If you were looking for a quick solution- there are none. If you thought the U S military would break that girl out of jail- you were wrong. If you think there is a political solution- that would be a last resort- and only if enough people raised enough hell to push the U S State Department into action. So what then does it take to free Amanda Knox?
The simple answer is her Appeal which starts this November 24th, but there are a lot of question marks surrounding that. One would figure that an innocent woman would have her conviction overturned on appeal in Italy. It is reported that one third of appeals are successful in Italy. And if you are truly innocent than why wouldn't that be a sure thing in the Amanda Knox case? The simple answer is that this case is so complex and has the endorsement of so many judges who have been involved with stating Amanda is guilty. So many twists and turns and misinformation produced by the prosecution- who wants to say "we were wrong". But isn't that what the Italian appeals court is for? To judge if the original sentencing court was in error? Short answer is- yes. However, this is not an average case. This is a very high profile case that has the attention of a great many people in many countries. It is also a high pressure case with people's reputations riding on if Amanda Knox wins her appeal or not.
But- all of this should not be a factor- ideally. The main thing Amanda's appeal has to deal with is the judge's motivation report from the original sentencing court, which gives the reasons for it's guilty verdict. Anyone who has read that report should know it is not that difficult to prove it is full of errors and speculation. It is not difficult to prove that there was little to no evidence, and certainly 'reasonable doubt' is screaming to be heard. So considering all of this- What does it take to free Amanda Knox?
The answer is an appeals court that will put justice ahead of personal gain or saving face. An appeals court that will do the right thing based on the evidence and not who's reputation is at stake. An appeals court that is able to tell the truth from speculation and willing to apply the principle of justice. Then and only then will Amanda Knox go free. And what would the world then think if that happened? I think it would show that Italy is a place where justice is the prime consideration- regardless. I think the Italian justice system would come out looking like a hero. That they are big enough to overturn a wrongful conviction. That one corrupt prosecutor does not represent or influence the Italian judicial system, and by doing the right thing gain the respect and admiration of the world. No one asks that the appeals court free a guilty person, but rather, give an innocent woman back her life.
The evidence in this case demands no less than the freedom of Amanda Knox.
4 comments:
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Amen!
Great post!!!
Tell me something? In Perugia Italy is it OK for the authorities to lie in court? They did and nobody seems to have a problem with it. The media won't even discuss the documented lie in their news articles about this case. Are they afraid they might make someone mad that matters? The following from the judge's report is a documented lie:
Massei report page 256-257: “With respect to the Luminol-positive traces found in Romanelli's room, in Knox's room and in the corridor, she [Dr Stefanoni] stated that by analysing the SAL cards "we learn, in contradiction to what was presented in the technical report deposited by the Scientific Police, and also to what was said in Court, that not only was the Luminol test performed on these traces, but also the generic diagnosis for the presence of blood, using tetramethylbenzidine, and this test, gave a negative result on all the items of evidence from which it was possible to obtain a genetic profile" (page 64 hearing Sept. 26, 2009).”
Dr Stefanoni is known to have given several statements in court that have proved to be not true. Giving an opinion is one thing, but stating something as fact is quite another. No, it is not ok to lie in an Italian court but one can always get by this by saying they were simply mistaken if called into account. The appeal that is going on right now may call into question several of the prosecution witnesses including the 'park bum' who was certainly mistaken if not outright lying.
The same thing can be said for the Massei report- is the report full of lies? Or is the report simply filled with bad speculation? In either case- not cool.
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