Stefano Gennarini on the Wall Street Journal commented on the Amanda Knox case, as follows:
I have serious doubts about the fairness of this verdict.
I am of Italian ascent, and a law student in the US, and none of what I have read and seen so far has given me the slightest indication that Ms. Knox is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. I fear the verdict was set even before the trial started, and that Ms. Knox has been duped by Italian naivety, some maliciousness, and a dysfunctional justice system. There is a very strong possibility that the Italian jury was confused by bias, sensationalism and frivolity in the media.
I find the argument of the defense very convincing: that the prosecutors, led by Mr. Mannini, have made a terrible mistake. Despite my amateur status in the legal field, I can say that the Italian justice system is normally open to criticism on many counts, and in this particular case even more so. From moment one, the prosecution has forcefully pushed forward a theory of a group sex game that resulted in a killing. Everyone in Italy heard of this through the media, already three days into the investigations, and jumped on it with eager fascination, and the jury has had access to all the ludicrous media coverage of the case. When it emerged that Amanda had signed a statement with a version of the events that was not true, and subsequently retracted, for the Italian public her fate was sealed. Not only was she a pervert and murderer, but a disingenuous liar too. The typical irresponsible and amoral US student Italians tolerate, but are also judgmental about. The verdict of the court adopted this story wholeheartedly, word for word.
To create a reasonable doubt with respect to the above facts, it should be enough to know that when Ms. Kercher's body was found the prosecution subjected Ms. Knox to a 14 hour interrogation without a lawyer before writing up a statement which she later retracted. In that statement she accused a black bar owner she worked for. I find it hard to believe that such an interrogation, at the hands of an italian bully, himself presently subject to charges of obstructing justice, was not suggestive, or might have been confusing to a 19 year old student from Seattle. How could she have accused an innocent man? It is not entirely clear from what I have so far read, but her description of the interrogation suggests that the prosecution fudged together the fact she had received and sent her boss a text message, with the fact that she might be traumatized and forgetful of what happened. Incredible? Put yourself in the shoes of a facebook generation, carefree, irresponsible, marijuana smoking 19 year old girl from Seattle, interrogated for 14 hours by hard ball prosecutors and police, without counsel, in a foreign country for a year abroad Perhaps not so incredible.
Given these premises, the evidence against her, aside from her 'false statement' to police is not even close to creating a doubt proof case. Reasonable doubt is spelt clear all over the evidence: (1) There is absolutely no evidence that Ms. Knox, or her supposed accomplice Sollecito, were prone to the type of sexual games that the verdict established as fact. This raises reasonable doubt. (2) Although there was DNA evidence, it was all contested by experts for the defense, and therefore a doubt exists here also. (3) The only hard evidence against them is the testimony of Rudy Guede, a rapist, thief and murderer, the only person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. When first subjected to interrogation on the question of whether or not he acted with someone else, he replied no, over 5 times. It was only after another long session with Mannini that he too adopted the sex game gone wrong theory. Moreover, it is hard to see any connection of the two young people to the actual murderer. Guede's credibility is zero, and therefore also here, a strong doubt exists. (4) Guede fled Italy on the same night Amanda was killed, Ms. Knox, went back to the apartment and called the police. Why on earth would she have gone back if there was any chance of getting caught? (5) The murder weapon (a knife) proposed by the prosecution also was not uncontested. More reasonable doubt. Given all these doubts, I am very disappointed that Ms. Knox was found guilty, and to be honest am appalled by the Italian justice system.
What is truly tragic, is I doubt the jury even had a real opportunity to test Ms. Knox's story, or to assess her credibility, given prejudice in the media, and perhaps even more importantly the need to listen to her through a rather poor translator. The only sure thing, is that a generational abyss exists between Ms. Knox and the Italian judges and jurors, and a cultural one too. How far the 19-21 year old Ms. Knox was understood by the judges and jurors is hard to say. Given the depth and breadth of irrational antipathy towards Americans in Italy, and given the evidence in the case, I find it hard for the judges and jurors to have been immune from it, especially, given the sensationalist and ludicrous media coverage of the story.
I hope for the sake of Ms. Knox, and Italy, that the automatic appeal will look into these matters closely. Hey Mr. President! You are a lawyer, cant you look into the matter? While I am not 100% sure that Ms. Knox is innocent, I certainly dont feel I can trust the Italian system.
