Amanda Knox is she guilty?
I have paid close attention to this case after learning about it on 48 hours mystery early part of this year. Meredith Kercher family has lost a dear daughter a sister in horrible way.
Wether or not Amanda did it and her boyfriend Raphael is sketchy here in the States. Outside of the States they have giving her a profile of guilty without evidence pining her to the crime. They way she was interrogated was horrible but is not uncommon. Yes many criminals do claim to be innocent but this court is really treating her unfairly. The evidence was compromise by the Italian police when it was left to long before being taking as evidence
. If they didn’t help kill Meredith one wonders who actually has done it. I hope if Amanda case is appeal the Italian court will pursue the real killers.
She should been allowed to have the case outside of Italy for the fact that the media has painted her as a cold hearted sex craze woman.
Her behavior at the police station was quite odd and something that still hasn’t been explain.
(CBS/AP) Updated 3:00 p.m. Eastern timeAmanda Knox sought comfort from visiting family members Saturday on her first day in prison since being convicted of murdering her British roommate.
The family of victim Meredith Kercher said the verdict brought a measure of justice. However, they said, it was not a time to celebrate.
Knox, a college student from Seattle, was tired and upset following the midnight verdict and sentence of 26 years in prison, according to family members and a lawyer who saw her.
"Amanda like the rest is extremely disappointed, upset about the decision," Knox’s mother, Edda Mellas, said after the visit to the prison just outside Perugia. "We told her that she’s gonna get out of here. It’s gonna take a little longer."
CBS News legal analyst Lisa Bloom said that the tabloid accounts of the case in Europe may have prejudiced the jurors, who in Italy are not instructed to avoid media accounts of the case before them.
"The tabloid accounts throughout Europe were consistently negative against Amanda Knox, although there were some articles that were more fair," Bloom said on CBS’ "The Early Show" Saturday. "Even worse from our American point of view, the jurors actually were able to give interviews during the trial. Two of them told press reporters that they thought Amanda Knox was guilty before all the evidence was in."
Knox and Kercher’s families came to this central Italian town for the verdict, which was announced at around midnight after 13 hours of deliberations. The court also convicted Knox’s co-defendant and former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, and gave him a 25-year jail term for the murder.
Knox and Sollecito are appealing the verdicts.
"She couldn’t sleep all night," said lawyer Luciano Ghirga, who spent an hour with Knox at her jail just outside Perugia on Saturday morning. "She’s worried for her parents, too, but she is keeping the faith needed for the next steps."
Ghirga said Knox was kept under strict surveillance. He denied reports that she had been put under suicide watch, which is the standard practice in such cases.
Kercher, 21, was Knox’s roommate while they studied in Perugia.
Kercher’s family said Saturday they were pleased with Knox’s murder conviction but said there was no sense of celebration.
The victim’s relatives made their first comments since a jury in Perugia, Italy, announced early Saturday that they had convicted Knox and sentenced her to 26 years in prison for the 2007 murder.
"Ultimately we are pleased with the decision, pleased that we’ve got a decision, but it’s not a time for celebration," Lyle Kercher, the victim’s brother, said.
Kercher’s sister, Stephanie, said the verdict "does bring a little bit of justice, for us and for her." But she added: "Life will never be the same without Mez."
Kercher, 21, was Knox’s roommate while they studied in Perugia.
Her body was found in a pool of blood with her throat slit on Nov. 2, 2007, at the apartment they shared. Prosecutors said the Leeds University student was murdered the previous night.
After a year-long trial and some 13 hours of deliberations, the jury read out the verdict in a packed courtroom shortly after midnight.
Just before the verdict, Knox and her family had managed to exchange glances, but no words.
"Tears were already coming down her eyes," said her sister, Deana Knox, outside the courtroom. "She was already scared. And I didn’t get to see her face after that."
The presiding judge read out the verdict in somber tones, never looking up at the accused or their families gathered in the courtroom," reported CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey.
The sentence handed down was less than the maximum demanded by the prosecution, but no less stunning to their families.
Knox could be heard sobbing and saying, "No, no," as she was led away.
Knox and Sollecito were also ordered to pay nearly $7.5 million compensation to the Kerchers.
Minutes later, the 22-year-old from Seattle was put in a police van with sirens blaring and driven back to her jail just outside Perugia.
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