Amanda Knox Found Guilty of Murder in Italy

December 4, 2009

Amanda Knox, the 22-year-old American on trial in Italy for the last 11 months, has been found guilty of murdering her roommate. The jury also convicted Amanda's 25-year-old former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.

Amanda has been sentenced to 26 years in prison, following a trial that many considered less than fair. The prosecution described Amanda as a "dirty-minded she-devil," and at one point she had to explain why she possessed a sex toy. Amanda's defense tried to paint her as a naive young woman caught up in the system, but it appears that the prosecution, with the help of the Italian media, convinced the jury that Amanda was guilty. What do you make of the verdict?

Source: Getty

35 Comments

2 years

Judge Massei's 427- page report will be published in English on Monday 9 August. It will be available for download from PMF and TJMK.

3 years

I find the way this trial is depicted in American media is vastly different from the way it is depicted elsewhere. That is scary on many levels, but eye-opening. My opinion? She is definitely guilty.

3 years

@ CaterpillarGirl: you can't call someone else wrong unless you are willing to back up why you are right ;-) I would love to hear what you have to say, as I think this is a very interesting case and I'm always up for a friendly debate.

Erleucht 3 years

If what anonymous has posted is halfway true, I can understand the guilty verdict. Since there is so much "misinformation" posted on the internet, who is to proclaim this guilt or innocence, as a bystander/reader of all of the internet hearsay. I can only say that like anonymous I know Scott Peterson was convicted strictly on circumstantial evidence. And don't forget the angelic sweet face of Susan Atkins, one of the female ringleaders of Charles Manson. One can't always tell a book by the cover nor can one know everything that the jury heard. Let me say that I pray if she is innocent, that her conviction is speedily overturned.

CaterpillarGirl 3 years

^ comment. your wrong on so many points I cannot even go into it. but thats is maybe why you came on anonymously.

CaterpillarGirl 3 years

^ comment. your wrong on so many points I cannot even go into it. but thats is maybe why you came on anonymously.

3 years

The crime that was committed could not have been accomplished by one person. If Rudy Guede had acted alone, there would have been signs of struggle from the victim (bruises, cuts, DNA under her finger nails, etc) and there was not. It is pretty obvious that it took multiple people to accomplish this. Why did Raffaele say he was on his computer during the time of the murder, and it was then proven that he was not? Why did Amanda say she was with Raffaele, but he said she wasn't, and then that he couldn't remember? Why did neither of them have a solid alibi to prove they could not have been at the house the time of the murder? Why was there a knife found in Raffaele's kitchen with Amanda's DNA on the handle and Merideth's on the tip, that was also covered in bleach? Why was Amanda's blood found mixed with Merideth's blood in their bidet? And people honestly feel the prosecution couldn't prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt? Anyone can sit there and say, "Oh, she changed her story multiple times because she was questioned for days and was abused by the police." This is pure B.S. Did anyone read about the Newsweek reporter that was held and TORTURED in a foreign country because they thought he was a spy? He was held for 118 days, and NEVER admitted to being a spy because he WASN'T. Also, if she were really beaten as badly as she claims by the Italian police, why didn't she have any cuts or bruises from the abuse? Why didn't her lawyer take pictures of these cuts of bruises if she had them to use them as evidence against the police? Probably because she had no cuts or bruises because she wasn't beaten. And if she was innocent, she never would have admitted to a crime she didn't commit or throw innocent people under the bus. And enough about the jury not being sequestered. They aren't over here either, folks. In your regular every day court case, the jury goes home at night and is only asked that they don't read or listen to anything about the trial. Do they abide by this? No one knows. But our justice system isn't locking jurors up somewhere secluded, so you can't blame media exposure for her verdict. People are convicted of crimes all the time without hard DNA evidence. Scott Peterson, anyone? Any does ANYONE doubt that he killed his wife and child? What sealed the deal for Scott Peterson was his peculiar actions throughout the investigation and the trial. And that is exactly what got Amanda Knox and her boyfriend. There is not a doubt in my mind that these 3 acted together in some strange set of circumstances, and I am glad they are all behind bars and I hope they will stay that way for their entire sentences.

