Right I haven't posted a thread for maybe 3 years or longer but here goes:
As many of you may know Amanda Knox has just been acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher.
Here are the FACTS:
1 Nov 07 - Meredith Kercher, Surrey student aged 21 found murdered with throat cut and evidence of sexual activity beforehand.
6 Nov 07 - Knox, Sollecito (her Italian bf) and barman Patrick Diya Lumumba (a Congolese national) are arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit manslaughter and sexual violence.
7 Nov 07 - Knox reportedly frequently changes her story on what happened.
15 Nov 07 - Knox DNA found on knife in possession of Sollecito that has Kercher's DNA on the blade.
19 Nov 07 - Rudy Hermann Guede (Ivory Coast National) named a suspect, Lumumba released without charge.
6 Dec 07 - Guede extradited to Italy after his bloody fingerprints reportedly found on Kercher's pillow.
14 Dec 07 - Kercher's funeral held in Croydon (site of recent riots in London for reference).
11 Jul 08 - Italian prosecutors say Knox, Sollecito and Guede should all be charged with murder. All three maintain their innocence but Guede later requests a separate 'fast-track' trial.
28 Oct 08 - Guede sentenced to 30 years for Kercher's murder (later halved to 15 years on appeal). Kercher family say there are satisfiied. Italian judge re-iterates that Knox and Sollecito must face a murder trial.
Jan to Apr 09 - The trial of Knox and Sollecito gets under way in Perugia and the court hears from a range of witnesses. Sollecito tells the jury he would find it "hard to kill a fly" but an officer testifies that the Italian was "a fan of arms and knives" - a remark Sollecito made when he was quizzed by police. The jury also visits the murder scene.
12 Jun 09 - Testifying in court, Knox claims she was beaten by police during the initial interrogation and said officers had called her a "stupid liar". She says she wrongly named her former boss Patrick Lumumba as a suspect under police pressure.
21 Nov 09 - Prosecutors urge life sentences for both; Knox maintains that the charges are 'pure fantasy' as she testifies in Italian.
4 Dec 09 - Knox and Sollecito are found guilty of murder and sexual violence. Knox, now 22, bows her head and bursts into tears as she is jailed for 26 years while Sollecito, now 25, looks impassive. A day later Knox's family say she will appeal.
1 Jun 10 - Knox appears in court for a preliminary hearing accused of slander over her claims she was beaten by police while under interrogation. If she is found guilty, any additional jail term would be added to her existing 26-year sentence.
11 Dec 10 - After being originally adjourned in Nov the appeal begins. Knox makes an emotional plea for mercy in court. Reading in Italian from handwritten notes, she describes her conviction as an "enormous mistake" and says her life has been left "broken" by three years in jail.
18 Dec 10 - Knox is granted a review of the forensic evidence used to convict her, including the disputed DNA evidence found on a knife and on the clasp of Miss Kercher's bra.
15 Feb 11 - Knox's parents, who live in Seattle, are ordered to stand trial in Italy for libelling police after claiming their daughter was abused by police during the murder investigation.
21 Feb 11 - A film about the murder - entitled Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy and starring Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere - is shown in the US. Knox later tries to ban its wider release and describes it as an "invasion of my life".
18 Jun 11 - Convicted child murderer Mario Alessi tells the appeal court that Guede confided to him in jail that Knox and Sollecito were innocent, and that an unnamed accomplice killed Miss Kercher. Guede denies the claims.
25 Jul 11 - Experts tell the appeal court that DNA evidence used to convict Knox and Sollecito may have been contaminated and fell short of international standards, with police failing to wear the correct protective equipment. Italian prosecutors later deny the claims.
7 Sep 11 - An appeal court judge rejects prosecutors' requests for new tests on DNA evidence used to convict Knox. Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann says more tests are unnecessary as genetic evidence has already been discussed at length.
