Would you go back?

[LSN80]

That's the decision laid before Amanda Knox in the coming year. After her murder conviction in Italy of roommate Meredith Kurtcher was overturned in 2011, following 4 years in jail, Italian Supreme Court judges ordered she be retried for the murder once again.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/26/world/europe/italy-amanda-knox-case/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

Knox had returned to the United States following the overturning of her conviction, living in Seattle returning to her collegiate studies. Knox believed that the case was over, and was attempting to return to a normal life. Both her and then boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was also convicted and then acquitted in the case, are being ordered to be retried. The original conviction had been overturned due to lack of evidence. Said Knox through a spokesperson:

"The prosecution's case has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair and an objective investigation and capable prosecution are needed (if any questions remain about her innocence).

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."

A grifter named Rudy Guede, who admitted to having sex with Meredith Kertcher, but not to killing her, was convicted seperately of Kertcher's murder, and remains in jail. Kertcher's sister, Stephanie, is pleased of the news of the retrial.

"Rudy Guede's conviction was on the basis that there was more than one person there so that is something that needs to be looked into."

The Kertcher family and the prosecution believe that Knox and her ex-boyfriend, who had been at odds with Kertcher for some time over Knox's promiscuous and supposed drug-addled lifestyle, were parties to sexually assaulting and slashing Kertcher's throat. Stephanie Kertcher also said:

We are never going to be happy about any outcome because we have still lost Meredith but we obviously support the decision and hope to get answers from it," she told CNN affiliate ITN from the family home in Coulsdon, south of London. There are still so many unanswered questions. All we have ever wanted to do is do what we can for Meredith and to find out the truth of what happened that night. We support a retrial because the ruling that acquitted her(Knox) was unbalanced and superficial.

Although laws in the United States prohibit double jeopardy, those in Italy do not. While Italy may attempt to order her extradition to stand trial, the double jeopardy laws in the United States may allow the U.S. to block the extradition order. However, she could still be convicted in absentee, and sentenced again.

Things to think about:

If you were Knox, would you return to Italy of your own volition to stand trial again? Does failing to do so make her look guilty?

I believe this is a classic case of both the pros and cons of the double jeopardy law. Where do you stand on it?

 

[Барбоса]

She should be forced to go back to Italy by US authorities to face justice because in my mind she is as guilty as sin of something. Maybe not first or second degree murder but definitely something that ended in the death of Meredith Kercher. There has been too buck passing, excuse making and blaming of others for there not to be something bad beneath. Essentially, there is too much smoke for there not to be some sort of fire.

However, I very much doubt that the USA will force her to go back due to what is essentially a superiority complex with regard to virtually every other court on the planet. Sure, there are some concerns about the abilities of the advocates in Italy but that should not come into the equation when there is still justice to be done and the US should not be allowed to ignore the legal rulings of a country it calls its ally.

Instead, they will hide behind the idea that Knox will not get a fair trial outside of the US and the double jeopardy argument, which in a modern age where new advances in science are revealing new evidence, is a crock of shit.

 

[HBK-aholic]

I wouldn't go back, and I don't think she should either. I know the basics of the case, but not the specifics; and really, none of us know absolutely everything about it. The fact is, she has twice been to court over this; this re-appeal will be the third time - is it going to go on for the rest of her life? Will she be convicted again? Appeal and be let out? There has to be a ending here; she has to get on with her life. This woman, currently and legally is innocent; but she can not live any kind of life as this hangs over her all the time.

Double Jeopardy rulings are a tricky one. I don't believe there should be a black and white law because cases are never black and white. If overwhelming DNA evidence comes to light, or a person confesses guilt, by all means go for a re-trial. But 3 times, when no new evidence has come to light? When she was last acquitted due to a LACK of evidence? Waste of time, money, and a young womans life.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Hell no I wouldn't go back, especially if I was guilty of murder like Amanda Knox is.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm of two minds on this.

Is she actually guilty? Based on what I've read in regards to this case & the evidence presented, I'd say that she probably is. However, my personal opinion doesn't matter. Like most people, I believe OJ Simpson murdered Nicole Brown Simpson & Ron Goldman, but I can't prove it. I can think it all I like, but that's irrelevant. Also, based on what I've read, a lot of legal analysts have repeatedly poked holes in the prosecution's case against her.

I know the Italian courts don't work in the same ways as the courts in the United States, though it sounds like their system can be every bit the clusterfuck ours can. She was convicted, then that conviction was overturned and now the Italian high court wants to go through this all over again.

Double jeopardy in the states has long since been a major element in the justice system. A lot of people do think that it's patently unfair that, for all intents & purposes, Italian courts can try someone as many times as they like. The way I look at it is that the Italian courts fumbled the ball. This case was argued under Italian law and her conviction was tossed out under Italian law. So, by Italian law, Amanda Knox was free to pursue the rest of her life. As a free person, again under Italian law, she decided to return to the United States and resume her life.

Now that she's here and no longer under Italian jurisdiction, I see no reason why she should be returned to Italy. I admit that I'm looking at this through the eyes of someone that knows only the aspects of the American court system, I don't see how that couldn't possibly influence my personal opinion on this.

Like I alluded to earlier, I personally think that she probably is guilty. An Italian court of appeals disagreed with the verdict of the lower court and tossed out her conviction, making her a free woman. If they have some sort of overwhelming evidence, or really even any new & relevant evidence at all, then I might be of a different opinion. Based on what I know thus far, the Italian courts just want to rehash the same thing as before.

I wouldn't go back. If I'd vehemently maintained my innocence this whole time, was convicted, had my conviction overturned thus freeing me and embarked to get on with my life; I'd do everything in my power to fight going back. How much longer is she expected to have all this legal mumbo jumbo to hang over her head? If the Italian courts fucked up then, frankly, that's their problem. They shouldn't have let her go in the first place.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I wouldn't go back, and I don't think she should either.

Neither would I, but the whole issue might depend on whether the U.S. government forces her to go back. It's hard to say how much of an international incident this would provoke (with an ally of ours) if the Italian government really gets their dander up over this.

After all, while we forbid double jeopardy in these cases, how can we apply that rule when the trial didn't occur under our jurisdiction? That's where the international snag may hit if the Italians take exception.

Personally, I believed at the time she was guilty as sin. That the Italian prosecutors so badly botched the trial didn't prove her innocence. I think she was so drug-crazed that she might not even remember being involved, no matter what degree her culpability extended to.

But if she has the choice whether to go back, I can't imagine why she would, especially if she knows she's guilty. The kerfuffle will revolve around whether her own government makes go back..... if they can.