Amanda and Raffaele: A Disappointing Setback

March 25, 2013, Rome, Italy. The Italian Supreme Court sent Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito’s case back to the appeal level for review to the disappointment of the university students who were wrongly convicted of the death of Amanda’s roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007. Amanda’s family, as you may remember, are beloved members of our community and Islanders have closely followed her ordeal in Italy. I had hoped to be telling you, my friends, the good news that the Supreme Court had agreed with the lower court and upheld the Innocence Verdict. Sadly, that is not the case. But the outpouring of sympathy from the community is both welcome and heartwarming.
 
Amanda and Raffaele remain free and presumed innocent until the Supreme Court makes its final ruling on the case; that may take years. Amanda cannot be extradited during this process and will continue with her ordinary life as this extraordinary event unfolds. If the Italian Supreme Court’s final ruling is "innocence" then the murder charge is put to rest once and for all. If it is "guilty" then Italy would have to provide the US State Department concrete proof that Amanda was involved before extradition can occur.
 
There is a 1% chance of the State Department believing a dirty old man’s creepy fantasy, sorry, I meant Prosecutorial Theory, and only if it is staffed by flesh eating zombies.
 
This case could move between the appeal and supreme level more than once to correct things as mundane as a comma or as complex as reexamination of evidence. We will know for sure what the judges want when the Motivation Report is released in June 2013, but speculation leans toward finally opening the handle of the knife and clarification of several points in the appeal motivation report.
 
The Knife and the Bra Clasp, used to tie the kids to the crime, were the only pieces of evidence examined at the appeal level and both items were dismissed as compromised by poor collection and processing procedures. The defense has long maintained that both items were contaminated at the crime scene or in the lab.
 
In a crime scene awash in DNA the Perugians, led by Giuliano Mignini, presented only a few skin cells as proof of the kid’s involvement. Then, after years of blocking defense access to certain evidentiary items or having evidence independently examined, it seems the fickle Perugians argued successfully that more evidence should be retested. How Ironic.
 
The defense lawyers, disappointed in the court’s decision, know their young clients are innocent and are resigned to deal with the judicial system in an honest and forthright manner. In official statements Amanda and Raffaele expressed their sadness:
Amanda said, "It was painful to receive the news that the Italian Supreme Court decided to send my case back for revision when the prosecution’s theory of my involvement in Meredith’s murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair. I believe that any questions as to my innocence must be examined by an objective investigation and a capable prosecution. The prosecution responsible for the many discrepancies in their work must be made to answer for them, for Raffaele’s sake, my sake, and most especially for the sake of Meredith’s family. Our hearts go out to them. No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity."
 
Raffaele commented, "I am deeply saddened by the decision handed down by the Italian Supreme Court to send my case back for revision when my involvement in Meredith’s murder has repeatedly been shown to be unfounded. My book details what Amanda and I went through and I will continue to fight for my innocence, hopeful and confident that truth will prevail. My thoughts are with Meredith’s family, Amanda and her family, and all of our friends and supporters."
 
Stephanie Kercher, Meredith’s sister said that "Whilst we are not happy about going back to court, and it will not bring her back, we have to make sure we have done all we can for her. We still have a long journey ahead and we are very grateful for the support of the public and in Italy - we just want justice for Mez. We are very hopeful that it going back to court will help find those answers and find out the truth of what happened that night."
 
Claudio Patrillo Hellmann, the Appeal judge said of the ruling, "I’m at peace with my conscience. I foresaw that the decision of the Supreme Court would be annulment with a new trial. The party of the PM’s* is very strong in the judiciary. I want to see who will assume the responsibility to condemn two innocents, or at least I challenge anybody to demonstrate that there is the proof to condemn them. However, we have to wait to read the motivations of the judges. Were there legal errors in our motivations? I don’t believe so. And so therefore the motivations were either insufficient, contradictory or illogical. Certainly there wasn’t the proof of guilt." *PM is the Public Minister’s office that Giuliano Mignini held in Perugia while he doggedly pursued Amanda and Raffaele.
 
Ironically Rudy Guede, the real killer, will be eligible for parole about the time Amanda and Raffaele’s retrial starts, sometime in 2014. Everyone, including the defendants, wants the Kercher family to have full confidence that the right person is already in prison. And that person IS Rudy Guede.
 
The Knox and Sollecito families want two things from the Italian judicial system. Fair Play and that the Kercher family knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Amanda and Raffaele never harmed Meredith. It seems Italy owes that to all three families, at the very least.
 
For more information on this case please visit my synopsis on Gather.com or a complete review at InjusticeInPerugia.org and visit Facebook’s "Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito" page to join in the conversation and show your support.
Gather.com
www.gather.com/viewPostsByMember.action?memberId=1073628
InjusticeInPerugia.org - www. injusticeinperugia.org
 
"Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito"
www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-Knox-and-Raffaele-Sollecito/106344459390034