plasticine 3 years

the picture the prosecutors are trying to paint about what happened makes me imagine an outlandish "reefer madness"-type scenario, which, is totally possible, i mean some people out there must be capable of pulling-off something that crazy. i wonder if the public now will simply forget about this once the media coverage is over. we shouldn't. "a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." i'm 21 and own a vibrator, if this can happen to her, it can happen to me. i wish this isnt ignored

plasticine 3 years

the picture the prosecutors are trying to paint about what happened makes me imagine an outlandish "reefer madness"-type scenario, which, is totally possible, i mean some people out there must be capable of pulling-off something that crazy.i wonder if the public now will simply forget about this once the media coverage is over. we shouldn't. "a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." i'm 21 and own a vibrator, if this can happen to her, it can happen to me. i wish this isnt ignored

3 years

regardless of her guilt or innocence -- which we'll likely never know with any certainty -- her case should be a lesson to all students who are traveling and studying abroad. It's critical to make yourself aware of the legal system where you'll be living, learning and playing and what rights you may or may not have there. Additionally, be sure to keep contact information for the US Ambassador's Office (of wherever you'll be) with your passport or wallet.

3 years

i heard taht foxy knoxy is editing the new issue of vague paper, weird...

mkls6044 3 years

Clear skies and cotedazur- the Italian police "decided" that since that other guy was already convicted, with actual evidence, that there must have been a conspiracy that Knox and her boyfriend were involved WITH Guede. Seems to me like if people fault Amanda for changing her story, they also have to fault the police for changing their theory to fit the crime!

clearskies 3 years

There are a million things I'd like to say about this trial but the main thing is who wasn't a "dirty-minded she-devil" in college!??! I don't think that is a strong enough case against her. Also, I agree with cotedazur about the Ivory Coast guy, who they found his dna inside of her, was already convicted of the murder...how does this all work together?

foudini 3 years

Ditto to what VSugar said! There is just something not right about this case. I'm not buying what they're selling. It's like that nagging feeling you get when you know something's not quite right.

eastcoastgirl 3 years

It wasn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Pretty sad especially if she is innocent!

gigill 3 years

Wow, I'm shocked at the outcome. Can she appeal?

3 years

Wow, Akasha... that's insane! Poor girl (figuratively ;) ) Hmm. Imagine how ordinary folk are being mistreated then... this is bad news.... Reminds me of that movie... Brokendown Palace I think it was called?

Akasha 3 years

I went to school in Italy and while it was an amazing experience and most of the people were super friendly and helpful, but non-Europeans are treated very differently by the police. While there my housemate, who was from Brazil, was mugged and had her passport stolen. Because her father is an ambassador she has a very specialized passport that allows her to bypass a lot of customs, so it was very important that she notify all the proper authorities immediately. When we went to the Italian police they kept her for 4 hours insisting that she sold it because it would have been worth around 60,000 euros in the black market. Despite the fact that she's worth millions,and her father is a government official they were sure that she was a criminal.

3 years

and the "dirty-minded she-devil" coment... wtf. I mean look at their own leader and his sex scandals. hypocrites much.

3 years

Hm. Too sensationalize; Not a fair trial at all. If she IS really guilty- okay, no problem. Her guilt is not the question here- but rather the trial which I believe did not even prove guilt.... Sigh She needs a white Al Sharpton. :p

jocupcake 3 years

The evidence that the prosecution used against her is just ridiculous. The knife wounds do not match the knife that they claim she used (as testified to by an expert witness). The prosecution also argues that Amanda's dna is on the handle while the victim's is on the blade. Since that knife was a kitchen knife in a home they both shared, it is not unlikely that their dna would be all over it. There is simply no real evidence against Amanda and I am a bit shocked that the jury managed to convict her despite this. It certainly seems as though they relied mainly on their prejudices against her - it seems that justice is not blind in this case.

jocupcake 3 years

mirandapanda195 3 years

Personally, I do think she's guilty. Thats the problem. The whole trial was based on assumptions, opinions, and media sensationalization. I think that, guilty or not, she deserves a real trial. Yes a real one- I've decided that Italian trials are fake. I hope she does well, overcomes this and moves past this horrible event in the years to come.

Kimpossible 3 years

Handling cases poorly seems to be a trend in Italy. the book The Monster of Florence comes to mind. It's a true story about a number of murders in Italy where the killer was never found, but the cases were all handled so poorly.

mkls6044 3 years

I also think its very interesting and unjust that Guede was already convicted for her murder- with physical, DNA evidence against him- yet Knox and her boyfriend were still convicted as well. And that the jury was unsequestered- that's crazy in a trial with this much media attention. That alone would be enough for an appeal in the US- I wonder what the appellate process is like in Italy. The criminal justice system in America isnt perfect, but it sounds amazingly better than Italy's!

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