Amanda Knox In review

[Noah]

And it's the same as it always has been.

Me, me, me. I, I, I.

I've got a question for you Amanda. Who do you think killed Meredith? And why?

I've got another question. Why didn't you attend Meredith's memorial?

I've got another question. Why did you tell the cops Lumumba did it, when he was clearly innocent and could prove his alibi? Why didn't you tell them, oops I was wrong. Sorry about that.

Me, me, me. I, I, I.

[Noah]

You gotta love this. The case that just keeps on giving.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/10/amanda.knox/

Jailed mobster claims he can prove Amanda Knox is innocent

By Hada Messia and Mallory Simon, CNNcnnAuthor = "By Hada Messia and Mallory Simon, CNN";

Rome, Italy (CNN) -- A jailed Italian mobster claims he can prove American student Amanda Knox, her former boyfriend and a drifter are innocent of murdering Knox's British roommate because he knows who the real killer is -- his brother.
Luciano Aviello, 41, made the statement during a videotaped interview with Knox's lawyers.
He said he had tried to write the Italian court several times to say that Knox and the others were innocent, but no one ever contacted him, defense and prosecution officials said.
A source close to the case tells CNN that Aviello, who has been in and out of prison since age 17, was out of prison, living down the street from Knox and Meredith Kercher and under a "protection program" at the time of the murder. Aviello is serving 17 years in an Italian prison because of his association with the Camorra crime family. According to Italian media reports and Britain's Daily Mail, he has testified against the mob at several trials, always from behind a screen to shield his identity.
Kercher, 21, was found semi-naked with her throat slashed in the house she shared with Knox in November 2007.

In March, Aviello contacted Knox's attorneys, who visited him in prison to learn more about his story.
Aviello told Knox's lawyers during the videotaped interviews that his brother, who was staying with him at the time of Kercher's murder, came home one night and said he had killed a girl during a botched robbery. British and Italian media have reported the brother's whereabouts are unknown and neither the lawyers for Knox nor the prosecution would comment further.
"When he came to my house he had a bloodstained jacket on and was carrying a flick knife. He said he had broken into a house and killed a girl and then he had run away," Aviello said in his statement. Originally from Naples, Aviello says he was living in Perugia at the time of the attack.

"I know [he was involved] because my brother confessed to me that he had killed Meredith and he asked me to hide a blood-stained knife and set of keys," he said, according to an attachment to Knox's appeal documents.
Aviello told the lawyers that his brother said he and an Albanian man broke into the house and found "the poor English girl," Kercher, "who started screaming like mad"
The brother "stabbed her in the throat then he tried to stifle her screams," Aviello said. "Meredith defended herself like mad, scratching and hitting out at him."
Aviello said he can prove Knox's innocence and his brother's involvement because of evidence he buried at his home.
"I had everything under a little wall behind my house," he said. "I am happy to stand up in court and confirm all this and wrote to the court several times to tell them but was never questioned."
Italian prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, who led the case against Knox and Sollecito, told British and Italian media that Aviello's claims were irrelevant since the court already deemed him not credible and didn't interview him.

Of course I believe him. He's such a credible witness.

[Noah]

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07...id=oZFb2Shfm_8

Amanda Knox to appeal murder conviction in October, attorney says

By the CNN Wire
American student Amanda Knox was sentenced in December to 26 years in an Italian prison.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Knox, an American, was convicted last year of murdering British roommate
• An exact date has not been set for the appeal
• Knox and her parents also face charges of defaming Italian police
• Two others also were convicted of murder and are serving prison sentences

Rome, Italy (CNN) -- American student Amanda Knox's appeal of her conviction for murdering her roommate in Italy will begin in October, a lawyer for Knox told CNN on Wednesday.
"It's very hard for her; it's her third summer in which she is just waiting," lawyer Maria Del Grosso said. "She is stressed. She is studying but yet she has a lot of time to think and get depressed."
Knox was sentenced in December to 26 years in prison for the murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher.
An exact date has not yet been set for the appeal to begin, Del Grosso said.
Knox and her parents also face separate trials in October on charges of defaming Italian police, the lawyer said. Knox's trial, to begin October 1, involves her allegations that police mistreated her in custody. Her parents will go on trial October 19 for repeating Knox's allegations.
Kercher, 21, was found semi-naked with her throat slashed in the house she shared with Knox in November 2007.
Knox, 22, and her Italian former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 26, were found guilty in December 2009 of Kercher's murder. Sollecito is serving a 25-year sentence.
A third person, Rudy Guede, a drifter originally from the Ivory Coast, was tried separately and is serving a 16-year prison sentence.

