What do you think of this Amanda Knox story?
I watched her interview here . It’s moving. I’ve been following the case for years and I empathize as sometimes facts lead to conclusions which create illusion, not truth and it is here we discover the depth of trust (and fault), in ourselves and our systems.
What is justice? Truly, at what level can another human being say “this person deserves x, y or z for punishment” and call it a day? Who is satisfied? What or whom does that “justice” affect and what is its effect? Will our community be better off with someone like Amanda in jail so we are safer or are we merely seeking justice built on what we believe a victim’s life is worth because it’s socially demanded we punish those who kill?
If Amanda Knox did aid in murder, has her emotional turmoil and years already spent in prison – in the battle for her freedom – not counted as “time served in prison” if prison is defined as a place of punishment? Has her particular suffering not counted as anything at all? For the Italian court to accuse Amanda Knox of guilt after innocence, and weigh a hefty 28 year term on her is so striking I feel violated and I’m just a spectator!
Let’s face it, society places value on murders. They happen all the time. Every day. Why is the destruction of Knox’s life more important than the destruction of yesterday’s murderer? And what about tomorrow’s murderer? What is jail for? Is it a place to make another person suffer for their pain onto another or is it a holding cell to keep the rest of us safer? What factors determine when it’s both? Or is jail a place where we feel, as a society, a sense of accomplishment in that we are doing what we’re supposed to do to “bad people”? Is there hope to rehabilitate or only institutionalize?
I don’t know if Amanda is guilty or not. I do know that I find her to have suffered a good deal for the circumstances upon which she found herself. There’s a point where another human being should suffer for murder (Hitler comes to mind) and then there’s a point where another human being should be given reprieve when being played with like a pawn in a game and having clearly suffered through an aftermath of such accusation. How is 28 years more of prison time a case of justice served at this point in time?
Amanda Knox presents herself very authentically. Maybe she is faking it but to imprison her for another 28 years for a crime that’s been tainted is a crime onto itself. It is way too harsh and unreasonable. Consider that killing the enemy in war constitutes as justified murder – freedom fighting we call it – but Knox’s situation demands almost three more decades of her life? From an innocent verdict to “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”? Should this be the perfect case of “let it go”?
Life gets complicated when you discover that human beings have varied value and thus death isn’t the most atrocious thing we can do onto another. The freedom we are given should never, ever be taken lightly as that option for choice is always at risk of being taken from others. I commend Knox’s ability to stay so vigilant with her freedom at hand and it’s terrible to have freedom handed to you like a toy to jump for.
For Italy, home of the Vatican, to not be an example of forgiveness in the light of tainted investigations (and prior innocent verdict!) certainly seems in line with the church’s very own hypocritical philosophy. Italy should have risen above common human nature of reaction. Punishing Knox will do absolutely nothing to bring back the victim, show or teach a lesson that hasn’t already been shown or taught, nor will it contribute to Knox’s potential good, to which I believe Knox is capable of expressing given the opportunity.
By demanding to lock her up further, Italy has shown an example not of justice but “murder to the spirit”. Knox, if imprisoned, would be as lifeless as the victim in the sense that neither could flourish, live a life to better themselves or others and nor contribute to the world through the good that is within them because they weren’t given a chance. One loss of life is enough but when grounds are not certain, why not give benefit of the doubt and rise above human weakness? Sometimes bad things happen and while time is the best healer (and eye-opener), it’s best to move on quickly to weave those experiences into new creations. Give people a chance. Justice is a human construct and in the case of Knox, justice begs for reinterpretation.
Amanda Knox interview: (http://gma.yahoo.com/amanda-knox-39-couldn-39-t-believe-hearing-071851472–abc-news-topstories.html?vp=1)
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The Legal Satyricon 
This saga just shows us how imperfect our world continues to be. There are true monsters in this world and we can point to their destruction as acts of justice. However, most of criminals are victims as well, if not of crime then the hand life dealt to them.
Most criminals in the US don’t have the luxury of seeing their appear move from outside of a jail cell. Ms. Knox can watch her case unfold from her family’s home in Seattle. The victim in this case is long dead. Amanda can speak for herself, the victim can not. We created the position of judge to determine how much suffering constitutes justice for the criminal’s crimes.
While I feel for Amanda Knox and how bad her life has been for her, the people society has entrusted with the administration of justice have determined the best way she can serve society is by serving 28 years. Who am I to disagree.
Um…
Jesus, is this a “poor pretty white girl sobs on camera about how tough it’s all been” thing?
If she didn’t do it, then that REALLY sucks – she’s been through all sorts of turmoil, being found guilty, not guilt, guilty again… These things happen (not just in Italy) and we should do what we can to ensure they don’t happen again.
If she’s guilty, then I’m fine with the sentence. Maybe take some off for ‘time served’ – perhaps even drop it down to only 20 more years. It seems like it was a pretty cold-blooded killing.
I don’t know if she’s actually guilty, but she’s been found guilty in a court of law. The Italian justice system seems to have done a decent job (certainly no worse than the American one might well have done), and she ought to be extradited to Italy. Of course, that won’t happen.
Also…
“Knox, if imprisoned, would be as lifeless as the victim in the sense that neither could flourish, live a life to better themselves or others and nor contribute to the world through the good that is within them because they weren’t given a chance.”
Ask Meredith Kercher’s parents whether they agree that Knox will be as lifeless as their daughter. I suspect they don’t.
“Sometimes bad things happen and while time is the best healer (and eye-opener), it’s best to move on quickly to weave those experiences into new creations.”
this wasn’t a ‘bad thing’. This was a MURDER.
