Two weeks after Lumumba’s ar- Based on the skimpy forensic evi- Amanda Knox And rest he was released because he dence, lead Giuliano Raffaele Sollecito Acquitted had the iron-clad alibi of being at Mignini wove a tale unsupported his bar when Kercher was mur- by any evidence that Kercher’s Of Murder And Sexual dered. That added fuel to the me- murder was the result of a sex dia bonfire since the only evidence game gone wrong. One of his Assault By Appeals Court against him was Knox’s statement. props unsupported by evidence was an animated cartoon shown to By Hans Sherrer Forensic testing of the evidence in the jury that depicted Knox stab- Kercher’s room only identified the bing Kercher as Sollecito and Meredith Kercher manda Knox and her co-defendant and DNA and fingerprints of one man Guede held her on her knees. Aformer boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito -- 20-year-old Rudy Guede. The DNA evi- were acquitted by an appellate court on dence placing Guede at the scene included They were both convicted of all charges on October 3, 2011 of the November 2007 his semen recovered from Kercher. An ar- December 4, 2009. Knox was sentenced to murder and sexual assault of Meredith rest warrant was issued and he was tracked 26 years in prison and Sollecito to 25 years. Kercher in , . They were re- down in where he had fled imme- Together they were ordered to pay 5 million leased 90 minues later. After the two were diately after Kercher’s murder. He was ex- euros ($7.4 million) to Kercher’s family. In convicted in December 2009 she was sen- tradited to Italy. When questioned Guede addition, Knox was ordered to pay 40,000 tenced to 26 years in prison and Sollecito to admitted having sex with Kercher which he euros ($60,000) to Lumumba. 25 years. said was consensual and that he was present when she was murdered by a man he didn’t On appeal Guede’s conviction was upheld Knox was a 20-year-old student at the Uni- know who entered through her bedroom on December 22, 2009, but his sentence was versity of Washington when in September window. He didn’t identify Knox and Sol- reduced to 16 years because he expressed 2007 she traveled from her hometown of lecito as being present. Guede was indicted remorse for his role in Kercher’s murder. , Washington to Italy where she for the murder and sexual assault of Kercher. planned to spend her junior year studying at Most observers expected Knox and Sol- the University for Foreigners in Perugia. In October 2008 Guede was convicted of lecito to be acquitted, so interest dramatical- murdering and sexually assaulting Kercher. ly intensified in their case after their She and three other young wom- He was sentenced to 30 years in convictions. Instantly their case became an en shared a house in Perugia. prison. international cause célèbre of two apparent- One of her housemates was Mer- ly innocent people wrongly convicted of a edith Kercher, 21, from England. Days after Guede’s convictions horrible crime. A Lifetime movie was pro- Knox and Sollecito were indicted duced, at least 17 books were written about Kercher’s body that had been for the murder and sexual assault the case (see the list at the end of this arti- beaten and stabbed multiple of Kercher. Knox was also cle), and numerous websites and blogs in times was found in her blood- charged with calunnia different countries were dedicated to ana- soaked bedroom on November (misleading and obstructing the lyzing the evidence or reporting about the 2, 2007. Knox called the police police) for falsely implicating latest developments. A key website with after she returned home from Lumumba in Kercher’s murder. detailed information was Injustice In Peru- spending the night at Sollecito’s Amanda Knox during gia (www.injusticeinperugia.org) that had her trial in 2009 apartment when she saw blood Their trial began on January 16, analyses of the case by former FBI special in the bathroom and Kercher’s bedroom 2009. Knox testified in her own defense on agent Steve Moore, Forensic Engineer Ron door was locked. Over the next four days June 12, 2009 that the police threatened her Hendry, Mark C. Waterbury, Ph.D., and she was interrogated without a lawyer pres- with 30 years in prison and beat her into Professor Chris Halkides. Another key ent for a total of 50 hours. During a mara- making false statements, that included nam- website was Friends Of Amanda thon interrogation session she made ing Lumumba. (www.friendsofamanda.org). statement that she was in the house with Sollecito when Kercher was killed by Pat- The prosecution’s case largely hinged on On November 8, 2010 rick Lumumba, the owner of a local bar forensic testimony that suggested Knox was charged with where Knox worked. Based on that state- Sollecito’s DNA was recovered from slander based on her trial ment Knox, Sollecito, and Lumumba were Kercher’s bra strap, and Knox’s DNA was testimony accusing the arrested on suspicion of murdering Kercher. found on the handle of a knife recovered police of beating her in- from Sollecito’s apartment that had criminating statements Knox was an attractive