Amanda Knox

Amanda Knox (born 1984) is an American college student serving a 26 year prison sentence in Perugia, Italy, for the murder of Meredith Kercher, an English university student who was attending the University of Perugia as an ERASMUS exchange student. She was initially found guilty of the murder, of sexual violence, and of other offences on 4 December 2009, but the lead prosecutor was convicted one month later, on 22 January 2010, of prosecutorial misconduct committed years before the Knox trial. After filing an appeal, Amanda Knox was granted a trial de novo (a new trial) planned for late 2010.

Knox attended the University of Washington, before moving to Italy in 2007 to attend language classes at the University for Foreigners. In June 2009, due to all her televised court hearings, an Italian television poll listed Knox as a bigger personality than Carla Bruni. In November 2007, was arrested as a suspect in the death of her roommate, then charged in October 2008, with slander against her former boss, and in January 2010 charged with defamation against the local Perugia police. Several investigators, such as Paul Ciolino or veteran FBI Agent Steve Moore, and several legal experts believe that those charges are unfounded. While in custody, Knox has continued to study Italian, German and other languages, with online college courses from Seattle University.

Student attending classes in Italy

Knox, when she moved to Italy, was a 20-year-old University of Washington language student from Seattle, Washington. She was in Perugia attending the University for Foreigners (known as Stranieri ) for one year, studying Italian, German and creative writing. On 20 September 2007, she moved into an upstairs apartment, on the edge of the hilltop town, with 3 other women, who were students at local institutions. She met Meredith Kercher, who had been in town a while longer and who showed Knox around town. In October 2007, Kercher accompanied Knox on a job interview, when she got hired at the Perugia pub Le Chic. On 25 October 2007, Kercher and Knox had attended a classical music concert at the university, and when Kercher left at intermission, Raffaele Sollecito first met Knox. Knox had both of Kercher's mobile phone numbers (for local and UK), and she had called her several times, such as on 31 October 2007, to discuss their Halloween costumes.

Conviction for the murder of Meredith Kercher

Main article: Murder of Meredith Kercher

Amanda Knox first became known as housemate suspected in the murder of Meredith Kercher on All Saints Day (1 November 2007). Amanda Knox was charged with the murder (and stealing her flatmate's 300 euros and 2 credit cards). Knox testified under oath that she had smoked cannabis on the night of the murder, as well as multiple other occasions. She was found guilty on 4 December 2009. In January 2010, Amanda Knox was charged with defamation against the local Perugia police officers for testifing they had beaten her. Knox's lawyers, seeking to overturn her December 2009 conviction, filed an appeal spanning more than 300 pages on 17 April 2010.

Charges of defamation

In January 2010, Amanda Knox was charged with defamation against the local Perugia police officers. On 1 June 2010, Knox appeared at a preliminary hearing about the defamation charges. During her 2009 trial, Knox had testified that Perugia police gave her "cuffs" (or small beatings), while interrogating her about Meredith Kercher's death. Knox had said that the Perugia police used the threat of physical violence to intimidate and pressure her, which led her to falsely accuse her boss, Patrick L. of involvement in Kercher's murder.

Her boss was arrested as a consequence; however, within 2 weeks, he was released, after his alibi was confirmed, that he was in his pub during the approximate time of the murder. He had sued Knox for defamation in 2009 and won the judgment.

Amanda Knox's attorneys, including Luciano Ghirga of Perugia, have challenged the involvement of the judge in the police-defamation case, because he was the same judge who had ruled how Knox and Sollecito would remain in custody in November 2007 (pending formal charges in the Kercher case). An appeals court in Perugia is expected to enter a decision on the recusal request, circa 17 June 2010. However, the next court hearing in the police-defamation case is scheduled for 1 October 2010.

Plans for the Kercher apellate trial

The 2009 Knox/Sollecito trial has been appealed, with a new trial expected in late 2010. Contending that prosecutor Giuliano Mignini and deputy prosecutor Manuela Comodi had "completely botched the case", Knox's lawyers, seeking to overturn her December-2009 conviction, filed an appeal spanning more than 300 pages on 17 April 2010. In their appeal, the defence lawyers disclosed that a new witness had been found who can prove that Knox and Sollecito were not involved in Kercher's killing. The appeal also asserts that the DNA evidence in the case was seriously flawed. The Knox defence lawyers challenge the fact that the lower court refused their request that an independent DNA expert be allowed to testify at the trial. They seek to have that additional analysis of the DNA evidence introduced during the second trial at the Court of Appeals. Alessandro Canali, an independent Italian lawyer not involved in the case commented: "The DNA is so flawed, Knox should never have been convicted."

According to one of Knox's lawyers, Luciano Ghirga of Perugia, the appeal "is a total repudiation of all points of the sentence...It includes the first days of the interrogation, the DNA evidence and the traces detected with luminol. We reiterate the innocence of Amanda and remain convinced there is no proof of her presence at the scene of the crime."

It has also emerged that the prosecution has failed to deliver to the defence all the paperwork and documentation related to the forensic testing. Chris Mellas, Knox's step-father, stated: "Our lawyers asked for everything, every file and record relating to the forensic testing. We were given some of the stuff, like what was on Meredith's shoes or a juice glass but not the full reports on the knife used or the bra-clasp." Deputy prosecutor Manuela Comodi brushed off the request for all forensic documentation and added: "They have everything they need. That is enough."

The defence lawyers have asserted that Knox, having been a suspect during the time that she was being interrogated, was denied her basic legal rights during that period and was pressured into making damaging statements. According to Anne Bremmer, attorney for the Friends of Amanda group, the appeal "attacks the sufficiency of the evidence — there was no forensic evidence to connect her to the case, not a hair, not a fibre, no DNA whatsoever." The appeal also challenges prosecutor Giuliano Mignini's constantly changing theories of motive in the case and the prosecution's "contradictory evidence."

On 9 June 2010, CBS News reported that a new witness claims his mobster brother killed Kercher in November 2007. Knox's defence attorneys visited the new witness, in Ivrea prison outside Turin (Italy), and recorded a videotaped statement, which they announced to be included in their appeal request. The witness said that his brother hid a knife and keys near the house in Perugia, and attorney Dalla Vedova noted, "What he has to say is very significant because the keys to the house were never found."

See also

• Italian Code of Criminal Procedure
• False confession
• Falsified evidence
• Police brutality