gma.yahoo.com/amanda-knox-is-innocent.html
Amanda Knox was cleared of murder charges today by an Italian appeals court, ending her four-year prison ordeal and clearing the way for the American student to return home to Seattle. The tension of the moment was so acute and full of dread for Knox that she looked pale and physically ill when she was brought into the courtroom for the verdict. A female member of her legal team knelt next to Knox to comfort her. When the judge cracked the tension by announcing her acquittal, Knox nearly collapsed. She was rushed out of the courtroom, barely able to walk, stumbling while being hauled along by court officers. The former exchange student was crying and doubled over, her head occasionally coming up for big breaths of air. Left behind in the courtroom was the family of Meredith Kercher, Knox's British roommate who she was accused of killing. Kercher's mother, Arline Kercher, sat stoicly long after the elated Knox family hugged each other fiercely and streamed out into the street. In the street, the family was greeted with cheers and boos with some shouting "disgrace." Knox's younger sister Deanna talked to the press from the steps of the courthouse, saying, "We are thankful that our nightmare is over. She has suffered for four years for a crime she did not commit." Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in December 2009 of killing Kercher in a 2007 attack that left the British exchange student partially nude and bleeding to death from a slashed throat. Knox, 24, and Sollecito, 27, have spent the last four years in an Italian prison and faced the prospect of a life sentence depending on today's appeals court ruling. The jury did find Knox guilty of slandering bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a bar owner in Perugia who once hire Knox. Knox implicated Lumumba in the murder after nearly 50 hours of interrogation by police. Knox's lawyers argued that Knox mentioned Lumumba because police essentially put those words in her mouth, insisting that he was involved because her cell phone had a message to Lumumba the night of the murder that said in Italian, "See you later." The maximum sentence for slander is three years in prison, but Knox has already served four years. Knox's family has been a constant presence at the nearly year-long hearings, but Kercher's family has stayed away before arriving today to hear the verdict. The court's six jurors and two judges deliberated for hours after listening in the morning to impassioned pleas by Knox and Sollecito to throw out the guilty verdict and set them free. Knox struggled through tears and, at times, a shaking voice, as she addressed the court in Italian. I don't want my future taken away from me for something I didn't do because I am innocent," she said. Seated in the courtroom, Knox's mother Edda Mellas and her younger sister Deanna cried. Knox's statement combined sweet memories of her brief time with Sollecito before the murder and what she insisted was her friendship with Kercher. "I made myself available up to the point of total exhaustion...
The Amanda Knox Case Over the Years "I didn't do what they say I did. She dismissed prosecution claims that her relationship with Kercher had become strained and angry.
The Amanda Knox Saga In encouraging the six jurors and two judges to set her free, Knox said, "I am not escaping truth. Sollecito told the court that he couldn't express how terrible the past four years have been. "At the end of the day, every single day in prison is like death," he said. Sollecito looked back at the moment just before he had been arrested when he met Knox. He was about to defend his college thesis and had met this "beautiful vivacious girl, and so sweet." Sollecito pointed to a rubber bracelet he was wearing with the inscription, "Free Amanda and Raffaele" that was given to him. "I think it's time for me to take it off," he said, removing the band and hoping the court would not send him back to prison. Lawyers for the prosecution called Knox a sex obsessed "she devil" and a liar. Twice they showed the court grisly photos of Kercher's nude and bloodied body, along with close-ups of the gash in her neck.
are young, and they killed for nothing, for no reason," said prosecutor Manuela Comodi. Knox's defense countered, saying that she wasn't a "she devil," but was more like Jessica Rabbit, the voluptuous cartoon character who was tender and loving. "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way," was her trademark line. ABC News has the full story in its new video eBook, THE AMANDA KNOX STORY: A Murder in Perugia, available for sale on the iBooks, Kindle, and Nook eBook stores. Knox's lawyers told the court she had been "crucified" by the media during the investigation and trial, a reference to the often lurid coverage of the case in tabloid papers, as well as seven books and a movie. Forensics may have played a bigger role than rhetoric in the court's verdict. Much of the appeal revolved around whether the DNA on two key pieces of evidence were credible. Two court appointed experts looked at the prosecution's evidence and delivered a damning assessment that the manner in which the DNA was collected, stored and analyzed was below international standards. One involved the alleged murder weapon, a knife found in Sollecito's kitchen. Prosecutors claimed the handled contained Knox's DNA and a speck on the blade contained Kercher's DNA. But the experts said the speck was too small to make a second test to confirm the analysis and the experts concluded that DNA came from bread. The second piece of evidence was allegedly Sollecito's DNA on the bra clasp cut from Kercher's bra during the attack. The experts said it was improperly handled and likely had been contaminated. The prosecution defended their evidence and dismissed the experts' conclusion as the shoddy work of people with little experience in genuine investigations.
Kristina 6 minutes ago I'm glad Amanda Knox was acquitted. I just hope that she will be able to move on and settle with a happy, secluded life back in the States. The evidence against her was faulty from the beginning, and the media over there turned her case into a circus.
The Commish about a minute ago have any of you actually looked at the facts in this case? Amanda was prosecuted on basically no evidence but that the knife used to kill Kercher had Amanda's DNA on it..... and after 50 hours of interrogation by police speaking to her in a foreign language and guiding her into false statements. Four years in jail was enough, this had nothing to do with her being attractive.
republicrat 4 minutes ago heres a thought1) READ THE FREAKING ARTICLE, you might learn something useful, 2) STOP comparing this to casey anthony, were tired of her and there is no similarities besides they are both female mo-rons. im convinced yahoo and america is so full of idiots that it has become an epidemic.
Ron 14 minutes ago Lots of emotion but very few facts in this poorly written article. The facts they do mention make the Italian Police look like the Keystone cops after they were just released from a psychiatric ward. If correct, I got more facts in 10 seconds from poster Ashlee than I did from this article in over 30 paragraphs.
carvel 40 minutes ago Italians should be very proud that the legal system in Perugia had the courage to admit the system made a grievous mistake in convicting two innocent people. Rudy Guede should do far more than 16 years for his murdering, raping, and lying to implicate two innocent people to have his sentence shortened.
Tensai13 about a minute ago Let the bells of freedom ring! The Italian police involved in this farrago of criminal investigation and miscarriage of justice need to be prosecuted.
Agnosticator 4 minutes ago Too Late, damage to the Italian tourism and student exchange programs is done. Many people will think twice now of spending time in Italy.
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