young woman, and Kercher’s DNA on the blade, although no out of her. after her arrest the media in Italy and Eng- blood was found on the knife. None of Raffaele Sollecito land dubbed her “Foxy Knoxy,” and the Knox or Sollecito’s DNA was found in Italy’s appeal system is different than the case became an international sensation that Kercher’s bedroom, none of the shoeprints . The direct appeal of a convic- was reported in newspapers, magazine cov- imprinted in blood in her bedroom were tion involves a retrial by a jury of two er stories, and innumerable television news made by either of them, and none of judges and six lay people, and the jury can programs in the U.S., England, Italy and Kercher’s blood was found on any of Knox consider new evidence the original jury other countries. The intense media coverage or Sollectito’s clothing or shoes, or in his didn’t have available. made Knox the most recognized person in apartment. The judge denied the request of Italy, and probably one of the most recog- Knox and Sollecito’s lawyers for an inde- Knox and Sollecito’s appeal trial began in nizable non-public figures in the world. pendent review of the DNA evidence. Knox cont. on p. 15

JUSTICE DENIED: THE MAGAZINE FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED PAGE 14 ISSUE 48 - FALL 2011 Knox cont. from p. 14 for something that I did not commit. that bordered on being shoddy. There was an in- Perugia on November 24, 2010. Their law- And ended with: tense and prolonged po- yers requested that the DNA evidence be lice interrogation of a reviewed by independent examiners appoint- Maddy was killed, was murdered and I suspect without a lawyer ed by the appeals court. Their request was always wanted justice for her. I’m not present that resulted in a granted. The appeal had a number of adjourn- escaping truth. I never escaped. I’m not false incriminating state- ments, and on June 29, 2011 the independent fleeing from justice. I insist on the truth. ment. The forensic report was submitted to the court I insist after four hopeless years. My decided to charge the and entered through testimony. The report innocence, our innocence is true. It de- suspects in spite of in- found the crime scene was compromised and serves to be defended and acknowledged. complete or conflicting much of the DNA evidence was exposed to evidence of their guilt. contamination. Among other things the re- I want to go home. I want to go back to The suspect’s convic- Amanda Knox at the port detailed that Kercher’s DNA wasn’t on my life. I don’t want to be punished. I tions were largely based airport in hours after her release from the knife blade, but it was likely a crumb of don’t want my future to be taken away on unreliable forensic prison on October 4, rye bread. The report also detailed that the from me for something I didn’t do. Be- testimony. A key prose- 2011. (Reuters) bra clasp wasn’t collected until 47 days after cause I am innocent. Just like he is inno- cution witness testified Kercher’s murder and that it was moved cent. We deserve freedom. We didn’t do differently than what he or she had previous- around the room repeatedly until it ended up anything not to deserve freedom. ly stated, and afterwards he received a signif- in a pile of garbage was too contaminated to icant sentence reduction. The trial judge have any reliable evidentiary value. I have all the respect for this court, for the allowed the prosecution to rely on character care shown during our trial. Thank you. assassination and innuendo to make-up for When Guede testified he didn’t say that the lack of incriminating evidence. Knox or Sollecito were involved in the mur- After 11 hours of deliberations the jury an- der, but neither did he say they weren’t. nounced it had arrived at its verdict. On The lack of credible evidence gave the aura October 3 at about 9:30 p.m. in Perugia the that the prosecution was engaged in a quasi- With not even the thin forensic evidence chief judge announced that Knox’s convic- witch hunt. Knox and Sollecito’s ultimate relied on during the 2009 trial to support tion of obstruction for falsely implicating exoneration was only possible because after their case, during closing arguments the Lumumba was upheld. She was sentenced to their convictions people volunteered their prosecution pulled out all the stops in trying three years in prison and to pay him 22,000 time, energy and money to organize the effort to have Knox’s conviction upheld and her euros (about $29,000) restitution and his necessary to enlist the aid of experts to pro- sentence increased to life in prison based on legal fees. The judge then announced the vide their expertise pro bono to analysis evi- smearing her character. The prosecution’s defendants were acquitted of their other con- dence that either outright proved their descriptions of her bordered on absurd: victed crimes and ordered their immediate innocence or cast extreme doubt on their guilt. “Amanda is one thing and another -- that is, release. Since Knox had been imprisoned for both Saint Maria Goretti and a satanic, dia- almost four years