======= end of Stefano's comment=======
So what can we do to help Amanda and her family?
I have serious doubts about the fairness of this verdict.
I am of Italian ascent, and a law student in the US, and none of what I have read and seen so far has given me the slightest indication that Ms. Knox is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. I fear the verdict was set even before the trial started, and that Ms. Knox has been duped by Italian naivety, some maliciousness, and a dysfunctional justice system. There is a very strong possibility that the Italian jury was confused by bias, sensationalism and frivolity in the media.
I find the argument of the defense very convincing: that the prosecutors, led by Mr. Mannini, have made a terrible mistake. Despite my amateur status in the legal field, I can say that the Italian justice system is normally open to criticism on many counts, and in this particular case even more so. From moment one, the prosecution has forcefully pushed forward a theory of a group sex game that resulted in a killing. Everyone in Italy heard of this through the media, already three days into the investigations, and jumped on it with eager fascination, and the jury has had access to all the ludicrous media coverage of the case. When it emerged that Amanda had signed a statement with a version of the events that was not true, and subsequently retracted, for the Italian public her fate was sealed. Not only was she a pervert and murderer, but a disingenuous liar too. The typical irresponsible and amoral US student Italians tolerate, but are also judgmental about. The verdict of the court adopted this story wholeheartedly, word for word.
To create a reasonable doubt with respect to the above facts, it should be enough to know that when Ms. Kercher's body was found the prosecution subjected Ms. Knox to a 14 hour interrogation without a lawyer before writing up a statement which she later retracted. In that statement she accused a black bar owner she worked for. I find it hard to believe that such an interrogation, at the hands of an italian bully, himself presently subject to charges of obstructing justice, was not suggestive, or might have been confusing to a 19 year old student from Seattle. How could she have accused an innocent man? It is not entirely clear from what I have so far read, but her description of the interrogation suggests that the prosecution fudged together the fact she had received and sent her boss a text message, with the fact that she might be traumatized and forgetful of what happened. Incredible? Put yourself in the shoes of a facebook generation, carefree, irresponsible, marijuana smoking 19 year old girl from Seattle, interrogated for 14 hours by hard ball prosecutors and police, without counsel, in a foreign country for a year abroad Perhaps not so incredible.
Given these premises, the evidence against her, aside from her 'false statement' to police is not even close to creating a doubt proof case. Reasonable doubt is spelt clear all over the evidence: (1) There is absolutely no evidence that Ms. Knox, or her supposed accomplice Sollecito, were prone to the type of sexual games that the verdict established as fact. This raises reasonable doubt. (2) Although there was DNA evidence, it was all contested by experts for the defense, and therefore a doubt exists here also. (3) The only hard evidence against them is the testimony of Rudy Guede, a rapist, thief and murderer, the only person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. When first subjected to interrogation on the question of whether or not he acted with someone else, he replied no, over 5 times. It was only after another long session with Mannini that he too adopted the sex game gone wrong theory. Moreover, it is hard to see any connection of the two young people to the actual murderer. Guede's credibility is zero, and therefore also here, a strong doubt exists. (4) Guede fled Italy on the same night Amanda was killed, Ms. Knox, went back to the apartment and called the police. Why on earth would she have gone back if there was any chance of getting caught? (5) The murder weapon (a knife) proposed by the prosecution also was not uncontested. More reasonable doubt. Given all these doubts, I am very disappointed that Ms. Knox was found guilty, and to be honest am appalled by the Italian justice system.
What is truly tragic, is I doubt the jury even had a real opportunity to test Ms. Knox's story, or to assess her credibility, given prejudice in the media, and perhaps even more importantly the need to listen to her through a rather poor translator. The only sure thing, is that a generational abyss exists between Ms. Knox and the Italian judges and jurors, and a cultural one too. How far the 19-21 year old Ms. Knox was understood by the judges and jurors is hard to say. Given the depth and breadth of irrational antipathy towards Americans in Italy, and given the evidence in the case, I find it hard for the judges and jurors to have been immune from it, especially, given the sensationalist and ludicrous media coverage of the story.
I hope for the sake of Ms. Knox, and Italy, that the automatic appeal will look into these matters closely. Hey Mr. President! You are a lawyer, cant you look into the matter? While I am not 100% sure that Ms. Knox is innocent, I certainly dont feel I can trust the Italian system.
======= end of Stefano's comment=======
So what can we do to help Amanda and her family?
