this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2024
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Amanda Knox faces another trial for slander this week in Italy in a case that could remove the last legal stain against her, nine years after Italy’s highest court threw out her conviction for the murder of her 21-year-old British roommate.

Knox, who was a 20-year-old student when she was accused along with her then-boyfriend of murdering Meredith Kercher in 2007, has built a life back in the United States as an advocate, writer, podcaster and producer — with much of her work drawing on her experience.

Despite a definitive ruling by Italy’s Cassation Court in 2015 that Knox and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito did not commit the crime, and the conviction of another man whose DNA was at the scene, doubts persist about Knox’s role with the victim’s family and the man she wrongly accused.

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[–] JoBo 59 points 10 months ago

Just to pre-empt the usual misunderstanding when these badly reported stories get posted: this is the equivalent of an appeal, initiated by Knox. Not the Italian courts persecuting her.

[–] sir_pronoun@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago (1 children)

What is the online mob's ruling on her again?

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 73 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

Regardless of the online mob, she was done dirty by the Italian police system. A small town cop singled her out without a shred of evidence while the Rudy Guede who was later convicted for the murder and who's DNA was all over the place was on the run in Germany. Just tragic situation all around because she spent 2 years in jail awaiting trial. I live in Italy, and I can tell you the Italian justice system is a farce.

EDIT: Correction was made to this post. Rudy did not confess to the actual murder as far as I can find. He did confess to being in the apartment however. Thanks to @Jobo@feddit.uk for the correction.

[–] sir_pronoun@lemmy.world 18 points 10 months ago

Thank you, online mob

[–] JoBo 12 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Rudy Guede did not confess. He admits he was there, on an impromptu date with Meredith Kurcher, heard a commotion while he was taking a dump, disturbed the killers, who ran for it. ~~He pled guilty for a shorter sentence.~~ He chose a fast-tracked trial and was originally sentenced to 30 years, reduced on appeal to 16. Knox and Sollecito were also convicted ~~and got longer sentences than Guede because they went to trial. They were~~ but were later freed on appeal.

I've no idea what the truth is but your summary is inaccurate.

Edited for accuracy/poor memory.

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for pointing that out. I corrected my comment. It's been a while since the trial. In any case, the forensic team and the detectives on the case botched tho whole investigation. There is video footage of them walking carelessly throughout the whole apartment. Then these inexperienced out of touch detectives forced a confession out of Amanda Knox in Italian (which she barely spoke) without even a translator present. My country is a joke.

[–] JoBo 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It's a confused tangle of evidence, for sure. But there are approximately two Black men in Perugia and she falsely accused the one who wasn't there. It sticks in my craw, even if the most obvious explanation is that she is an American white woman and falsely accusing Black men is part of her heritage.

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I don't want to dig up the case, but wasn't his DNA found all over the place?

American white woman and falsely accusing Black men is part of her heritage

Come on....is this what we're doing now... Are we emo teens now? JFC

[–] JoBo 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If his story is true, his DNA would be found all over the place. His story being: they were making out, he didn't flush the toilet, he fought off the attackers, and he tried to help Meredith before getting scared and running away.

I'm offering the kindest explanation for Knox falsely accusing a Black man. The other is that she saw a Black man at the scene.

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Did Knox actually accuse him of the murder? What exactly did she say? You're very hung up on the race thing for some reason. What exactly was Amanda's statement?

[–] JoBo 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

She's appealing a conviction for slandering him. Her grounds for appeal are that the police bullied the confession out of her.

He spent two weeks in jail and had to abandon his business and his hometown because of it.

When investigators looked at all the communication on Knox's phone, they found a text that she says was a response to Lumumba, telling him that she would see him later and that she hoped he had a nice evening. Kox accused investigators of confusing and coercing her during the interrogation, with them allegedly insisting to her that the text was instead confirmation of a plan to meet with Lumumba later. Knox now maintains that she was forced to recall a false memory that she and Lumumba were both at the apartment the night that Kercher died, when, she says, that was not the case.

Lumumba was arrested and held for two weeks, based on the comments Knox made while in custody. Eventually, a man who had been drinking at the bar came forward, saying that Lumumba was there all night and that they had talked, giving Lumumba an alibi. Lumumba, who is Congolese, was released once the alibi put him at his bar at the time the crime took place.

https://www.bustle.com/articles/186077-where-is-patrick-lumumba-now-the-bar-owner-was-implicated-by-amanda-knox

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes, I recall Lumumba was initially one of the suspects, despite having a compelling alibi. But this isn't in relation to Rudy. I was asking if she had accused Rudy? I wasn't talking about Lumumba at all. Also, remember, she wasn't fluent in italian at the time and the confession was coerced out of her.

[–] JoBo 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Why do you think she accused Rudy Guede? No one has ever said she accused him.

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Ok, when you said this:

I’m offering the kindest explanation for Knox falsely accusing a Black man.

I assumed we were talking about Rudy, because we hadn't brought up Lumumba yet.

[–] JoBo 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Did you read the article this thread is about?

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes. I did. I missed this from your earlier comment (or i read it quickly):

she falsely accused the one who wasn’t there

So I misread your comment and for some reason my mind was fixated on Rudy --sorry about that! Yes, you are correct. The police used her initial confession to indict Lumumba. Lucky for me (I speak Italian) and had a chance to review her initial confession (granted it was a while back) and I recall:

    1. She didn't speak fluent Italian at the time. She had mentioned his name in passing and never directly involved him in the killing. She only mentioned that mayme Lumumba and Meredith had a fling if I recall? I might be misremembering --it was a while back. But I do remember she never outright accused him.
    1. The cops took that and ran with it. Just like they did with everything else in this case. They built every indictment out of the flimsiest evidence. It seems the police were in a big rush to close this case as quickly as possible and bring it to trial.
[–] JoBo 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

She may well have 'retrieved' a false memory because the police were haranguing her about some texts with Lumumba but it was a lot more than her mentioning his name in passing. She signed two confessions saying that she had been in another room of the house while Lumumba murdered Meredith. Those confessions are considered inadmissible. This trial is about whether she did, in fact, slander him or whether it was entirely due to police pressure.

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

If I recall, the first confession wasn't even written by her. She just signed it. Either way, the whole investigation was so shoddy we may never know the full truth.

[–] JoBo 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It's always the police who write up what you say, then they ask you to sign it. They wrote up what she said and she signed it. The following day she wrote a long letter saying that she didn't think it was true because she's been under duress. That is why the conviction for slander has been quoshed and this new trial is now happening.

[–] TheFonz@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Listen, as an Italian my recommendation for anyone: don't speak to police until a lawyer is present. Just don't.

[–] JoBo 1 points 10 months ago

You don't have to be an Italian for that advice to be good.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

even if the most obvious explanation is that she is an American white woman and falsely accusing Black men

Is it really?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-race_effect

[–] JoBo 1 points 10 months ago

Your point only makes sense if you believe that Rudy Guede was telling the truth. It's possible but she was acquitted so you probably shouldn't libel her here.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 2 points 10 months ago

who’s

Indeed, who is DNA really?