If I was her attorney, I'd have her brought gagged into the courtroom. Because every time she opens her mouth, she shoots herself. She doesn't need help from anyone else.

[Noah]

Amanda gets crabs....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...-birthday.html

Amanda Knox will cook crab cakes on the floor of her cell and open presents from her family on Friday as she celebrates a birthday behind bars for the third time.

By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 10:00PM BST 08 Jul 2010

Knox, 22, a fan of The Beatles, will receive a T-shirt with the words "Let It Be" from her younger sister, Deanna, 21, and a sundress from her mother, Edda Mellas, when she turns 23.

The former University of Seattle undergraduate has been in prison since being arrested in Nov 2007, a few days after her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, 21, was found stabbed to death in the cottage they shared in Perugia, Umbria.

In December, Knox was found guilty of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to 26 years in jail.
Her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 26, was found guilty on the same charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
A third defendant, small-time drug dealer and drifter Rudy Guede, was found guilty in a separate trial but had his 30 year sentence reduced to 16 years on appeal.
"She's asked for some crab meat, and other ingredients like onions and bread crumbs, so that she can cook up some crab cakes on a little camping stove she has in her cell," Mrs Mellas, whose birthday falls a day later, told the Daily Telegraph.
Her American cellmate plans to bake her a cake, but it will be a far cry from Knox's dream of celebrating her birthday with a backyard barbecue at home in Seattle.
A heat wave across Italythis week has made her life in jail even more uncomfortable than usual.
"There's no air-conditioning in the cell and it's been more than 40C degrees in Perugia," said Mrs Mellas. "It is excruciatingly hot and humid, really unbearable."
"We'll take her a few gifts from the family and friends at home: some books, some sundresses. We saw her on Tuesday and it's always very hard whenever there's any kind of birthday or anniversary." Knox, who has always maintained her innocence, will be allowed to see her family for just an hour.
Her lawyers are preparing an appeal which is expected to start in a Perugia court in November.

What, can't the Mafia Don who wants to have his moment of glory at her appeal send her some lasagne. Or spaghetti? Maybe a horse's head....

[Noah]

It's still all about Amanda.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/423570_knox17.html

Saturday, July 17, 2010
Last updated 1:40 p.m. PT
Knox: 'I'm in a surreal situation I just can't explain'

KOMO-TV STAFF
ROME - Seattle student Amanda Knox said this week she has "terrible moments" while serving a 26-year prison term for the murder of her British roommate but is strengthened by a constant stream of letters from supporters.





Knox made the disclosures in an interview with the glossy Italian news magazine Oggi, which have been widely reported in U.S. and European media, including the Mail Online.
"I try to keep and nurture my faith in the system, but there are terrible moments when I have a real fear of being kept locked away for a crime I did not commit," Knox said during the Oggi interview.
"I am in a surreal situation that I just can't explain. It's as if it is happening to someone else."
Meredith Kercher was found semi-naked with her throat slit in a bedroom of the house she shared with Knox in the Italian university city of Perugia in November 2007.
Knox was convicted of the murder in December 2009, along with her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. Ivory Coast resident Rudy Guede also was convicted of the murder in an earlier trial.
Knox told the magazine that she is innocent and did not kill her roommate Meredith Kercher, but she added she has "nothing to regret."
"Here in jail I have understood that sometimes bad things happen to good people," she said. "I find it really hard to accept that my friend Meredith is dead, and I am accused of killing her. It's really hard for me and, at times, the whole thing is much bigger than me."
Knox also described her life in prison during the Oggi interview, saying she cut her hair mostly for practical reasons - "so it dries quicker and I feel the heat less" - but partly as a rebellious gesture "to show how my situation is devastating me."
Knox also added how she had found faith in Perugia's jail, saying: "I go to Mass regularly. I play the guitar and I sing. ... I am a very spiritual person and I need these moments."
Knox said she gets up at about 6 a.m. each day and does yoga, then replies to the steady stream of letters she receives in prison. She estimated she receives about 300 letters a month from friends, family and supporters.
"People tell me not to give up and it is a great support," she said.
She also said she corresponds with her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
"We often write to each other, we give each other strength," Knox said. "We have ended up in a surreal affair that we still don't understand. It's terrible, but at least it unites us. The affection remains from the love we had."
Later in the day she plays volleyball with other inmates, then rests or studies.
Knox said she was aware of recent statements made by a Mafia mobster who claimed that his brother is Kercher's real killer.
But she said she has no great hopes that she will be freed because of the statements.
"I kept calm because the greatest danger is getting hopeful and of believing too much in freedom. "(At the trial) I was really hopeful, and the disappointment was immense."
Knox and her attorneys are slated to be in court in October to appeal her conviction for Kercher's murder.

