The wind has changed direction in the Amanda Knox case. That old expression always holds true- Things change. Particularly over time and when people step back and see the forrest and not the trees; When passions cool and one begins to view things objectively, Or as simply as I can put it in reference to Amanda Knox- that was then and this is now. Everything has changed- and for the better.
Only a year ago with all those nasty false headlines claiming Amanda Knox was an 'out of control psycho' and many people thought Amanda was doomed because of all the negative hype. Yet- things change. With time and reason people eventually come around to a valid cause. And Amanda is more than a valid cause- to some people she is a hero- a reluctant hero. All Amanda wants is to go home to Seattle a free person and cleared of this murder charge. Still many people- even her close supporters were not optimistic about Amanda being freed on appeal. Or to state it better, they were cautiously optimistic. That of course is completely understandable. It seemed a nightmare where reality did not hold- or as some people would put it- 'the court in Perugia is blind' and they will never let her go- or Italy is corrupted and Amanda is doomed- Things change- Now there are many reasons to hope that Amanda will win on her first appeal.
It's an amazing thing to see- this complete turnaround. The case did not go away over time- it got bigger. Many people who thought Amanda guilty now have second thoughts. Positive books have been written about her including one by PM Rocco Girlanda- a politician in Italy who has stated he believes Amanda is innocent of the murder. People coming forward such as ex FBI agent Steve Moore stating his opinion that Amanda is completely innocent based on his research. And more and more people are becoming aware of the case and are concerned about Amanda. Also there is one huge plus, as I see it, the judges being switched from a civil judge with little experience in criminal cases to the new judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann- a man who is a defender of justice and is not afraid to overturn a high profile wrongful conviction such as Amanda's, and has done so in the past. Also the great many experts in the field of criminal investigation and forensics have stated there is nothing against Amanda to prove her guilt- with some saying outright that it is impossible for Amanda to have committed this crime. Even in the UK the Guardian in the last couple days has written an article questioning Amanda's conviction- It's all coming around to where it should be, But then there is Amanda and her family-
Even though Amanda is aware of the change in public opinion, she is not at peace. She has trouble sleeping and is very worried about the outcome of her appeal. She wants her life back so badly she is afraid to hope. She keeps this to herself and suffers privately yet puts on a brave face for others. She does not want her family to worry though I think they are very aware of what is going on. Imagine- a guilty person learns to resign themselves to their lot- they deserve all the days in prison they get and they know it. Yet for an innocent person in prison, it is a nightmare magnified. A surreal experience where nothing makes much sense and life seems lost- so sometimes perhaps it is better not to hope at all.
So to all the supporters of Amanda Knox, and to all of those who sympathize with her plight. To all of the members of her family Curt, Edda, Chris and Deanna and all the other members of her family- Let's look for a win and get it the hell over with- so you can all finally relax on this and Amanda will be free, and that is as it should be. It's easy to doubt, particularly since so much has gone wrong, but remember what it says in the Bible "learn to read the signs of the times". The wind on this has changed course- so let's dare to hope. I'm not an optimist by nature and like everyone else I have my doubts, but I do know one thing for certain- Things change.
18 comments:
To Harry Rag- Sorry Harry I could not publish your comment. I have to rules for comments on this site and they are that the comment be civil and misinformation is not stated as fact. While your comment was civil it was so full of misinformation stated as fact with the possible intention of misleading people. First off the Massei report is ridiculous and will be dealt with at the Knox appeal. 2nd of all, there was not an a large amount of Raff's dna on the bra clasp. There is no proof of a staged break-in, and Amanda and Raff's alibi has always been the same- both were at Raff's house all night.
Now Harry, you are well known on the internet for spreading misinformation. I'm not sure why you do it, but you won't do it here. I have no problem with a difference of opinion or if a person wants to present something that is not in Amanda's favor provided it is not misinformation. Amanda was convicted due to lies, misinformation leaked by Mignini, and wild stories in the media, but it will be the truth that sets her free.