23 Sep 11 - Final arguments at the appeal court begin. Italian prosecutors at the appeal court in Perugia urge the jury to remember Miss Kercher's family. In a closing speech, they said an "obsessive" media campaign to free Knox had distracted jurors.
3 Oct 11 - Knox and Sollecito address the court for the first time to appeal against their convictions ahead of the jury's verdict. Tearful and speaking in Italian, Knox said "I am not who they say I am" while her ex-boyfriend said he was in a "nightmare" from which he had never woken. Presiding Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann later announces the jury has acquitted Knox and Sollecito of Miss Kercher's murder.
The British press has still not reached consensus about what they think about it all.
The biased right wing press is busy talking about the suffering of Kercher's family. They seem happy enough that Kercher was killed by an African national (possibly with an African accomplice, see 18 Jun 11) as this satisfies their right-wing quasi-racism. Their difficulty is that they can't report this as they firstly can't be as openly racist as they'd like to be and secondly Kercher's mother is black. Anti-immigration reporting has decreased somewhat in light of the riots which - whilst I believe were motivated largely by greed - are still felt by the right wing in particular to be a black problem and with that an immigrant black problem.
The left wing are sitting firmly on the fence until they know for sure and can then start condemning people. Funny that.
All sides are pretty flagrantly condemning the Italian keystone cops and justice system, though it doesn't escape me that these are the same reporters that were painting Knox as an evil sexual predator in the not too distant past.
I'm interested as to how you feel it's being reported (if at all) in whatever country you are in.
Both cnn.com and foxnews.com have it on the front page. CNN are predictably going with the slant that no one will now ever know for sure apart from Knox and Sollecito themselves. Interestingly though they are openly condemning the British press (particularly that which is Murdoch led which I suppose is no surprise). Fox are sticking largely to the facts but add that the student population of Perugia have intimated that a black man has shouldered all the blame unfairly.
So, I welcome discussion, this subject isn't dear to me so feel free to lampoon and joke but I'm genuinely interested in how you feel Knox in particular was portrayed and what you actually thought of her guilt or otherwise.
As many of you may know Amanda Knox has just been acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher.
Here are the FACTS:
1 Nov 07 - Meredith Kercher, Surrey student aged 21 found murdered with throat cut and evidence of sexual activity beforehand.
6 Nov 07 - Knox, Sollecito (her Italian bf) and barman Patrick Diya Lumumba (a Congolese national) are arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit manslaughter and sexual violence.
7 Nov 07 - Knox reportedly frequently changes her story on what happened.
15 Nov 07 - Knox DNA found on knife in possession of Sollecito that has Kercher's DNA on the blade.
19 Nov 07 - Rudy Hermann Guede (Ivory Coast National) named a suspect, Lumumba released without charge.
6 Dec 07 - Guede extradited to Italy after his bloody fingerprints reportedly found on Kercher's pillow.
14 Dec 07 - Kercher's funeral held in Croydon (site of recent riots in London for reference).
11 Jul 08 - Italian prosecutors say Knox, Sollecito and Guede should all be charged with murder. All three maintain their innocence but Guede later requests a separate 'fast-track' trial.
28 Oct 08 - Guede sentenced to 30 years for Kercher's murder (later halved to 15 years on appeal). Kercher family say there are satisfiied. Italian judge re-iterates that Knox and Sollecito must face a murder trial.
Jan to Apr 09 - The trial of Knox and Sollecito gets under way in Perugia and the court hears from a range of witnesses. Sollecito tells the jury he would find it "hard to kill a fly" but an officer testifies that the Italian was "a fan of arms and knives" - a remark Sollecito made when he was quizzed by police. The jury also visits the murder scene.
12 Jun 09 - Testifying in court, Knox claims she was beaten by police during the initial interrogation and said officers had called her a "stupid liar". She says she wrongly named her former boss Patrick Lumumba as a suspect under police pressure.
21 Nov 09 - Prosecutors urge life sentences for both; Knox maintains that the charges are 'pure fantasy' as she testifies in Italian.
