Dear Blog Readers-
After a month of intense coverage of the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis, I’ve been taking a break from work, spending time with my family. Today I was walking into Rome’s auditorium to hear my daughter Chiara sing in a concert as part of the Santa Cecilia choir when WHAMMO, up pops a surprising bit of news on my blackberry. Here is the AP lead:
ROME (AP) – Italy’s highest criminal court has overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial.
This story began in 2007 when a young British student named Meredith Kercher was found dead in a pool of blood at the home she shared with several girls in Perugia. She was nearly naked and had been stabbed in the neck. Meredith’s flat-mate, Amanda Knox, and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were tried and convicted of murder in 2009. They were sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively. Prosecutors described the murder as a drug-fueled orgy gone awry, Knox and Sollecito have always claimed their innocence and denied they were in the house on the night of the murder.
A young man from the Ivory Coast, Rudy Guede, was also tried in a separate fast-track trial and is still serving a 16-year sentence.
In 2011 an appeals court overturned the conviction, declaring Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito innocent. During the appeal trial the defense took to pieces the prosecutor’s evidence accusing the police of botching the DNA samples and being unable to provide a murder weapon.
I knew the high court was considering the case today, we had crews out on the courthouse steps for two days, waiting for comments from lawyers and prosecutors, but somehow I hadn’t really considered the possibility of the acquittal being overturned.
Outside the courthouse, one of Amanda’s lawyers, Carlo Della Vedova, spoke to the TV cameras. He said, ” She is shocked, she is very sad, she thought this was the end of a nightmare. But she is also very strong and she’s ready to fight again. She did all this up to now so we’ll continue to fight.”
He then added, “It’s a shocking decision, so we go back to discuss the case and we are ready again. We went through this already, we just don’t know exactly what else can be discussed in this case but we are looking forward to see the motivations.”
Between the night of the murder of Meredith Kercher in November, 2007 and the acquittal in the appeal in October 2011, I have covered the story extensively. (See Blog posts – “Waiting for Amanda“, “Curt Knox’s Vigil“, “Amanda Knox: Countdown to the Verdict” “The Amanda Knox Reality Show” )
Now I guess we will start all over again. The new appeal case is expected to start in 2014 and will be in Florence.
In the meantime, ABC’s Diane Sawyer managed to score the big interview with Amanda. The interview will be televised on April 30th, the same day that her new book “Waiting to be Heard” will appear in bookstores. She apparently got a $4 million book deal from Harper Collins. Of course, all of us journalists who covered the trial will be snapping that one up, but I think the court in Florence will have to continue to wait if they want to hear from Amanda. In a statement released to day by her PR Flack, David Marriott, she said,
“It was painful to receive the news that the Italian Supreme Court decided to send my case back for revision when the prosecution’s theory of my involvement in Meredith’s murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair. I believe that any questions as to my innocence must be examined by an objective investigation and a capable prosecution. The prosecution responsible for the many discrepancies in their work must be made to answer for them, for Raffaele’s sake, my sake, and most especially for the sake of Meredith’s family. Our hearts go out to them. No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity.”
Amanda will not return for the appeal trial and if she is convicted, it is unlikely that she would be extradited.
I could not believe the news. I really thought this was settled. With this latest development the entire affair has taken on even greater soap opera-ish dimensions, if that is at all possible.What does your family think? Surely they will not relish your absences as you travel north to cover the trial. I had assumed it would be in Perugia. Is Florence the seat of the higher court?
What is the reaction from the Italian public at large? I would be very curious to hear about that. Also I recall that the prosecutor was mired in troubles of his own. What is his situation currently? Will he prosecute this case at this level? And on the subject of re-arrest – will Mr. Sollecito be remanded into custody or will he remain free? Is there word yet on any attempt to get Amanda to return?
A reporter’s life is never quiet!