I think you are making your site less valuable in support of Amanda, because you are only allowing posts that support your own views. I am undecided - there are still questions to be answered. Their alibi ( Raff / Amanda)changed (you said it didn't) - he said he 'couldn't remember if she was with him at her house initially. To me that sounds immediately as if he saw an opportunity to 'pin it solely on Amanda to get himself off the hook. He (Raff) also claimed to be using his computer on the internet on the night in quetion - however his internet service provider said this was not the case. We all know that any visit on the net is traceable - and lets face it, he would hardly have been trying to hide his tracks on the internet is indeed he was going to use it for an alibi. so he also found the need to fabricate an alibi. It is also very bizzare to report a burgalary, but to have missed the very obvious blood on the floor. At the trial, it was claimed Amanda even took a shower in a blood stained bathroom. She also changed her story on questioning and then said it was because she was hit around the head. Sorry, but let us be real here, if I was hit around the head and questioned for 53 hours I am sure I would be emotionally exhausted, but knowing that I was in a very serious situation I wouldn't then start fabricating a story if indeed I had nothing to hide. The truth would be the simple answer - unless of course she felt that telling the truth would implicate her. If you understand the psycology of lying, you know that this is when people start to trip themselves up as it is much more difficult to relate a fabricated story as the facts aren't real, you tend to change it a little each time you tell it.
I am not saying I think she is guilty of the actual murder, but I do beleive that we have not heard the whole story by a long way. Your posts sound as if you are intelligent - but as an intelligent person I don't understand that there is so little quetion in your mind as to the unheard aspects of the case = perhaps your relationship with Amamnda is personal and this of course is in it's self blinding to the truth. I hope that her appeal is successful if indeed she is innocent. If I could give her advice I would say, just tell the real truth - all of it. I think she probably pannicked and made little bits up because she thought it sounded better than the truth and then tripped herself up - which in turn made her look guilty.
Personally, I wish that medical science had come up with an infallible truth serum that could be given to all involved. It would cut out the sufferng of the innocent, bring the guilty swiftly to justice and uncover any unjust treatment by the police etc ( as well as negating the need for lengthy expensive trials and lining the pockets of fat cat lawyers).
Is the you Harry? Well first off I do allow different views on this forum except misinformation.
Now to answer your questions
Amanda did notice a few drops of blood in the bathroom and yes she did shower in that bathroom- so what? She was thinking that one of the girls might be on their period. Now I have seen photos of the bathroom that was leaked by Mignini to the press that shows a bathroom where it looked like it was bathed in blood but that is not blood it is the solution the police used for testing. The really is there was only a couple drops of blood, and she wasn't thinking the worst about it.
Now the computer business is one of the appeals prime targets. The computers as you should know- the hard-drives anyway- were destroyed by the police expert- some expert. All 3 hard-drives- I wonder why, don't you? My guess is they didn't like what they saw with probable proof the Raff was on the computer when he said he was. You of course can think what you like.
Now as to the alibis- all you have to do on that one is use your imagination of what probably happened in that room at the police station. I believe the police terrorized the both of them. The first thing they both said is they were together at Raff's house. And they say the same thing now. The only difference is what the police say they said in that room- and I would not take their word for it. I think they were both scared after the police got rough and told them anything they thought the police wanted to hear. A lot of innocent people would do the same thing one the police start getting nasty and after you are dead tired. I find that perfectly understandable as a great many other people do. As Amanda said later of that night- she had never been that scared in her life. Simply put- what happen in that police station you only have the cops word for it- and I wouldn't take that to the bank.
These are really pretty small things. Don't you have a problem with the murder room? You know, like how does one commit a violent crime involving a large amount of blood with physical violence going on and yet there is no evidence of Amanda being in that room. No DNA- nothing. Most forensic experts agree that it is impossible not to leave any trace of yourself in a violent encounter like that. Now if she was killing that girl in a space-suit, now thats different- I'll buy that. And please- nothing about a 'clean-up'. The clean up was a myth that no one buys anymore- Even Mignini didn't try that one in court. Like with the phony bleach receipts.
And to top it off there was no motive. The knife is not the murder weapon because it doesn't match the wounds as was stated in court= and the fantasy 2nd knife is just that- fantasy with no proof.
And there was no motive- no motive - and no motive. That girl is going to walk and the truth will prevail- Now, can you live with that?
It is perfectly reasonable to insist that nothing is presented as fact which is not fact: it is a pity that you do not seem to apply those same standards to your own comments, however.
The pair did indeed change their alibis and the computer record does indeed dispute RS's claim he was on it all night, despite what you say.
There is a great deal to suggest there was no burglary, despite what you say.
The fact is that all of these points have been gone over again and again on the net: and the case will be decided on the merits at the appeal (and subsequent appeal if that is required)
I am content to accept the verdict of the court whatever it may eventually turn out to be. That is what I usually do in criminal cases: and where there are miscarriages of justice (as there undoubtedly are)I hope that those who campaign to expose them do so seriously and responsibly since that seems to me to be the most effective method.