That girl just doesn't get it.

[Noah]

October is coming ever closer. Well, it is for anyone like me starting to get a bit edgy for news from Foxy land. Anyway, some people apparently think not going to Italy will make those Italians sit up and take notice. H'm.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/tickettori...ves/219328.asp

Boycott Italy for Amanda Knox, NO WAY
The intensive trial of Amanda Knox in Perugia, Italy has been a long and complicated process that on December 5th, 2009 resulted in a 26 year sentence in prison for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher.
Since the sentencing there has been a small movement to boycott Italy as a protest to the trial result. Twitter, Facebook members and famous figures such as Donald Trump have taken on the cause of the boycott.
While boycotting may be a traditional method of getting your voice heard; in this particular case it is the most ridiculous and absurd way to support Amanda Knox or get the attention of the powers that be in Italy.
Italy is the #1 tourist destination in the world and the impact of an Amanda Knox boycott would only produce a ripple in the sea of tourists who flock to Italy from all over the world.
Italians don't boycott and don't respond to boycotting. Boycotts only work in societies that recognize them. Italians respond to face to face negotiation and have for centuries.
An Italy boycott will hurt Americans more than it will anyone else. So what does "boycott Italy" mean? Stop going to Olive Garden? Stop buying olive oil and pasta at the supermarket? Stop traveling to Italy? Return all of your Italian shoes to the store? All these options hurt business owners, employees and organizations here in America.
A lovely young person; Meredith Kercher was brutally murdered and Amanda Knox was her roommate. In American courts the saying "beyond a reasonable doubt" is the gauge used to determine innocence or guilt. No matter if you think Amanda is innocent there was a murder and her involvement is foggy at best.
Historically boycotts surround cut and dry issues such as African Americans during the US civil rights movement (notably the Montgomery Bus Boycott) the movement that advocated "disinvestment" in South Africa during the 1980s in opposition to that country's apartheid regime. When a person is murdered in cold blood there may or may not be extenuating circumstances that lead to a result; it is far from cut and dry, right or wrong and in the Knox case we don't know enough to boycott an entire country.
The Italian justice system may be a factor in the verdict, but boycotting Italy is not a way to be heard. Italians are strong and proud people who stick by their decisions no matter if they are right or wrong. The way to get an Italian to change their mind is to speak to them on an eye to eye level; threatening them will only result in a deadlock.
Those that propose a boycott of Italy are ignorant and if they took the time to understand how Italians work they can put their energy and intentions to good use.
Here are some useful ways of protesting the Amanda Knox sentence in a way that Italians will hear.
Travel to Italy and submit your protest in person. Don't go over in a WTO sit in the street until the police drag you away method, but go to the courthouse and submit a letter in person of your protest. Local authorities who realize that someone came across the world to give a letter of protest in a respectful way will be heard much louder than a few less tourists in town.
If you can't afford to go in person then write letters, post video commentaries and write blog posts but BE RESPECTFUL and don't use threatening verbiage. Imagine you are a hostage, would you go to your captures and say "listen if you don't let me go, I'm going to (put your favorite threat here) compared to "I see why you are doing this but here are my reasons why you might let me go. See the difference?
It's time for fresh thinking. It's time to negotiate. Americans, business owners and the travel industry have been bludgeoned almost to death with the economy, war and uncertainty; let's not throw a boycott boomerang that will just come back to hit us while we are down.

Goodnight Seattle.