Adri — you are asking so many questions that I am not yet prepared to answer–my brain is still on the Vatican–but I will need to investigate further, so I will let you know. I will answer the easier ones. Raffaele Sollecito is now studying computer engineering in Verona and was planning to move to Lugano, Switzerland as soon as he is done. He will not be remanded into custody and he plans to continue his studies and plans for Lugano. In an interview in the Italian press he vigorously denied that he was “escaping” to Switzerland. The Italian papers all had Amanda’s photo back on the front page today and double-page spreads on the inside. It was interestingly juxtaposed with the story of the two Italian Marines facing trial in India for shooting two Indian fisherman they thought were pirates last year. The marines were serving on an Italian ship in the Indian ocean. Italy says they were in international waters and therefore should not be facing trial in India, India says they were in Indian waters. India allowed the two marines to come home at Christmas and then again to return to Italy to vote in the election in February. After the election the Italian government decided not to send them back then the Indian Supreme Court said the Italian ambassador could no longer leave the country, so last Friday Italy decided to send them back. Yesterday the Italian Foreign Minister resigned over the case. So Italy is feeling like they did the honorable thing sending the marines back to face trial in India and might be a little harsher on Amanda Knox. However, relations are so good between Italy and the US, I am sure Italy would not want to create a diplomatic crisis over Amanda Knox. There were comments today in the Italian papers from Stephanie Kercher, the sister of the murdered Meredith Kercher. I have always admired the Kercher family for the great dignity with which they have faced on the media circus and on-going trials. The Kercher family was satisfied with the decision. They have always said that when Rudy Guede was convicted the court said he was not acting alone. They say if Amanda and Raffaele weren’t involved, they want to know who was, they are searching for the truth. As far as the prosecutor is concerned, Giuliano Mignini is a polarizing figure and as I said in an comment above, like many prosecutors, clearly narcissistic. I don’t know if he will handle the case in Florence – need to get back to you on that one. They are moving the trial to Florence because Perugia has only one appeals court and that court already acquitted Knox and Sollecito.
Finally, I don’t know about you, but I am very curious to read Amanda’s book and see her interview with Diane Sawyer. There are two things I learned about Amanda Knox during the trial – 1) she is very smart 2) she is very clever at manipulating others, especially the press, with her image. By the end of the trial she knew how to say the right thing in court, look the right way for the cameras and photographers to get the right angle, and cry at the right moments. Yes, I am sounding cynical, but we all got that impression.
I don’t really understand why she wouldn’t be extradited if convicted de novo. Can you explain? I get that Italy would not extradite someone to the US in a capital case, but I thought someone who got a life sentence (or 25 years) for murder would be extradited to the US as long as there was no possibility of a death sentence. So why wouldn’t it work the other way? Personally, I’ve always guessed guilty, but who knows. We have a second satellite at home and used to watch Rai Int’l all the time when the first trial drama was in full swing. Guess we’ll have to do that again soon!
Hi Carina — I haven’t really gotten my brain around the whole extradition thing either. I need to figure out what the various possibilities are. Below I am copying what my AP colleagues wrote yesterday.
FROM THE AP WIRE
“Whether Knox ever returns to Italy to serve more prison time depends on a string of ifs and unknowns.
“Questions of extradition are not in the legal landscape at this point,” another Knox attorney, Theodore Simon, said on NBC TV.
If she is convicted by the Florence court, Knox could appeal that verdict to the Cassation Court. Should that appeal fail, Italy could seek her extradition from the United States.
Whether Italy actually requests extradition will be a political decision made by a future Italian government. It would then be up to U.S. officials to decide whether they will send Knox to Italy, and Dalla Vedova (one of her Italian lawyers) said U.S. authorities would carefully study all the case’s documentation to decide whether she had received fair trials.”
U.S. and Italian authorities could also come to a deal that would keep Knox in the U.S.
. . wonder if there are similarities between Italy and the US with prosecutors looking to be stars with one eye on a future in politics. The Knox decision seems rather perverse after several trials. What about the ivory Coast guy – or is there no glamour attached to him?
