Amanda Knox Trial and Verdict

[blazeno.8]

So I was wondering what you guys thought of this whole thing? She was given 26 years in prison for the murder of her roommate. It seems like many people are satisfied with the verdict, but there is a fairly vocal group claiming that she's been wrongly accused. I guess I fall in a third group that doesn't ascribe to either view and I am still uncertain as to whether or not she did the crime because of muddy details of the interrogation/investigation, the trial, and what the verdict seems to suggest about the jury's confidence in the story of the prosecution.

Like someone I know said, with a heavy sentence of 26 years, I hope she did it.

Knox verdict leaves many questions unanswered - CNN.com

If someone finds a better news link, please post it. This one seems to sway in favor of her supporters.

 

[coachkitten]

I live in Seattle and we have had non-stop coverage of this case.

Around here (as I am sure many other parts of the country and world) storys have been done at such an angle that you find it hard to believe that she could have ever done what they have charged/convicted her of. There are many heart felt interviews with her parents and various friends/family members that make one think that she could have never done any of this. All of this has made it hard for me to think that she is guilty of anything but she very well might be.

I do feel like she didn't seem to get a fair trial and that the evidence was a bit screwed up but I don't really know what is fact from fiction anymore.

I feel terrible for the girl who was killed and her family and I hope that they have peace in all of this. I just still can't help feeling badly for Amanda Knox's family as well.

 

[kabuki_KILLER]

Wow so they really locked all three suspects up for a while? Guilty until proven innocent much?

 

[LMD84]

yes this was on the uk news over the past couple of days also. it does seem slightly odd that they would sentence her for such a long period when the evidence wasn't the best. and with so many questions not answered as well.... who knows

lets hope they haven't locked an innocent person away for so long.

 

[blazeno.8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kabuki_KILLER Wow so they really locked all three suspects up for a while? Guilty until proven innocent much?

I think the logic behind this is that they might be a flight risk otherwise.

 

[Face2Mac]

From my understanding, the evidence was just not there. They portrayed her as an American whore having a vacation until she murdered someone and then was to fly back home after she had her fling witht he Italian boy.

I think the jurors and judge were coerced into this verdict because they public was against her and they didn't want to be blamed for setting her free.

 

[Meisje]

Side rant, related to something coachkitten said:

I am seriously tired of news agencies slanting their reports. I want to hear facts, not bias.

For example, a politician in a car and a bike messenger had a confrontation here in Toronto --- the bike messenger ended up dead. Before the investigation could even scratch the surface, there were tonnes of stories running here about the BIG BAD RICH POLITICIAN and the POOR WRONGED FAMILY MAN BIKE MESSENGER and the slant was grotesque. For example, the politician was also a family man! But his wife and kids were never mentioned. As the investigation went on, it was shown that the bike messenger had noted rage problems, was intoxicated during the incident, and had been detained by the cops earlier in the evening for a domestic dispute. But by then the politician had already been tried and hung in the court of public opinion, based on the initial bias in reporting.

It's fine if something is marked as an opinion piece but I find that nowadays, even the most reputable papers are allowing an insane amount of opinion color in their reporting.

 

[blazeno.8]

I think the interesting part is how the whole satanic sex game meme pops up in more than one of the prosecutor's trials. He kind of makes it sound like there are a bunch of roving drug starved satanists looking for the perfect place to commit the perfect crime. No wonder he's under investigation.

I think there might have been 3 groups of people in the jury, possibly 4.
1) Those who thought she was innocent and did not want to give her life in prison
2) Those who thought she was guilty but felt they didn't have enough evidence to sentence her to the full extent the prosecution wanted.
3) Those who though she was guilty and were totally convinced by what was presented by the prosecution and wanted to give her the maximum penalty.
4) Those who really weren't sure of either, but just kind of went along with one of the others for what ever reason.

It seems like her compromised sentence term could have been the result of some mix like that, especially between 1, 2, and 3.

 

[Almond_Eyed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meisje Side rant, related to something coachkitten said: I am seriously tired of news agencies slanting their reports. I want to hear facts, not bias. For example, a politician in a car and a bike messenger had a confrontation here in Toronto --- the bike messenger ended up dead. Before the investigation could even scratch the surface, there were tonnes of stories running here about the BIG BAD RICH POLITICIAN and the POOR WRONGED FAMILY MAN BIKE MESSENGER and the slant was grotesque. For example, the politician was also a family man! But his wife and kids were never mentioned. As the investigation went on, it was shown that the bike messenger had noted rage problems, was intoxicated during the incident, and had been detained by the cops earlier in the evening for a domestic dispute. But by then the politician had already been tried and hung in the court of public opinion, based on the initial bias in reporting. It's fine if something is marked as an opinion piece but I find that nowadays, even the most reputable papers are allowing an insane amount of opinion color in their reporting.

Objectivity in the media is an illusion, look up Noam Chomsky's "Propaganda Model", or look at media conglomeration and ownership. How many media outlets are owned by the same company? You're looking at Time Warner, General Electric, and Canwest in Canada, that own the majority of media outlets in North America. The media have close ties to politics, and sure they criticize some politicians, but they're never going to really compromise those connections. Never believe what you hear or read, be critical and skeptical.