she already served her One of the side issues of the case is that bolic she-devil given to borderline behav- three year sentence for obstruction. while it was ongoing the lead prosecutor ior.” She is a “witch of deception” whose Mignini was convicted in January 2010 of life of easy sex, drugs and alcohol is hidden She returned to Seattle on October 4. abuse of office for his conduct as lead pros- behind her fresh-faced “soap-and-water” ecutor in the infamous Monster of looks. She was described as having the The acquittal of Knox and Sollecito was case that involved a serial killer who has “mask of an impostor.”, and “We’re not reported on the front pages of newspapers in never been identified. Mignini was sen- talking about the girl you’re seeing today, the U.S., Canada, England, Italy, through- tenced to 14 months in prison, but he was who has been through four years of prison.” out Europe, and in Australia and other allowed to remain free pending appeal, and countries. For all intents and purposes their he was also allowed to continue on as lead Another difference in Italy’s legal system is case has concluded. Although another dif- prosecutor in Knox’s case. the defense gets the last word. On the morn- ference in Italy’s legal system is the prose- ing of October 3, 2011 after her lawyers cution can appeal their acquittal to Italy’s Perugia was once home to the hunting and concluded their arguments, Knox made her , it would be a suicidal bet to burning of witches, and it was only through own impassioned plea to the judges. It be- place money on the high court reinstating years of effort by many people that Knox gan with: Knox and Sollecito’s convictions consider- and Sollecito were rescued from the bonfire. ing there is no credible evidence they had It was said many times that I’m a differ- any involvement in Kercher’s murder. The following are 18 books published about ent person from the way I look. And that Meredith Kercher’s murder case published people cannot figure out who I am. I’m It can be said without any reservation that the after Knox and Sollecito were convicted in the same person I was four years ago. case of Knox and Sollecito received more December 2009. I’ve always been the same. media attention than any other wrongful con- viction case in modern history. That publicity The Fatal Gift of Beauty: The Trials of The only difference is what I suffered in is important because their convictions in- Amanda Knox, By Nina Burleigh (2011) four years. I lost a friend in the most volved many of the classic elements contrib- Murder in Italy: The Shocking Slaying of brutal inexplicable way. My trust, my uting to a wrongful conviction whether it a British Student, the Accused American full trust in the police has been betrayed. occurs in the U.S., England, Australia, China Girl, and an International Scandal, by I had to face absolutely unjust charges, or anywhere else. Among those elements is Candace Dempsey (2010) accusations and I'm paying with my life there was an inadequate police investigation Knox cont. on p. 16

JUSTICE DENIED: THE MAGAZINE FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED PAGE 15 ISSUE 48 - FALL 2011 Knox cont. from p. 15 considered the new evidence. After the Cal- U.S. Sup. Ct. Limits ifornia Supreme Court again denied his pe- The Monster of Perugia: The Framing of Evidentiary Hearings In tition, Pinholster filed an amended federal Amanda Knox, by Mark Waterbury (2011) petition in November 1997. The Amanda Knox Story: A Murder in Federal Habeas Cases Perugia, by Kimberly Brown and Vook Involving State Prisoners The District Court judge granted an eviden- (2011) tiary hearing during which Pinholster intro- Injustice in Perugia: a Book Detailing the videntiary hearings are only granted in duced the mitigating evidence discovered Wrongful Conviction of Amanda Knox and E1 out of 250 federal court habeas corpus after his sentencing. After considering that Raffaele Sollecito, by Bruce Fisher (2011) petitions filed by a state prisoner in a non- evidence the judge determined the California Take me with you: Talks with Amanda capital case, and in about 1 out of 10 capital Supreme Court’s decision that Pinholster’s Knox in prison, by Rocco Girlanda (2010) cases. However, that number will be re- trial lawyers were not ineffective “was con- Walking with Amanda, by Florisbela In- duced as a result of the U.S. Supreme trary to, or involved an unreasonable applica- ocencio de Jesus (2010) Court’s ruling on April 4, 2011 in the case tion of, clearly established Federal law” The Study Abroad Murder: Trial of the of Cullen, Acting Warden v. Pinholster (No. under §2254(d)(1).” The judge granted Century, by Will Savive (2011) 09-1088). The Court ruled that federal Dis- Pinholster’s petition and remanded his case Amanda Knox And The Perugia Murder, trict Courts must accept the state court’s for a new sentencing hearing. The State of by Giacomo Brunoro, Jacopo Pezzan, and findings of fact in evaluating a state California appealed to the Ninth Circuit Yacine May (2011) prisoner’s federal habeas corpus petition Court of