4 Dec 09 - Knox and Sollecito are found guilty of murder and sexual violence. Knox, now 22, bows her head and bursts into tears as she is jailed for 26 years while Sollecito, now 25, looks impassive. A day later Knox's family say she will appeal.
1 Jun 10 - Knox appears in court for a preliminary hearing accused of slander over her claims she was beaten by police while under interrogation. If she is found guilty, any additional jail term would be added to her existing 26-year sentence.
11 Dec 10 - After being originally adjourned in Nov the appeal begins. Knox makes an emotional plea for mercy in court. Reading in Italian from handwritten notes, she describes her conviction as an "enormous mistake" and says her life has been left "broken" by three years in jail.
18 Dec 10 - Knox is granted a review of the forensic evidence used to convict her, including the disputed DNA evidence found on a knife and on the clasp of Miss Kercher's bra.
15 Feb 11 - Knox's parents, who live in Seattle, are ordered to stand trial in Italy for libelling police after claiming their daughter was abused by police during the murder investigation.
21 Feb 11 - A film about the murder - entitled Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy and starring Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere - is shown in the US. Knox later tries to ban its wider release and describes it as an "invasion of my life".
18 Jun 11 - Convicted child murderer Mario Alessi tells the appeal court that Guede confided to him in jail that Knox and Sollecito were innocent, and that an unnamed accomplice killed Miss Kercher. Guede denies the claims.
25 Jul 11 - Experts tell the appeal court that DNA evidence used to convict Knox and Sollecito may have been contaminated and fell short of international standards, with police failing to wear the correct protective equipment. Italian prosecutors later deny the claims.
7 Sep 11 - An appeal court judge rejects prosecutors' requests for new tests on DNA evidence used to convict Knox. Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann says more tests are unnecessary as genetic evidence has already been discussed at length.
23 Sep 11 - Final arguments at the appeal court begin. Italian prosecutors at the appeal court in Perugia urge the jury to remember Miss Kercher's family. In a closing speech, they said an "obsessive" media campaign to free Knox had distracted jurors.
3 Oct 11 - Knox and Sollecito address the court for the first time to appeal against their convictions ahead of the jury's verdict. Tearful and speaking in Italian, Knox said "I am not who they say I am" while her ex-boyfriend said he was in a "nightmare" from which he had never woken. Presiding Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann later announces the jury has acquitted Knox and Sollecito of Miss Kercher's murder.
The British press has still not reached consensus about what they think about it all.
The biased right wing press is busy talking about the suffering of Kercher's family. They seem happy enough that Kercher was killed by an African national (possibly with an African accomplice, see 18 Jun 11) as this satisfies their right-wing quasi-racism. Their difficulty is that they can't report this as they firstly can't be as openly racist as they'd like to be and secondly Kercher's mother is black. Anti-immigration reporting has decreased somewhat in light of the riots which - whilst I believe were motivated largely by greed - are still felt by the right wing in particular to be a black problem and with that an immigrant black problem.
The left wing are sitting firmly on the fence until they know for sure and can then start condemning people. Funny that.
All sides are pretty flagrantly condemning the Italian keystone cops and justice system, though it doesn't escape me that these are the same reporters that were painting Knox as an evil sexual predator in the not too distant past.
I'm interested as to how you feel it's being reported (if at all) in whatever country you are in.
Both cnn.com and foxnews.com have it on the front page. CNN are predictably going with the slant that no one will now ever know for sure apart from Knox and Sollecito themselves. Interestingly though they are openly condemning the British press (particularly that which is Murdoch led which I suppose is no surprise). Fox are sticking largely to the facts but add that the student population of Perugia have intimated that a black man has shouldered all the blame unfairly.
So, I welcome discussion, this subject isn't dear to me so feel free to lampoon and joke but I'm genuinely interested in how you feel Knox in particular was portrayed and what you actually thought of her guilt or otherwise.