I accept that you find many things perfectly understandable that some of us reject as implausible: those are opinions and we will agree to differ. But what you find understandable does not establish the truth any more than what I find implausible does: that is determined very differently
Misinformation? The fact that you are not allowing people to post things that are stated in a court report by judges who presided over the trial is pretty mind-boggling. It's not like Harry Rag or anyone else made it up out of thin air, whether you agree with the sentencing or not, you should allow people to discuss things in the court record and testified to in court. I would think you would want an opportunity to respond and show why they are wrong, instead of just muzzling someone who disagrees.
Hello Fiona- well everyone has an opinion I guess, particularly where Amanda Knox is concerned. And as to facts- there are not an abundant amount of those in the entire casse. Therefore one has to use common sense. There has been way too much wild speculation and a ton of misinformation in this case- that is the kind of thing that got her convicted. Personally I am unconcerned with what goes on with the other sites particularly sites run by Amanda haters. This forum as you must have noticed is a pro Amanda site, but that does not mean I won't publish a post that is not to my liking. But- as I have seen for years now- people against Amanda using sites to spread misinformation and confuse the hell out of anyone trying to get a fair grip on this case. This is not going to happen here. I will not tolerate people planting misinformation with the intent to mislead people. But I am happy to hear that you will except the verdict whatever it turns out to be. Well you are more liberal than I am honey because I will only accept and innocent verdict. And the truth will set you free. By the way, have you read my post on "Why Some People Hate Amanda Knox & Her Supporters? Just hit the home button, that will put it up. Thanks for your input.
To Anonymous above- people are posting things I don't agree with- but as I said before there is a limit on what I will allow such as just hate remarks or misinformation with the intent to mislead. If you want to bring the Massei report up- go ahead- ONE POINT AT A TIME. Don't just cut and paste a bunch of nonsense like it's the gospel. I can trash the Massei report all day long- no problem there. In fact it is the Massei report that is probably going to get Amanda out of jail. One point at at a time or else it doesn't get published ok?
Saint_Michael1,
Your rules are fair.
H Michael,
I'm the first anonymous in this thread. And no I'm not Harry! I am actually female and live in France and have followed the case - although I am not as knowledgeable as you are about it. You have accused Harry of spreading mis-information and that may well be the case - but I didn't - my post was just my personal views and musings - and not stated as fact. I just wanted to reply that because I am undecided, doesn't mean I hate Amanda and I am sure that many other people - even those who feel she may be guilty do not hate her either. In fact my feelings toward her are pretty neutral - afterall, I don't know her. I don't mean this in a callous way either, I do feel for her stuck in a foreign jail at her age, and as a parent myself, I cannot imagine the trauma that her parents are going through - irrespective of whether she is innoncent or guilty - she is still their child.
In response to your comments about the lack of forensic evidence in the room - I agree - it would be virtually impossible to leave no trace forensically and Amanda's parents are certainly pushing this very hard in the recent interviews.However, I also think that you cannot say that because there is no forensic eveidence we can discount all other other unanswered questions - prove she did it forensically or let her go. There is more to criminal investigation than just forensics and I think her parents contant focus on just the forensics sound like - you can't prove she was there so you have to let her go on lack of evidence. This is not the same as saying she is innocent - set her free. (I will have to continue my diatribe in another post as I will be over my character count . . . .
diatribe continued . . . (please note I am using 'diatribe' in the archaic meaning of a prolonged discussion or discourse - not in the sense of an attack) However, I still beleive that the circumstances that I spoke of above in my first post( the fabrication or not of an alibi etc ) make me personaly feel that she knows more than she is saying. I am not saying I think she held the murder weapon, but I am saying that I feel more went on here than we know about. I also don't buy the whole cartwheel / yoga exercise thing. If my best friend had just been murdered, I would have been distraught. People in shock and grief tend to huddle, crouch, curl up etc or become listless. I do not mean that because Amanda turned a cartwheel, she is guilty either. In fact did she turn a cartwheel? I don't think that any of us can say she did or didn't. She says she didn't and that she was doing the splits - but then why would the police change this to cartwheel? Does cartwheel make her look more guilty than doing the splits? Are we speculating that the police tried to 'set her up' by saying she did a cartwheel? If so - surely they could have come up with something more incriminating. If she did do one I think it shows that she was at that time somehow very detached from what had happened. Whether this was canabis induced I don't know - but it is a fact that canabis can make you emotionally detached.