I agree with your point of view that if she did do this she should serve the time, but the investigation of this case is grossly flawed–it’s actually quite horrifying. If she were tried in the US there is no way she would have been found guilty.
So we disregard another country’s sovereignty and disregard their rule of law because it differed from ours? I’m fine with an affirmative answer. We just need to be prepared when Italy decides to return the favor when we want them to turn over a criminal that’s been found guilty of violating US law.
Yes, and no, given that U.S. criminal law is superior to Italian criminal law.
“U.S. criminal law is superior to Italian criminal law.”
In your opinion, perhaps.
Insofar as your law is more like the laws of Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, Iraq, China and North Korea than Italian, French, German, Spanish, Canadian, Mexican, British law…I’m not quite as sure.
young white boy accused of raping a HS student ‘his life is ruined. bad things happened to him”. yup…
Understood your point. If she was involved, then the sentence should be meted out. However, spend the time necessary to sift through all the media BS and look with a hard, critical eye at the evidence used to convict. DNA evidence so faulty it would never be admissible in an American court, found on a knife they cannot prove was ever present at the murder scene, or used in the crime. A bra clasp that sat for weeks on the floor of the apartment before being collected, destroying the chain of evidence completely anywhere except Perugia. A street junkie, eye witness who was so confued he could not even tell them what day he thought he saw Knox and boyfriend near murder scene, and who had given faulty “eye witness” evidence in two prior murder cases. An 8 hour, over night, tag team interrogation of Knoxm using 12 cops and with no attorney present, using a cop as the “interpreter” and physical slaps to the head when she got her ‘story” wrong. A prosecutor himself under criminal investigation for misconduct. And a total absence of any physical evidence placing Knox, or the boyfriend at the cottage that night. Even the “investigator” Patrizia Stafanoni of the Polizia Scientifica, who claimed that she could tell there were bloodstained Knox footprints in the hallway outside Kercher’s bedroom – because of the “color” of the luminol. Its a lie. Luminol flouresces in only one color no matter what it is reacting to. They did not test for DNA, they did not test for blood. As I said, if she did it, then she did it. But don’t try to pound sand up my rear. Point me to the irrefutable hard evidence. I’ve been doing this for 40 years. I’m not seeing it.
@Habeas17,
See, your reply says what I had hoped TvT’s post would be – pointing out the problems with the investigation. Instead we get a heart-rending story of how we should let her go NOT because she might not have done it, but because she has suffered enough.
The problems with the investigation are certainly there, but from what I’ve seen, the significant balance of the evidence points to her guilt. Mind you, I’m not sure what standard Italy uses (beyond all reasonable doubt, likelihood, whatever)…
From what I’ve seen, the significant balance of the evidence points to Rudy Guede’s guilt, not hers.
Interesting to see a comment “If she were tried in the US there is no way she would have been found guilty.”
From a European perspective, we’d certainly believe that. If she was Hispanic/Black there’d be a greater chance. We have similar issues, we just tend not to execute people.
Similarly, since we don’t do the death penalty over here, we’d be pretty reluctant to send our citizens into the maw of your justice system.
But, then, the USA has always been a tad reluctant to let their citizens face foreign justice… even when they fly planes into cable cars full of people. And pretty keen on extraditing people for actions that aren’t a crime elsewhere (or snatching them in transit).
You’re in a foreign country, you face a foreign justice system.
If “Foxy Knoxy” doesn’t present herself in court, I guess she’ll never be able to leave the USA again… without some risk.
As an aside, a British comedian tweeted, “It would be un-American to extradite Amanda Knox.To really practise what they preach, they should allow Italy to kill her with a drone”. Tasteless; but it does show some underlying feelings.
“If “Foxy Knoxy” doesn’t present herself in court, I guess she’ll never be able to leave the USA again… without some risk.”
Oh, she’ll be fine right here. The US has everything she could ever need…
Question:
I’m not an attorney, hence my question and curiosity In the United States, it seems like the accused often files an appeal if s/he is found guilty. Nevertheless, it seems like the prosecutor (that I know of) never files an appeal of an innocent person. Is this even possible? This protection comes from the Fifth Amendment, correct? “…nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.” Besides the international case and the possibility of extradition, is that what’s making this case so important? Does not Italy afford some sort of double jeopardy to accused people?
Greetings!
Even if sentenced to 28 years I doubt she’d see them (even if she were in Italy). There’s no way she’s going to get extradited, so the hand wringing over what amounts to a symbolic second conviction is a bit much.
Either she did it, in which case I don’t much care what happens to her life. Or she didn’t, in which case what has happened sucks more than I can imagine.
At the end of the day if you see the initial case as flawed and as a travesty of justice then everything that comes after will be unjust. If you think the Italians have a fair system of justice then she should go back.
Killing an enemy in war is now causing our enlisted men to serve sentences. Or they are being compelled to watch their squadrons die if they don’t kill. Why is Amanda Knox’s life more important than any other human’s life? It is up to a jury of her peers to give her the benefit of the doubt. I too have doubts but this is how the system works.
Amanda and Raffaele are innocent. Persecuting them is a travesty of justice. It is a witch hunt. The Italian police are no better or eorse than the US> We have wrongful convictions but we are able to speak up without fear of being sued for slander. The evidence itself is BS. I mean they video taped themselves collection evidence, breaking every rule in the book. It truly was amazing to see the mop wrapped in gift wrap. The DNA analysis was done in a lab not certified to do Low Copy DNA testing. The machine used was not the right machine. And, where are the electronic data files that van be used to evaluate how the test was run.
Police should be trusted, but when they lie and hide documents, something smells fishy and they should be called on it.