After more than 8 years of tortuous legal proceedings in the Italian courts, Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were finally exonerated on March 27, 2015. Over the course of a conviction by a Perugia court in 2009, an acquittal in 2011 (after a first appeals court trial), and then a second conviction in 2014 (after another appellate trial), the pair had spent four years in prison.
On Tuesday, September 8, Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, issued a scathing written opinion explaining its March ruling. The opinion declared that Knox and Sollecito didn’t murder Kercher, a stronger (and more uncommon) finding than merely concluding there was insufficient evidence to convict. As Italian law bars further prosecution, this decision appears to be final and Knox and Sollecito can finally move on with their lives.
The sensationalized and controversial case has captivated international media attention for years with its many twists and turns. Here in the United States, Knox has become a symbol for wrongful conviction and innocence, while the Italian criminal justice system, for many, has come to represent incompetence and unfairness towards the rights of defendants.
Throughout the case proceedings, many analysts stressed that the evidence simply did not add up; specifically, that forensic evidence at the crime scene was incompatible with Knox’s involvement.
The Court of Cassation appears to agree, writing: “There was no shortage of glaring errors in the underlying fabric of the sentence in question.” In the opinion, the investigators and prosecutors are shredded for their “stunning weakness,” “investigative bouts of amnesia,” and “blameworthy omissions of investigative activity.”
But it gets worse. Mincing no words, the court called out some of the most egregious errors:
- “The computers of Amanda Knox and Kercher…were, incredibly, burned by imprudent maneuvers by the investigators, who caused an electric shock.”
- After Kercher’s bra clasp was found on the floor 46 long days after the murder, it “was passed from hand to hand of the workers, who, furthermore, were wearing dirty latex gloves.”
- The kitchen knife which prosecutors alleged the defendants used to commit the crime had “no traces of blood found on it” and “was kept in an ordinary cardboard box, like the kind that Christmas gadgets are packaged.”
The judges emphasized that there was an “absolute lack of biological traces” of Knox or Sollecito anywhere in the room or on the victim’s body while the third person accused, Rudy Guede, left “copious” biological evidence at the scene. In sum, there was no proof they were in the bedroom where Kercher was stabbed.
How did it take the Court this long to agree on what so many others had already seen as a fundamentally flawed case?
The judges explained that, “the international spotlight on the case in fact resulted in the investigation undergoing a sudden acceleration.” Had the investigation not been handled with such incompetence, “in all probability” the defendants’ guilt or innocence would have been determined very early in the proceedings.
While that’s probably no consolation for Knox and Sollecito (and their families), at least they can now move forward free of the court’s (and the public’s) lingering doubt and misplaced suspicion.
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7 comments
Jason
I still can't believe the lack of attention given to Rudy Guede's situation. Given the botched handling of Knox's involvement in this, isn't is reasonable to assume Guede may have been framed? I am not one of those Americans obsessed with racist motives, but....is there a racial component here - the cops blame the black man to save face...something like that.
Guede had no record of violence that I know of.
I have been fascinated by Amanda's story for all these years - I am very happy for her exoneration. It is scary to think how circumstances way beyond one's control can cost you years of imprisonment, or at least the threat of imprisonment.
And still, Kercher's parents are wounded yet again. I believe Knox is innocent, but I also hope the Kerchers find peace and "closure" some day.
Mickey
He was her drug dealer. That much is known. Women DO get killed by drug dealers. Guede is guilty as sin, and is exactly where he should be.
The case against Knox was obviously fishy from the beginning. The prosecution's "kinky 4-way sex" theory was absurd, and they never even attempted to prove it. Instead, they focused on Knox's DNA being found in place where it's perfectly reasonable it might be IN HER OWN APARTMENT. Even if the knife WAS the murder weapon, you'd expect Knox's DNA to be on her own kitchen knife. You'd expect it to be on laundry, including a roommate's bra clasp. Guede is the only one whose DNA turned up in places it didn't belong.
Much was made (in Italy) of Knox's behavior on camera during the early investigation. She was grinning and mugging for the camera.....just as you'd EXPECT a ditzy young American girl to behave when a TV camera is present. That infuriated the Italians, and perhaps rightly so, but anyone familiar with American kids knows that's not a sign of "murderer", but of a kid being a kid.
Pat
Amanda Knox is Italy's Casey Anthony.
Jack Carter
You're kidding, right?
Despite the verdict, there is substantial evidence linking Casey Anthony to the death of her child and, even if she wasn't involved with the actual death, she went to great lengths to cover it up and obstruct the investigation.
Conversely - as the story just explained - Italy's high court not only ruled there was insufficient evidence to convict Knox, it went so far as to say Knox was innocent.
These are two distinctly different cases.
Peter Beater
Actually, Casey Anthonly was linked to Kercher and is believed to be the one who committed the murder. On the other hand, Amanda Knox is reported to have killed Casey Anthony's daughter. Wow! What a twist.
HollyFairview
Um no, Casey Anthony was guilty but found not guilty, Amanda Knox was INNOCENT yet found guilty anyway. I'd say she's the OPPOSITE of Casey Anthony. Other than the fact that they are both American.
Dave
On what facts to you make that statement? The evidence was over whelming they had nothing to do with it and Rudy left a hand print and biological evidence and had her money when they found him fleeing. He admitted he did it and alone.
They had no motive to injure the girl.
Look up Dateline program. I believe, they did a great job of covering it and searching for evidence with experts.