The fact that there is still speculation on whether she cartwheeled or not merits further investigation.
Also your point about the blood on the bathroom floor and Amanda saying she assumed it was 'someone on their period' - It kind of makes me want to say aw c'mon - how many women do you know that walk around dripping - and if you did, you would clear up - not leave it for your flat mates to find. I ask the question to any man reading this, married / have a girl friend or women with female flat mates - Does your female friend leave blood around the house when she's on her period? All women are pretty discreet about this.
Anyway, as you know far more about this than me, perhaps you could point me in the right direction of some reliable unbiased reports I could read up on about the following part of the case history that I am unclear about: If Amanda came back to the cottage (she testifies at 10.30am after a being at Raffs house, she must have been immediately suspicious that something had happened ( traces of blood / broken window, disturbance of Philomenas room etc. Why did she not call the police immediately rather than showering and then returning to Raffs house to tell him she was worried. It is then reported they returned to the cottage together and called the police ( calls recorded at 12.51 and 12.54). which appears to be after the postal police arrived - shown on security camera at 12.35? Why then? Also, where is the evidence or the real truth of where they were really found - postal police report they were on the doorstep with bucket and mop - other sources say that they were embracing in Amanda's room? And what is Amandas response to the accusation that both her and Raffs DNA was found on the cut off section of Merdiths bra strap that was found under her pillow?
Michael - I just want to repeat that I am not an 'Amanda hater' but I find it intriguing that so many people clearly think she is innocent without any clear evidence to prove she is, as much as it is intriguing that she has been covicted of a murder - which also does not seem to be fully substantiated. I would be grateful for any unbiased direction you can give me to further research these points of the case.
Ann in France
Hello Anonymous (Ann in France). In the future please put instead that you are Ann in France rather than Anonymous- There are way too many people from PMF using anonymous and by stating you are Ann I will know who is who.
You bring up some good points and have a great many questions- no problem there. However you have also seemed to have picked up some bad information possibly from an anti-Amanda site. I will start out by correcting you on the this.
Not sure where you picked this up but Amanda's DNA was not found on Meredith's bra strap. There was a small amount of Raff's DNA found on the strap and also the DNA of other unidentified persons- but Amanda's DNA was not found anywhere in Meredith's room- and the bra strap was found in Meredith's room. This is a fact not an opinion. If Amanda's DNA had been found on the bra-strap you can take it to the bank that the prosecutor Mignini would have certainly made an issue of that in court- Again there was never any of Amanda's DNA found on Meredith's bra strap. Anyone was says it was is a liar plain and simple. This is simply a matter of fact- if you check the official evidence of the prosecution and court you will not find anything about Amanda's DNA on the bra strap- It's a myth, scrap-it. No doubt this misinformation comes from some anti-Amanda site for shame.
Now about the drops of blood on the floor- we are talking about a couple drops- not a trail of blood- and Amanda has stated that she did find that odd because all the girls in the house were very clean. However she did not clean it up, and I do not find that strange as most women are not going to clean up another woman's blood from her period- I would assume. And this is just one tiny thing that points to Amanda's innocence. If she had killed Meredith or been involved- that would be the first thing to be cleaned up- So much for the clean-up myth.
As for the cartwheel- oh geez the cartwheel. Have you read my post on the Interview with Mazinni (not his real name)- I have a little fun with the cartwheel on that one. Just hit the home button and scroll down. First off, Amanda does yoga- she is also a little spaced at times and will do things that do not seem cool at the moment when she is stressed such as start to do stretching exercises as you are talking to her- that is just Amanda and most people who know her just pass it off. Whether it was a regular cartwheel or some kind of stretching exercise I really don't know- I wasn't there. Yet most people try to make a big deal out it as if it was she was so happy Meredith was dead- that is just plain ridiculous. People are different- they respond to things in different ways and Amanda has always tried to avoid unpleasantness by trying to shake it off- whether that is cool or not is beside the point.
Also Meredith and Amanda were not best friends- they were on friendly terms but had not known each other long. Meredith hung out with her British friends in Perugia but would also do things with Amanda like draw fake tattoos on Amanda and go to a concert together or things like go to the chocolate festival together. They were friends but they were not each other's best friend. I personally chalk up Amanda's behavior after Meredith's death not as a sign she didn't care, but rather a tactic of avoidance or trying to block out reality. Amanda has a history of doing strange things when something bad happens- not the coolest trait in the world but people deal with things in different ways. Like you I will continue this in a second in another comment. Well you had a lot of questions.
