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Charles Beitz' Human Rights Model and the Trial of Amanda Knox

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Charles Beitz' Human Rights Model and the Trial of Amanda Knox Charles Beitz’ Human Rights Model and the Trial of Amanda Knox Introduction: When in Perugia (Rome) To cry “unfair” in response to Amanda Knox’s conviction through the lens of an ethnocentrically limited view of law and procedure fails to acknowledge the global reality in which we find ourselves today.1 -- Maureen Howard On November 2, 2007, British exchange student Meredith Kercher was found semi- naked with her throat slashed in Perugia, Italy. Kercher shared her apartment with Amanda Knox, an American exchange student from Seattle, as well as two other women, who left Italy that weekend for a vacation. Knox and her then-boyfriend Raeffele Sollecito, an Italian student, were held as suspects by the Italian police. On December 9, 2009, after spending two full years in prison, Knox and Sollecito were convicted of murdering Kercher in a drug-fueled sex game that turned violent on the night of November 1, 2007. According to the judge’s version of the event, the murder, carried out “with no planning, no animosity or rancor against the victim,” was a combination of “purely random” circumstances, which involved not only the young couple but also Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast-born drifter and Knox’s acquaintance in Perugia.2 Guede was convicted for murder separately under a fast- track procedure. Knox and Sollecito were sentenced to twenty-six and twenty-five years in prison respectively. 1 Maureen A. Howard, A Lesson From Amanda Knox, U.S. Student Jailed in Italy, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Apr. 8, 2010, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maureen-a-howard/a-lesson-from-amanda-knox_b_529646.html. 2 FOX NEWS, Judge Rules Amanda Knox Killed “Without Animosity,” Mar. 4, 2010, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/03/04/judge-rules-amanda-knox-killed-animosity/. 1 The case attracted much attention because of its unresolved mysteries as well as its sensationalism, especially the paradoxical images portrayed of Knox. While the prosecutor called Knox a “she-devil,” her defense lawyer described her as a hardworking and cheerful young woman.3 Contradictory testimonies by both Knox and Sollecito made them look suspicious, yet what Knox’ defense attorneys considered to be flawed forensic evidence offered by the prosecutors also made Knox’s conviction seem unfair.4 Knox’s attorneys also claimed that reports about her alleged sexual promiscuity in tabloid media made the defense an uphill battle in front of an unsequestered jury.5 A diplomatic furor arose after the verdict prompted Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington State to accuse Italy of its flawed judicial system. The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton initially said she would meet with Cantwell over Knox’s conviction. Nevertheless, her spokesman later announced that the United States government had found no “indications … that Italian law was not followed.”6 The conviction of Knox by no means signaled the end of the story. Giuliano Mignini, the head prosecutor who convicted Knox of murder was later convicted for his mishandling of a separate murder case. Thus, there is reason to believe that the court may take a second look at Mignini’s methods in Knox’s case, including the possibility of his leaking false information about Knox to the press.7 In April 2010, the Knox family received 3 E.g., John Hooper, She-devil of Family’s Nightmares or Amelie of Seattle: The Two Faces of Amanda Knox, THE GUARDIAN, Dec. 4, 2009, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/04/two-faces-of-amanda-knox. 4 See, e.g., CNN.COM, Prosecution Closing in Amanda Knox Trial, Nov. 20, 2009, http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/20/italy.kercher.trial/index.html. 5 E.g., Tiffany Sharples, How Strong Is the Evidence Against Amanda Knox? TIME, Jun. 14, 2009, http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/20/italy.kercher.trial/index.html. 6 E.g., FOX NEWS, supra note 2. 7 Steve Shay, Amanda Knox Head Prosecutor Charged with “Abuse of Power,” WEST SEATTLE HERALD, Jan. 31, 2010, http://www.westseattleherald.com/forum/amanda-knox-head-prosecutor-charged- %E2%80%9Cabuse-power%E2%80%9D. Mignini was found guilty in the Florence Court of illegal phone 2 some good news. Italian authorities acquired a videotaped confession of Guede’s prison- mate, which says that Knox was not present during the crime. Besides, the Italian court awarded Knox’s family USD $55,000 for violation of privacy and illegal publication of court documents. Italian and American legal experts also met in Rome to discuss her case.8 Nevertheless, Knox’s predicament is not entirely bright. While her family has been struggling to set her free through the appeals process, her prosecutors filed a formal notice in mid-April 2010, citing her apparent “lack of remorse” and thereby seeking to extend her sentence to a life term in prison.9 Meanwhile, Knox’s