The Sentencing Report Issued by the Florence Court of Appeal (Nencini
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THE SENTENCING REPORT ISSUED BY THE FLORENCE COURT OF APPEAL (NENCINI REPORT) DISCLAIMER: This translation was done by a group of unpaid volunteers who are regular posters on the Perugiamurderfile.org message board devoted to discussing the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, in November of 2007. The translation and editorial team was international in its make-up. The resulting English translation is being provided for the sole purpose of promoting a better understanding of this complex case and to ensure that the facts are readily available to the English-speaking world without selective emphasis, misstatement or bias. It has been translated on a “best effort” basis and has gone through multiple rounds of proofreading and editing, both to ensure its accuracy and to harmonize the language insofar as possible. Persons fluent in both Italian and English are invited and encouraged to contact Margaret Ganong ([email protected]) if they find any material errors that influence the meaning or intention of the judgment. All such corrections will be investigated, made as required, and brought to the attention of the public. As with any translation, some terminology in Italian has no direct equivalent in English. For example, the charge of calunnia has no direct equivalent in Anglo-Saxon law. Explanations have been provided where relevant. Similarly, readers are encouraged to submit any questions about legal or other concepts that may arise as they peruse the report. Our goal is to make the report as clear and as accurate as possible; to this end, it will be amended whenever doing so promotes this goal. As the report was written and published in Italian, that language prevails in the event of a dispute over interpretation. This English-language version is provided for reader convenience only; accordingly, it is a free translation and has no legal authority or status. This translation may be freely copied or otherwise reproduced and transmitted in the unedited pdf format, provided that the translation or excerpt therefrom is accompanied by the following attribution: "From the translation prepared by unpaid volunteers from http://www.perugiamurderfile.org to promote a better understanding in the English- speaking world of the circumstances surrounding the death of Meredith Kercher and the case against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito". In the interest of preventing confusion and maintaining control over versions past, present, and future of this translation, the current version, made available in PDF format on October 28, 2014, supersedes and replaces all previous versions. Moreover, it may not be reformatted or altered in any way for subsequent republication or uploading without the prior written consent of Margaret Ganong. Date 30 January 2014, Deposited on 29 April 2014, no. 11/13 Reg.Gen. no. 9066/07 R.N.R. REPUBLIC OF ITALY In the name of the Italian People The Second Court of Assizes of Appeal of Florence Composed of Messrs: 1. Dr. Alessandro Nencini, Presiding Judge and Extensor 2. Dr. Luciana Cicerchia, Judge of the Court of Appeal 3. Mrs. Elena Perrucci, Lay Judge 4. Mrs. Lucia Bargelli, Lay Judge 5. Mrs. Veronica Alessi, Lay Judge 6. Mrs. Marisa Lippi, Lay Judge 7. Mrs. Genny Ballerini, Lay Judge 8. Mr. Giovanni Cocco, Lay Judge in the presence of the Prosecution represented by the Assistant General State Prosecutor Dr. Alessandro Crini pronounced the following SENTENCE in the case remanded by the Court of Cassation against 1) Amanda Marie KNOX, born in Seattle (USA) on 9/7/1987, domicile of choice care of Lawyer Luciano Ghirga of Perugia (Custody on 6/11/07 detained in Perugia – Arrest Warrant 9/11/07 Judge of the Preliminary Investigation [G.I.P.] Perugia Court no. 6671/07 – Order of Release 3/10/11 Court of Assizes of Perugia no. 10/10 r.g. notified 3/10/11) FAILED TO APPEAR 2) Raffaele SOLLECITO, born in Bari on 26/3/1984, residence Giovinazzo (Bari province), Via Solferino no. 4 – domiciled in Bisceglie (Bari), Via il Vuolo no. 22 – legal residence – (Custody on 6/11/07 detained in Perugia – Arrest Warrant 9/11/07 Judge of the Preliminary Investigation [G.I.P.] Perugia Court 6671/07 r.g. – Order of Release 3/10/11 Court of Assizes of Perugia no. 10/10 r.g. notified 3/10/11 – Applicable measure disposition prohibition to leave the country 30/1/14 Court of Assizes of Appeal of Florence no. 11/13 r.g. notified 31/1/14) PRESENT [ii] ACCUSED BOTH: (A) of the crime to which articles 110, 575, 573 paragraph 1 section 5 of the Criminal Code apply, in relation to the crime listed under count (C), and 577 paragraph 1 section 4, in relation to article 61 sections 1 and 5 of the Criminal Code, for having, in complicity amongst