Hi Alan — I am not really sure of the answer to your questions. As my husband says, there is no doubt that the prosecutors in Italy are a bunch of narcissists, just as they are in the US- eager to get attention, be on TV, win cases to move forward professionally. Whether that is moving forward into politics I don’t know. As far as Rudy Guede of the Ivory Coast is concerned, unlike the other two, the evidence was crystal clear against him. His bloody handprint was on the wall of Meredith’s bedroom, he fled Italy on a train after the murder and when he was eventually caught, admitted being in the house on that night. He chose a fast-track trial which meant a shorter sentence (16 years). Amanda and Raffaele behaved very suspiciously and there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that points to their involvement. The DNA evidence seems to have been messed up by the police. However, many people have pointed out that the poor, black guy gets the prison sentence and the good-looking, middle-class white kids are freed.
Trisha, I find this whole thing totallly irkesome.
We have a similar story in Australia – a woman named Schapelle Corby ends up in Balinese jail in 2004 for 20 years for drug trafficking. It’s still news today – primarily because she is young and attractive. There are many, many Australians in prison overseas for drug trafficking. Do they get attention at this level?
Same deal with Amanda Knox. If she were a paunchy, balding, middle-aged American on trial for murder in Italy would we hear about it? I seriously doubt it.
It’s again an example of a stories’ ‘value’ based on the person involved being a young, good looking woman who has allegedly commited a heinous crime. Throw in a glamorous location (Bali, Italy), something illegal (drugs in both instances) and a foreign legal process we tut-tut over and do not understand – and we have the media frothing and a story gobbled up by media consumers.
Hey Kathy – I totally agree with you, and I feel as though AP Television has done its part in providing the coverage because she is the “Angel Face” as she’s been dubbed. And the journalists used to joke, if the trial wasn’t in the beautiful Umbrian hill-town of Perugia, would we all have been so willing and eager to cover? The next trial will be in Florence -another lovely Italian city- but Amanda won’t be there, so I am wondering how much coverage it will get.
Thanks for this excellent post. The retrial was talked about on NPR yesterday, and you have included all the facts they had, plus some great detail. The case now seems to hinge on technicalities of process, which takes it away from what was really going on there, and whether Americans and other foreign students are turning Peruggia into a place of orgiastic parties rather than a student center. Clearly, the Italian courts believe justice has not been done. But also clearly, Amanda Knox, with four million dollars in her pocket and at liberty in the US, is not likely to make herself available again. As an American I take some comfort in the reports from the Italian jailors when she was released, that she had been a lovely and compassionate prisoner, and they had grown to like her. I hope she puts her life to better purpose than she did in Peruggia, innocent or not, she seemed to be a silly girl then. 3 years in jail should have matured her, if nothing else.
Thanks for your comment Nancy. I actually don’t think the parties that they have in Perugia are any wilder than most university towns. I think there must have been some weird drug involved in this case. However, in general, there is a lot less drinking among young Italians at university than among young Americans. Italians just develop different drinking habits from a young age (drink a glass of wine with a meal)– and consume much less than their American, British and German counterparts.
I think Amanda was indeed a model prisoner. I saw her in her jail cell and she was busy writing away. I know the people who were providing books for her and she was reading German and Russian classics in original language.
Of that 4 million dollars for the book contract I am not sure how much she will need to use to pay off her legal expenses. If she is convicted she will owe a lot to the Kercher family. In the original conviction, she was given 26 years and ordered to pay a huge sum in damages to the Kercher family (I’ve forgotten how much, but it was more than 4 million dollars).
I said in another comment I am very eager to read her book and see her interview with Diane Sawyer. Amanda Knox is a very smart woman and I would like to hear how she makes her case once she is no longer in the courtroom.
It is interesting to me that appeals in Italy normally consist of a (live) re-trial of the case whereas appeals in the U.S. are conducted mostly on paper (briefs) with a short oral argument where the judges ask questions of the lawyers.
The English translation of the Italian Supreme Court report which explains why Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito’s acquittals were annulled can be downloaded from the Perugia Murder File website:
http://www.perugiamurderfile.org/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=599
Thank you for sharing that!