supporters continue to hold that Knox’s human rights have been violated by the Italian government. Knox’s family and friends tried to garner support on the Internet to petition to the Amnesty International and even the United States President.10 This paper studies the case of Knox with respect to Charles Beitz’ human rights model. Part I describes Betiz’ idea of human rights as well as the mechanism of his two- level model. Part II employs Betiz’ model to illuminate why Clinton made the correct decision not to intervene in the Italian Court’s decision and why international organizations, such as the United Nations and Amnesty International, should do the same. Part II contrasts the criminal justice system of Italy with that of the United States and shows how Italy’s reformed criminal code produced a traditional inquisitorial system with adversarial elements. Because the Italian government abided by its law throughout Knox’s trial, it tapping, abuse of high office, and dereliction of duty in connection with the highly publicized “The Monster of Florence” serial killer case in Italy. Id. 8 Howard, supra note 1. 9 E.g., CBSNEWS, Knox Lawyer: Lack of Evidence Will Free Amanda, Apr. 19, 2010, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/04/19/earlyshow/main6410647.shtml. 10 See, e.g., FRIENDS OF AMANDA KNOX, FRIENDS OF AMANDA KNOX: A SITE DEVOTED TO THE TRUTH ABOUT AMANDA AND THE CHARGES AGAINST HER, http://www.friendsofamanda.org/home_eng.html [last accessed Apr. 30, 2010]; Jeffrey Dearman, Help Amnesty International, Free Amanda Knox, FACEBOOK, http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/view?pid=140949189&_fb_noscript=1 [last accessed Apr. 30, 2010]. 3 satisfied its responsibilities delineated in the first level of Beitz’s model and intervention by other nations or international organizations would be unnecessary and improper. Part III shows how Knox’s trial and its controversy invite readers to revisit the theories of toleration in Beitz’ human rights model, to dismantle their implicit self-other dichotomy, and to push more room for introspection. While the United States and Italy are both “liberal societies” according to John Rawls’ definition, Knox’s trial urges readers, especially Americans, not only to study the Italian justice system but also to take an introspective look at the American justice system and to reform it so that it could perform a better role to safeguard human rights. I. Charles Beitz’ Human Rights Model Beitz builds upon John Rawls’ idea of “liberal” and “decent” peoples to formulate his model of human rights. Citing to Rawls, he defines human rights as “a special class of urgent rights,” including rights to life, personal liberty, and personal property, whose violation is “equally condemned by both reasonable liberal people and decent hierarchical peoples.” Moreover, these rights are universal in that they are binding on all peoples and societies, including “outlaw states” that are neither liberal nor decent.11 A society must adhere to human rights to be a member “in good standing in a reasonably just Society of Peoples”; conversely, a society whose institutions fail to honor these rights makes it self vulnerable to forceful intervention to protect human rights.12 Beitz emphasizes that liberal and decent societies can have different conceptualizations of human rights. To hold that 11 CHARLES BEITZ, THE IDEA OF HUMAN RIGHTS 97 (Oxford U. P. 2009). These “human rights proper” nonetheless do not include the full complement of rights found in the international law of human rights, such as freedom of thought and the rights of democratic political participation, which Rawls calls “liberal aspirations” that “presuppose specific kinds of institutions.” Id. 12 Id. at 98. 4 these rights should be explicable in terms of a single value would be too abstract or would constrain their substantive scope.13 Beitz appropriates Rawls’ idea of justice as an analogy for his concept of human rights. Rawls contends that people may disagree about the content of justice, but may still agree about the role that these principles of justice play in moral and political thought. Hence, while people disagree about the content of human rights, they may nevertheless agree about the role of human rights in global political life and thereby adhere to them.14 According to Beitz, a practical conception of human rights relies on a two-level model that divides labor between the states as bearers of the primary responsibilities to respect and protect human rights and the international community as the guarantors of these responsibilities.15 Human rights thus apply in the first instance to state political institutions, including their constitutions, laws, and public polities. Governments have limited discretion to choose the means by which they carry out responsibilities, such as respecting the underlying interests in the conduct of the state’s official business and protecting non- voluntary victims of deprivation.16 A government’s failure to carry out its first-level responsibilities may be a reason for “second-level” agents to take action.
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