Meredith Kercher has given an interview from his Italian jail cell, insisting Amanda Knox is a "sweet girl" incapable of murder.

Raffaele Sollecito, who was sentenced to 25 years for his role in Kercher's death, told an Italian newspaper that he was struggling to come to terms with the verdict and feared going "insane" in prison.

Asked if his former girlfriend Knox -- also convicted of Kercher's murder and jailed for 26 years -- was capable of killing, Sollecito told Il Messagero: "It is absurd and inadmissible. She is a very sweet girl."

Sollecito's lawyer Luca Maori, who acted as an intermediary for the newspaper, confirmed to CNN that the interview had taken place and was reported accurately.

American student Knox and Italian Sollecito were convicted last week of murdering Kercher, who was found with her throat slit in the apartment she shared with Knox in the Italian town of Perugia. Both, and another suspect found guilty in a separate trial, are appealing.

Speaking from his cell in Terni prison in central Italy, Sollecito maintained his innocence and blamed his conviction on a "media campaign."

"I was certain that the verdict would put an end to a nightmare. Instead, it didn't," he said.

"When the sentencing was read, I didn't understand what was happening and even now it seems impossible and still don't understand why I was convicted."

Sollecito said he was no longer in love with Knox but still felt close to her. "She is also in a nightmare and a harrowing situation like mine."

He also rejected claims he and Knox had acted inappropriately by shopping for underwear after Kercher's murder -- an incident that was cited as an example of Knox's lack of emotion following her roommate's death.

"We went shopping for underwear because Amanda had everything sequestered. All of which was said was wrong," he said.

Sollecito said his religious faith was sustaining him in prison, although he was struggling to cope.

"If I didn't have faith, I would have ended my life," he said. "I should be hopeful, but it is very difficult. The world has collapsed on top of me with this verdict. It collapsed on me and Amanda.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/11/italy.knox.sollecito/index.html

I agree with both of you, Tracey and AJ. Masses can be moved by following the opinion of someone people agree with. You do have to search for fact based journalism. Journalists used to be called out on inaccurate, careless or unfair reporting. You only see that now from celebrities suing the tabloids. The bar needs to be raised for responsible and ethical journalism from our many media outlets. We rely on our daily news to be able to form our own opinions and views on matters.