Continued- I will caution you to not buy any one piece of information from any one site. For instance, some sites post bad information with the intent to mislead people not familiar with the case- this is pitiful of course but it is a reality. When checking out a fact- keep in mind what kind of site it is and keep checking from a variety of resources- preferably from official records if available.
Now to continue answering your questions-You had mentioned the security camera time- The time on the camera was not accurate. This is a known fact and Mignini knew this. There are two groups- one says it was fast and the other slow but all agree it was not on the button- the time on the clock was not correct so do not go by that.
Now, Amanda and Raff were not 'caught' in the act of a clean-up with a mop and bucket, nor were they necking in Amanda's room when the cops arrived. They were waiting for the police to arrive outside the house.
When Amanda got to the house that day she did not notice everything at once- For instance, she did not see the broken window and then take a shower. She saw some things that bothered her and that is why she brought Raff back to the house with her, and then going through the house together they noticed other things. She did not call the police because at that point in time her Italian was not good so she had Raff call, who of course spoke the language.
It is important for you to understand that in Italy things are done that would not be tolerated in most other countries. In Italy the prosecutor runs the investigation and tells the police what to find unlike the US. The prosecutor's office leaked misinformation to the press to make Amanda look guilty and much of what was leaked turned out to be false information such as inaccurate quotes from her diaries, phony bleach receipts, etc...
Now to quote you "I find it interesting that many people think she is clearly innocent when the is no clear evidence to prove it.." First off, it is the clear lack of evidence against Amanda why we think she is innocent. The fact the deck was stacked against her with the prosecutor making up stories and giving false information to the press to try and make her look bad in the media- and it worked didn't it? There is no motive for the crime. There is 0 evidence to suggest Amanda is a violent person. There is O evidence of her having been in the room where Meredith was murder- No DNA- nothing. The so-called murder weapon is not the murder weapon- that knife does not match the wounds on Meredith as was stated in court and there was no blood found on that knife as was admitted- it was simply a kitchen knife found in Raff's house with the rest of the silverware. The correct time of death for Meredith is between 9:00pm to 9:30pm based on stomach content digestion NOT 11pm as the court thought and Raff was proven to have been on the internet at 9:26pm proving he was home when Meredith was killed.
The question should not be why we think she is innocent the real question here is why was she found guilty. But I already know the answer to that one- Thanks to the lies, the misinformation, preconcieved guilt before the trial even started. The deck was stacked against her- she never had a chance.
You can start to understand this case better by reading the posts on this site and also the separate pages- found at the top right of the home page including the Motivation report In Focus.
Thanks for commenting- hoped this helped a bit.
Don't worry too much about the foul-mouthed imbeciles who flock here from the vile PMF cult. They are only following the deluded instructions of their 'leaders'.
Anyway, I hope justice is served once the appeals are completed and we see Amanda and Raffaele released.
P.S. I am English and I can tell you that there are several British people like me who believe in their innocence, so I would appeal to people not to tar all Britons with the same brush!
Sincere thanks,
Scorpion Nite.
Hello Scorpion Nite- Why would I be worried about the PMF followers flocking here?- They check out all the Amanda sites. It appears that those leaders that you are talking about don't want them coming to this site and have told them to avoid this site. That's perfectly understandable though. If they hang around here too long and start reading the posts some of them just might see the light.
Yes I know all the English are not against Amanda- in fact far from it. Even the British tabloids are coming around it seems. In fact there are some very strong supporters of Amanda in the UK who write to Amanda on a regular basis.
I did do a post on why some Americans hate Amanda and her supporters but that did not include the British.
Well let's hope the appeals court gets it right this time- before she falls apart. Thanks for the heads up. Thanks for commenting.
I hope these kids get to go home.
Crushing Harry Rag was a short lived hobby for a couple of months, fortunately, it is all too easy but I had other things to move on with.
As a parent, I can't imagine what Amanda and Raff's families are going through. I also don't believe that Meredith's family would want anyone incarcerated if they were innocent, they seem like good people. Yes, I am praying that the Court gets it right this time.
--B
I hope they get to go home also. It's been hell for Amanda and Raffaele and their families. It was great to see that after 3 years they finally have something to be happy about with the judge allowing the DNA re-examined. I think this court with this particular judge will be willing to set them free if reasonable doubt remains- that of course hinges on the DNA and 'park bum' testimony. It's far from over but I do like the way things are progressing. Thanks for commenting.
Great to know this blog exits. Good luck.
Thank you- Good luck to you also.
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