themselves [in concorso fra loro]1 and with Rudy Hermann Guede, killed Meredith Kercher, by strangling her, fracturing the hyoid bone, and [causing] deep lesions to the left and right sides of the neck, with a sharp weapon to which count (B) applies, and resulting in hemorrhagic shock with asphyxiation secondary to blood loss (caused by the wounds from the sharp weapon in the antero-lateral and right-lateral regions of the neck, and the aspiration of much blood), and benefitting from the late hour and the isolation of the apartment in which Kercher and Knox were tenants, along with two young Italian women (Filomena Romanelli and Laura Mezzetti), in Perugia, at 7 Via della Pergola, committing the deed for trivial reasons [motivi futili], while Guede, in concourse with them, committed the crime of sexual assault. (B) of the criminal offense to which article 110 of the Criminal Code and article 4 of Law 110 of 1975 apply, for having, in complicity between themselves, taken from Sollecito's residence, without justified reason, a large knife, 31 cm long (seized at Sollecito’s apartment on 6 November 2007, Exhibit 36) (C) of the felony to which articles 110, 609 bis and ter2 section 2 of the Criminal Code apply, for having, in concourse between themselves and with Rudy Hermann Guede (with Guede the actual perpetrator, in complicity with the co-accused), forced Meredith Kercher to 1 Concorso (translated as “complicity”) is a term in Italian law indicating that the actions and realized intentions which resulted in the event that occurred were shared, in such a way that there is shared legal responsibility for the crime. It is a technical term with its own jurisprudence, and is divided into sub- categories for the several kinds of concorso codified into law, each with different meanings. The possibilities include: having a role in the chain of causes that produce a crime, planning an action committed by others, sharing an intention different from the actual crime, lending moral support, being necessary to an action, or bringing support while not being unnecessary. For murder, the concept can be compared with the old common law felonies of murder-in-company, and robbery-in-company. 2 The term “bis” means twice in Latin, “ter” means three times; they are used in various legal systems when a new section is added to a code so as to avoid the necessity of renumbering all the code sections that follow. submit to sexual acts, with digital and/or genital penetration, using violence and threats, consisting of restraint producing bruises, in particular to the arms, legs, and vulvar area (bruises on the antero-lateral face of the left buttock, bruises in the vestibular area of the vulva, a bruised area on the front of the middle third of the right leg), and in the use of the knife under count (B). (D) of the felony to which articles 110 and 624 of the Criminal Code apply, because, in complicity amongst themselves, to gain unjust profit for themselves, in the circumstances of time and place in which counts (A) and (C) apply, took possession of a sum of approximately 300 euros, two credit cards, from Abbeybank and Nationwide, both based in the United Kingdom, and two mobile phones, property of Meredith Kercher, removing them from her, who was in possession of them. (Fact to be qualified in the senses of article 624 bis of the Criminal Code, due to the reference to the place of execution of the crime contained in count (A), here referenced.) (E) of the criminal offense to which articles 110, 367 and 61 section 2 of the Criminal Code apply, for having, in complicity between themselves, simulated an attempted burglary by breaking into the room of Filomena Romanelli at 7 Via della Pergola, breaking the window glass with a rock taken near [iii] the residence, a rock that was left in the room near the window, to provide impunity for themselves for the crimes of murder and sexual assault, attempting to attribute the responsibility for them to unknown persons who entered the apartment for this purpose. All of these events having taken place in Perugia, on the night between 1 and 2 November 2007. Amanda Marie KNOX, in addition: (F) of the criminal offense3 to which articles 81 cpv., 368 paragraph 2 and 61 section 2 of 3 The charge of calunnia (article 368 of the Italian Criminal Code) has been commonly translated as “slander” in the English/US media. This translation is incorrect, however, as calunnia is a crime that has no direct equivalent in either of those legal systems. The equivalent of “criminal slander” is diffamazione, which is an attack on someone’s reputation. Calunnia is the crime of making false criminal accusations against someone whom the accuser knows to be innocent, or of simulating / fabricating false evidence, independently of the credibility / admissibility of the accusation or evidence.