Posted on 12/08/2009 9:22:32 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Accusations of anti-American bias at Meredith Kercher's murder trial have been branded "ludicrous" by her grieving father.
John Kercher, 66, (above) blames confusion about the facts of the case for the wave of US support for American killer Amanda Knox. He said: "How can there be talk of anti-American bias when one of the three convicted of killing Meredith is Italian and the other is from the Ivory Coast? It's ludicrous. They have been judged on the evidence, not on where they have come from."
John spoke out yesterday after American experts slammed the Italian legal system on US TV.
Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell said there was an anti-US atmosphere at the trial and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to meet her to discuss backing Knox's appeal. On Friday, the student, 22, and her Italian ex-lover Raffaele Sollecito, 25, were found guilty of killing Meredith, 21, in Perugia two years ago. Both were jailed.
Dad John believes the only bias to have emerged is in the American media.
He said: "The Americans seem completely ignorant to the fact that there was a mass of evidence other than the DNA. I don't blame them because they are going on what they have seen and read. But it is upsetting for my family to hear these things. I believe the verdict was based entirely on the evidence and not any media attention around Amanda Knox. The jury saw Knox and Sollecito as a pair, it wasn't all about her.
"We have no reason to doubt the Italian legal system."
The jury was presented with 10,000 pages of evidence, which included DNA findings, dodgy alibis and lies.
Rudy Hermann Guede, 22, from the Ivory Coast, is already serving 30 years after being convicted separately.
AMANDA KNOX-THE EVIDENCE
The victim: Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old politics student from Coulsdon, Surrey, was studying in Perugia, sharing a cottage with fellow student Amanda Knox
THE KILLERS
Rudy Guide, Raffaele Sollectito, Amanda Knox, 22, from Seattle
THE CLEAN-UP
Grocer Marco Quintavalle said Knox bought cleaning products at 7:45am the day after the murder.
She claimed she was in bed at the time with Sollecito and did not get up until 10am.
THE FRAME-UP
Initially Knox tried to frame bar owner Patrick Lumumba, 40. But he said she made the claim out of revenge after he fired her.
THE CARTWHEELS
Knox's bizarre behaviour after the killing persuaded police she was involved in the murder. She did cartwheels and the splits as she waited to be quizzed by police. Knox and Sollecito were also photographed outside the murder scene, kissing and cuddling.
MOBILES
The murder was discovered when police came to investigate why two mobile phones belonging to Meredith had been thrown into a neighbour's garden. Knox and Sollecito had tried to make it look like a burglary - but nothing was stolen.
THE CONFESSION
Knox initially confessed to the killing in Nov 2007. But in an interview the following month, she backtracked
MURDER SCENE
On November 2.2007 Meredith was found semi-naked in a pool of blood in the bedroom of the house the two girls shared with her throat cut and her two cotton tops rolled up over her chest.
She had 43 wounds and bruises including three stab wounds to the neck.
Sollecito's footprint was found in the bathroom along with a shoe imprint in Meredith's room
ALIBIS
Knox's and Sollecito's alibis did not match up. She claimed she was with him at his flat, while he said he was not sure if she was or not.
DNA
Forensic tests confirmed the bloody fingerprint on a pillow corresponded to Guede's. His DNA also matched samples taken from Meredith's body. Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a kitchen knife with Meredith's blood on the blade. It was found at Sollecito's flat. On the clasp of Meredith's bloodied bra, tests also found DNA belonging to Sollecito and Guede.
Anti American bias ? I thought anti Americanism was a thing of the past with Hussein as president.
THat’s why it’s ludicrous for the Knoxes and the Democrat senator to suggest such a thing. I am honestly, absolutely appalled by the way the American media has handled this story. ABSOLUTE disgrace if you ask me, and my heart goes out to the Kercher family, who’s the one with the dead daughter.
Aside from the murder itself (and the bungling of the crime scene by Italian authorities), this is one of the most interesting aspects. Knox apparently did indeed slander this bar owner with bogus allegations. Such slander in the US system would only expose Knox to civil litigation by the person she slandered. But, in the Italian system of justice, it's actually a crime to slander someone in this capacity. It's interesting.
I don't think she did it, nor do I think the Italians came close to "beyond a reasonable doubt" (which is the standard, even in Italy). But, she didn't help herself with some of her statements during the initial stages of the investigation.
