Italian judges deal appeals blow to Kercher killers (From Croydon Guardian)
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Italian judges deal appeals blow to Kercher killers
6:00am Friday 12th March 2010 in
The student lovers who murdered Meredith Kercher have suffered a blow to their appeals, after Italian judges announced there were no holes or inconsistencies in the original evidence.
Amanda Knox and Rafaelle Sollecito were found guilty in December of killing Miss Kercher, who was sharing a house with Knox at the time while on a year abroad in Perugia, Italy.
The case judges have published a 427-page opinion document explaining their reasons for convicting the pair, which calls the death a result of “purely random circumstances”.
It explains Knox and Sollecito staged a fake break-in to make it look like Miss Kercher was killed by an intruder, adding the murder was committed “without planning, without any animosity or grudge against the victim”.
The prosecution originally claimed the 21-year-old student died during a sex party which went wrong, before suggesting she had fallen out with Knox over the latter’s hygiene habits and interest in men.
The judges added Miss Kercher’s killers showed “a sort of regret for what they had done” by covering her body after the murder.
Knox was jailed for 26 years and Sollecito for 25 years for the killing, while small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede was imprisoned for 30 years for his part in the murder during an earlier hearing.
The 22-year-old’s cell mate, child killer Mario Alessi, has claimed Knox and Sollecito did not murder Miss Kercher after Guede allegedly confessed to him the real killer is on the run.
Alessi is believed to have told Sollecito’s legal team Guede was in the house with Miss Kercher and another man on the night of the murder, who has so far eluded the investigation.
He claims Guede told him Meredith had refused sex, and he found her bleeding from a stab wound after a trip to the toilet.
Guede’s lawyer Valter Biscotti said the claims were “all new” to him despite representing his client for more than two years.
He said: “[Guede] has always told me everything so I find it strange that he would say something like this to another prisoner and not to me.”
Comments(4)
John Winters
says...
9:43pm Mon 15 Mar 10
''I only hope that some day that they get the peace and closure that they deserve.''
Unwound, I have been following this case since its inception, and I can categorically state that I have never read a post which wants anything but peace and closure for the Kerchers, who have everybody's deepest sympathy as they cope with a terrible loss like this.
However, those whose sympathy for the Kerchers finds its expression in wildly accusing the first people who come to hand, in this case Amanda and Raffaele, of Meredith's murder because they are desperate to crucify someone for it, are now in danger of destroying two more innocent lives in their frustration. Is this just?
Theberton
says...
1:31pm Tue 16 Mar 10
By all accounts, a 427 page tome explaining the reason for conviction, the satisfaction of the American Consulate of the trial, and a remark from Ms. Knox herself stated that she believed she received a fair trial.
They pair are granted an appeal; Should there be new evidence or a change in alibi, they have their opportunity; But I don't see this as reason to deride a country and its justice system which is what many bloggers, particularly North American, have done.
John Winters
says...
5:12pm Wed 17 Mar 10
it was only he who the police were interested in initially. Because she was doing stretching exercises in the police station waiting room while waiting for him, the police approached and started questioning her about her movements on Nov 1st. Because they did not like the way she spoke to them, she was taken for interrogation which escalated into being cast as a suspect and ultimately accused of murder, convicted and imprisoned. If she hadn't been doing the stretching exercises, she would be free today. If that's not a wild form of accusation, I don't know what is.
Amanda did not say that she thought she received a fair trial. This was a mistranslation (one of many).
The chief prosecutor in the case (and in Italy therefore, the man who led and orchestrated the entire prosecution drive), is a religious zealot who got advice about the case and how the killing took place from a dead priest who he communicates with through an intermediary. Subsequent to Amanda's imprisonment, he has been found guilty and given a 16 month suspended sentence for bugging and recording the private telephone conversations of Giuseppe Di Donno, the Chief of Police in Florence. Because of the way the Italian justice system works, he is still practising today.
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unwound says...
12:03am Sat 13 Mar 10
I only hope that some day that they get the peace and closure that they deserve. I can't imagine that there beloved daughter and sister's death will be something that they will ever get over. Please have strength and courage for the upcoming appeals process. I wish that I could do something for all of you and Meredith's friends. All I can really offer is my support, best wishes and sincere condolences for what has happened. I'm from Seattle, WA. We're not all misguided and strange over here.