Italy’s Highest Court Overturns Amanda Knox & Ex-Boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito Murder Conviction in the 2007 Death of British Student Meredith Kercher

IT IS FINALLY OVER FOR AMANDA KNOX …

On Friday, Italy’s highest court overturned the murder conviction of Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, in the  2007 death of British student Meredith Kercher. As reported at the Gazzetta del Sud, Amanda Knox was ”relieved and grateful for the decision of the Italian Supreme Court”.  Thus brings an end to the murder trials, acquittals, appeals, convictions and overturned convictions in the 2007 death of British student Meredith Kercher.

From her home in Seattle, Washington Knox, 27, said that she was “relieved and grateful for the decision of the Italian Supreme Court”. Speaking to reporters outside her mother’s home, Knox said she was thankful for the justice I’ve received and for the support I’ve had from everyone – from my family, from my friends, to strangers. “I am so grateful to have my life back”.

Time line of convictions and acquittals:

• Dec. 4, 2009: the Italian court in Perugia found Amanda Knox guilty of murder, sexual assault and slander and sentenced her to 26 years in prison, including one year for slander. Sollecito was convicted of murder and sexual assault, and sentenced to 25 years.
• Oct. 3, 2011:  The court threw out the convictions of Knox and Sollecito, declaring them innocent of murder and freeing them immediately after nearly four years in prison. Knox’s slander conviction was upheld and the sentence was increased from one year to three years.
• March 26, 2013: Italy’s highest court vacated the acquittal, ordering a new appeals trial in a scathing decision that attacked the Perugia appellate court’s logic and ordered the examination of evidence that had been omitted previously.
• Jan. 30, 2014: The court reaffirmed the 2009 murder and sexual assault convictions against Knox and Sollecito. Knox’s sentence was increased to 28 1/2 years, including time for the slander conviction. Sollecito’s was confirmed at 25 years.
• March 27, 2015: Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, again overturned the murder conviction, ending the case.

Amanda Knox and her family makes statement:

Statement from Amanda Knox:

“I am tremendously relieved and grateful for the decision of the Supreme Court of Italy. The knowledge of my innocence has given me strength in the darkest times of this ordeal. And throughout this ordeal, I have received invaluable support from family, friends, and strangers. To them, I say: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your kindness has sustained me. I only wish that I could thank each and every one of you in person.”

Statement from Amanda Knox’s family:

“We want to express our profound gratitude to all of those who have supported Amanda and our family. Countless people – from world-renowned DNA experts, to former FBI agents, to everyday citizens committed to justice – have spoken about her innocence. We are thrilled with and grateful for today’s decision from the Supreme Court of Italy. And we are grateful beyond measure for all that so many of you have done for her.”

Daily Commentary – Wednesday, March 27, 2013 – Amanda Knox Will Be Facing a Retrial in Italy

• Italy’s highest court overturns acquittal for the 2007 Murder charges

New Trail Ordered for Amanda Knox … Italy’s High Court Overturns Amanda Knox Acquittal in Murder of British Roommate Meredith Kercher

Breaking News out of Italy … Italy’s Highest Court has overturned the Amanda Knox Murder Acquittal.

Italy’s highest court has overturned the Amanda Knox murder acquittal of her British roommate Meredith Kercher and has ordered a retrial. After six hours of appeals deliberations yesterday, this morning the Court of Cassation in Rome ruled that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American Amanda Know and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. It is uncertain as to what the court considered appealable in their decision. The exact issues that have to be reconsidered won’t be known until the court releases its full ruling within 90 days.

Italy’s highest court has ruled that Amanda Knox should be retried over the 2007 killing of her British flatmate Meredith Kercher  in Perugia.

Knox, 25, and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 29, spent four years in jail, but were freed on appeal in 2011 largely on the grounds DNA evidence was flawed.

On hearing the news today Knox admitted it was ‘painful’ to receive the decision, but said she was ‘confident in the truth.’

 Statement from Amanda Knox following the ruling:

“It was painful to receive the news that the Italian Supreme Court decided to send my case back for revision when the prosecution’s theory of my involvement in Meredith’s murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair,” the statement said.

Knox said the matter must now be examined by “an objective investigation and a capable prosecution.”

“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.” 

It is unimaginable that Knox would return to Italy for the trial. There is nothing that would compel her to do so and no attorney worth their salt would recommend it after the roller-coaster legal ride of this murder case. There is much public pressure in Italy for a guilty verdict. Amanda Knox could be tried in absentia. What makes all this even more bizarre is that Amanda Knox’s book is scheduled to be released in the very new future.

Amanda Knox and her Italian boyfriend were originally found guilty in 2009 of sexual assault and murder of the British student Meredith Kercher in 2007. They were sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively. An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16 year sentence. However, they were then acquitted in a retrial in 2011 on the grounds that the DNA evidence produced at the first trial was flawed. Prosecution lawyers then appealed to the Court of Cassation to overturn the 2011 verdict on procedural grounds. Now we find ourselves at present day.

Amanda Knox Awaits the Ruling as Italy’s High Court Considers Her Acquittal of the Murder Charges in the Death of 21 Year Old British Student Meredith Kercher

Will Amanda Knox finally be considered free of murder charges?

Amanda Knox awaits the next step in the judicial process to see whether she will be retried  following her acquittal of the murder in the death of 21 year old British student Meredith Kercher.  Prosecutors are asking the Italian high court to throw out the acquittals of American Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Knox and Sollecito were initially arrested in 2007, then convicted and given prison sentences: 26 years for Knox, 25 for Sollecito. However,  in 2011 the appeals court acquitted them, criticizing the prosecutors case  in the first trial.  The proceedings today are the second and final level of appeal, prosecutors are now seeking to overturn the acquittals, while defense attorneys say they should stand. If the acquittal stands, the case is over. If it is reversed, the saga continues …

VIDEO: CNN

Amanda Knox was “very anxious” as Italy’s top criminal court heard arguments Monday from prosecutors appealing her acquittal in the murder of her roommate, her lawyer said.

“She’s carefully paying attention to what will come out,” attorney Luciano Ghirga said as he arrived at Italy’s Court of Cassation. “This is a fundamental stage. The trial is very complex.”

Prosecutors are asking the high court to throw out the acquittals of American Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend in the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher, and order a new trial.

A verdict could come later today.

The Dana Pretzer Show – Wednesday, October 12, 2011 – With Blink from Blink on Crime and Clint van Zandt

LISTEN TO THE DANA PRETZER SHOW ON SCARED MONKEYS RADIO

Dana welcomes special guests:

• Blink from Blink on Crime discussing the Morgan Dana Harrington case
• Clint van Zandt discussing the Amanda Knox trial and decision

The Dana Pretzer Show – Wednesday, October 12, 2011: Download