Clinton and Cantwell are going out of their way to make us look bad before the world.
“Grocer Marco Quintavalle said Knox bought cleaning products at 7:45am the day after the murder. </i>
She claimed she was in bed at the time with Sollecito and did not get up until 10am.”
It’s mind boggling to think what “beyond a reasonable doubt” meant in the days before surveillance cameras and forensic science. Not only do I think there is enough evidence to understand WHY the jury came to the verdict, I think members of the American media are being preferential in their treatment of who they allow this extreme interpretation of “reasonable doubt” to apply to. Imagine if it weren’t an upper class girl from Seattle being accused on the same grounds...nobody would come to her defense. Yet this girl potentially has the Secretary of State come in her defense to boss around the Italians?
The lib media is defending her for the simple reason that they always defend degenerate behavior. I read she used to have sex on trains with random strangers for the thrill of it — or at least she did that a number of times. If she were a devout practicing Christian, rest assured they would have demanded a harsher sentence.
“The lib media is defending her for the simple reason that they always defend degenerate behavior. I read she used to have sex on trains with random strangers for the thrill of it — or at least she did that a number of times. If she were a devout practicing Christian, rest assured they would have demanded a harsher sentence.”
BINGO
I haven’t follow this other than catching occasional clips on tv, but I tend to agree with the Brit dad, Kercher. Americans may not like the Italian judicial system and its standards of proof, but it can hardly be an anti-American bias given the Italian and Ivory Coast defendants also were convicted and landed roughly equal sentences.
It’s not that unusual for an American senator and/or SoS will become at least remotely involved when an American is convicted of a crime and sentenced to a foreign prison. It is unusual for that involvement to make a difference.
It's neat how tabloid headlines are now considered "evidence".
you’re so right, it’s not so much that she’s an upper middle class girl from suburbia—but leading up to the murder, she was the epitome of everything liberalism stands for. Her life consisted of an endless string of hard drugs, group sex etc...
If an American, Christian missionary girl was sentenced to prison or even death (which I’m sure has happened) for proselytizing in another country, there would be absolutely none of the outcry we see for Knox.
The cartwheels and splits convinced me.
Guilty as hell, and let her rot in an Italian prison.
Can you tell me what was true or untrue in the summary of the evidence at the end of the article?
Not to mention the fact not listed in the summary that Knox initially fingered an ex-employer that had fired her of which it was clearly shown that he was not involved. Imagine what kind of a human one would have to be to attempt to ruin an innocent person's life just so to save one's self. Then again someone that is willing to murder, well, that's just kid's play.
Ramius, the “sex on trains” wasn’t part of the “evidence” —it is however part of the reason why our country’s media is so defensive of her. This girl is not just an accused convict, she is, as British writer Libby Purves deemed, “a symbol of sexual liberation” (gone wrong.)
Let’s not forget that Meredith was stabbed to death during an extreme sex game.
“Not to mention the fact not listed in the summary that Knox initially fingered an ex-employer that had fired her of which it was clearly shown that he was not involved. Imagine what kind of a human one would have to be to attempt to ruin an innocent person’s life just so to save one’s self. Then again someone that is willing to murder, well, that’s just kid’s play.”
Good point torchthemummy. This is one creepy and disturbing case—and all of this just reminds me of how thankful I am for alternative media sources and the internet—so we can have the freedom to research the actual *FACTS* for ourselves! I was someone who initially went straight to this girl’s defense solely off of what I was getting from our own news outlets!
but she came off early as a spoiled immoral American richyrich who had nothing better to do than trollop around Europe....such is my bias....
we Americans had better teach our children better about the world....the rest of the world could care less about the ACLU or the ABA or the fancy schmanzy trickly lawyers that get so many people off on technocalities.....
Really? Again... more facts not in evidence...
Well, the “facts” that I’ve been able to glean from the various press sources are all pretty thin. From what I’ve been able to tell from the court proceedings, there’s no actual evidence that she was ever there. No fingerprints in blood, or footprints as has been widely reported. It sure looks to me like this Rudy fellow did the murder.
“THE CONFESSION
Knox initially confessed to the killing in Nov 2007. But in an interview the following month, she backtracked”
That’s the first I’ve read about a confession. Only have read a few articles about the trial, but none of them mentioned a confession by Knox. Would like to find out more facts.
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