With regards to the actual case... there were some really nasty allegations against Ms.Knox. Whether she's guilty or innocent, I really don't believe in the justice system at all. It's a broken system, the more I hear about it from real people (not the media), the more I realize how ridiculous it really is. It's an overly bureaucratic and administrative process...

 

[blazeno.8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Almond_Eyed With regards to the actual case... there were some really nasty allegations against Ms.Knox. Whether she's guilty or innocent, I really don't believe in the justice system at all. It's a broken system, the more I hear about it from real people (not the media), the more I realize how ridiculous it really is. It's an overly bureaucratic and administrative process...

When you say "the justice system", are you talking about the Italian justice system or just the general concept of a justice system? I've had at least one Italian friend say that even though she loves the country and grew up there, she probably wouldn't return because the country is so messed up. But I'm sure there are Americans abroad and Britons abroad who would say similar things of their countries of origin.

 

[PMBG83]

Im with blazeno, Im just not sure. I do often wondered why or how she was composed enough to get a few kisses from her b/f while theres a dead body in her apartment and a police homicide investigation was going on some feet away from her. Me on the other hand I wouldve have either been shocked stiff or almost continually throwing up.

 

[MaskedBeauty]

PMBG83.. I agree with you about not knowing how she stayed composed. I also would have been shocked or throwing up. lol. I haven't really followed the case that much at all. I remember hearing about it when it first happened. And I've seen a few clips of the questioning and trials. It just seems to me that she was all too calm throughout all of it. Like if I was on trial for murdering someone when I didn't, I would break down. I wouldn't know what to do since I was innocent ya know? And as far as the family making her seem like she would never do that.. there are soooo many families who think that of their kids or family members but yet there are so many who did kill. Appearances can be deceiving though i guess. I'm not sure if she did it. but it did take awhile for them to send people to prison.

 

[MaskedBeauty]

Forgot to add.. also I don't know about in italy but in CA if you were sentenced to a prison time and you think you're innocent you can request an appeal hearing to appeal your case and try to prove your innocence.

 

[blazeno.8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaskedBeauty Forgot to add.. also I don't know about in italy but in CA if you were sentenced to a prison time and you think you're innocent you can request an appeal hearing to appeal your case and try to prove your innocence.

That's what she's going to do, but she has to wait a while for everything to be properly processed from this current judgment before she can appeal.

 

[PMBG83]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaskedBeauty PMBG83.. I agree with you about not knowing how she stayed composed. I also would have been shocked or throwing up. lol. I haven't really followed the case that much at all. I remember hearing about it when it first happened. And I've seen a few clips of the questioning and trials. It just seems to me that she was all too calm throughout all of it. Like if I was on trial for murdering someone when I didn't, I would break down. I wouldn't know what to do since I was innocent ya know? And as far as the family making her seem like she would never do that.. there are soooo many families who think that of their kids or family members but yet there are so many who did kill. Appearances can be deceiving though i guess. I'm not sure if she did it. but it did take awhile for them to send people to prison.

Yep I agree. I wouldnt been kissing and forget buying some sexy underware....my whole thing wouldve been hey im gonna try an get back in touch with someone back home, scrabbling for this and that, sexual contact with the guy wouldve been then LAST thing I wouldve been thinking about or doing. Thats just me though.

 

[blazeno.8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PMBG83 Yep I agree. I wouldnt been kissing and forget buying some sexy underware....my whole thing wouldve been hey im gonna try an get back in touch with someone back home, scrabbling for this and that, sexual contact with the guy wouldve been then LAST thing I wouldve been thinking about or doing. Thats just me though.

Well if the house was a crime scene, who knows if she had time to even get enough clothes and underwear before it was closed off (maybe even the other people who used to live there had to do the same thing but it just wasn't reported?). Who's to say that it was sexy underwear and not just replacements? I know that I can go several days wearing the same outer clothes, but same underwear? No thanks.

Even then, she was still dating Rafeli at the time, so kissing him and going to him for comfort is understandable.

As far as composure, we all react to stress differently and it's hard to properly read one way or the other. Without a professional psychiatrist to do an analysis, it's really hard to say what is going on, and even then, psychiatry in practice is more like an art than a hard science.

 

[PMBG83]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blazeno.8 Well if the house was a crime scene, who knows if she had time to even get enough clothes and underwear before it was closed off (maybe even the other people who used to live there had to do the same thing but it just wasn't reported?). Who's to say that it was sexy underwear and not just replacements? I know that I can go several days wearing the same outer clothes, but same underwear? No thanks. Even then, she was still dating Rafeli at the time, so kissing him and going to him for comfort is understandable. As far as composure, we all react to stress differently and it's hard to properly read one way or the other. Without a professional psychiatrist to do an analysis, it's really hard to say what is going on, and even then, psychiatry in practice is more like an art than a hard science.

Oh no true, just referring to what the lil clerk said about them saying they were going to get freaky or whatever that night and buying lingerie( he made it sound like it was sexy lingerie not just replacements). Yeah Id be having to look for a different change of underware too, just for a whole differnet reason though

. True reactions are different and maybe I wouldve gotten a hug but puckering up for a kiss would have been out of place for me.