Appeal, arguing that the District Court was required to only consider the facts University of Strangers, by Bob Pfeifer claiming an error under 28 USC that had been available to the California Su- (2011) §2254(d)(1). Section 2254(d)(1) applies to a claim denied on its merits by the state court. preme Court, and not any new evidence in- Darkness Descending: The Murder of troduced during the evidentiary hearing. Meredith Kercher, by Graham Johnson It is irrelevant if evidence can be disclosed during an evidentiary hearing in a federal (2010) In 2008 a 3-judge panel affirmed the Dis- Angel Face: The True Story of Student District Court that proves a petitioner’s claim and justifies granting the petition. trict Court’s ruling. (Pinholster v. Ayers, Killer Amanda Knox, by Barbie Latza 525 F. 3d 742 (2008)). The State then Nadeau (2010) sought en banc review of the panel’s ruling. The Murder of Meredith Kercher, by Gary Scott Lynn Pinholster was convicted of first- degree murder for causing two deaths during The Ninth Circuit en banc affirmed 8 to 3 C. King (2010) the District Court’s ruling. True Crime: The Amanda Knox Trial and a Tarzana, California home invasion in 1982. The prosecution sought the death penalty and the Murder of Meredith Kercher, by Eliz- The State filed a writ of certiorari with the abeth J. Hull (2011) during the sentencing hearing eight witness- es testified about Pinholster’s bad character. U.S. Supreme Court, which accepted the case. Amanda Knox and the Perugia Murder: The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit, ruling Italian Crimes, by Jacopo Pezzan, Giaco- The only mitigating evidence introduced by Pinholster’s lawyers was his mother’s testi- that a District Court judge is limited to evalu- mo Brunoro, Yacine May, and Max Du- ating a state prisoner’s claim in a federal pre' (2011) mony about his troubled childhood and that he was “a perfect gentleman at home.” habeas petition based on the same evidence Amanda Knox: A Verdict Overturned, by that the state court relied on to deny that claim Luccius Yarminkus (2011) After Pinholster’s direct appeal was denied, based on its merits. The Court also ruled that Death in Perugia: The definitive account his post-conviction lawyer investigated his the failure of Pinholster’s trial counsel to in- of the killing of British student Meredith case and discovered significant mitigating vestigate and present mitigating evidence was Kercher, by John Follain (2010) evidence. Pinholster’s state habeas petition based on reasonable tactical decisions under Finding Justice in Perugia: a follow-up to included a claim that his trial lawyers were the circumstances. Consequently, the Court Injustice in Perugia: a book detailing the ineffective for failing to investigate his case decided the California Supreme Court had not wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox and for mitigating evidence that could have unreasonably applied clearly established fed- Raffaele Sollecito, by Bruce Fisher (2011) reasonably resulted in the jury recommend- eral law to Pinholster’s penalty-phase ineffec- ing a life sentence. tive-assistance-of-counsel claim. The Court’s Sources: ruling effectively reinstated Pinholster’s death Injustice In Perugia website, sentence. www.injusticeinperugia.org The superior court denied Pinholster’s peti- Friends Of Amanda website tion without holding an evidentiary hearing www.friendsofamanda.org The Supreme Court’s ruling relied heavily Amanda Knox is a “she-devil,” Italian court told, Reu- and the California Supreme Court affirmed the denial, stating his ineffective assistance on their rejection of the Ninth Circuit’s deter- ters, September 26, 2011 mination that Pinholster’s trial lawyers had a Amanda Knox Final Plea: Full Text Transcript, Inter- of counsel claim “is without merit.” national Business Times, October 3, 2011 “constitutional duty to investigate,” and that Amanda Knox Exclusive: Convicted Prosecutor Giu- Pinholster filed a timely federal habeas cor- it was “prima facie ineffective assistance for liano Mignini May Return for “Appealing” Courtroom counsel to ‘abandon their investigation of Drama, Citing Loophole, CBS News, April 22, 2010 pus petition in April 1997 that included his state claim that his lawyers were ineffective [the] petitioner’s background after having for failing to investigate and introduce miti- acquired only rudimentary knowledge of his history from a narrow set of sources.’ ” Visit the Innocents Database gating evidence during his sentencing hear- ing. His petition included evidence the Sources: Includes details about more than California Supreme Court had not consid- Cullen, Acting Warden v. Pinholster, No. 09-1088 3,300 wrongly convicted people from ered in denying his ineffective assistance of (USSC 4-4-2011) the U.S. and other countries. Court Tosses Death Sentence in Tarzana Double Mur- counsel claim, so his federal petition was der, Metropolitan News-Enterprise, December www.forejustice.org/search_idb.htm held in abeyance while the California court 10, 2009

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