ITALY: Family of Amanda Knox hopeful as her appeal against murder conviction nears end

Record ID: 644338

  • Title: ITALY: Family of Amanda Knox hopeful as her appeal against murder conviction nears end
  • Date: 24th September 2011
  • Summary: PERUGIA, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 23, 2011) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS IN FRONT OF SCREEN SHOWING COURT PROCEEDINGS SCREEN SHOWING APPEALING PRISONER, RAFFAELE SOLLECITO, IN COURT SCREEN SHOWING HEARING IN PROGRESS POLICE CAR AND JOURNALISTS OUTSIDE COURT ENTRANCE VARIOUS OF MOTHER OF APPEALING PRISONER AMANDA KNOX, EDDA MELLAS, SPEAKING TO A GROUP OF WOMEN (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMANDA KNOX'S MOTHER, EDDA MELLAS, SAYING: "Every day is a struggle for her, every day that she is locked up is horrible. The appeal has gone great, you know, and that's great, but today you get to hear all the lies and you know, the misinformation all over again. It's hard but you know I think none of us are assuming that this is over, we just have to wait and hope that the right thing is done and that she is released." (REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERA: "But this time it is looking like there is more hope for you?") "Oh, absolutely, it's looking much better than the first time and finally now, even the media is reporting the truth and the truth has finally come out in court." (REPORTER ASKING QUESTION OFF CAMERA "Have you made any preparations for next week?") "No, I mean we're just taking it day by day, coming every day to support Amanda but that's it." FATHER OF AMANDA KNOX, KURT KNOX, OUTSIDE COURT BUILDING KURT KNOX TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITER JOHN FOLLAIN, AUTHOR OF 'DEATH IN PERUGIA', SAYING: "I think the verdict is wide open, none of the prosecutors or the lawyers I've spoken to are placing any bets. One prosecutor thinks that they might acquit, another one thinks they will convict, one defence lawyer believes that they will acquit simply on the basis of the controversy over the DNA expertise." RAFFAELE SOLLECITO'S LAWYER, GIULIA BONGIORNO, WALKING OUTSIDE COURT BUILDING (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITER JOHN FOLLAIN, AUTHOR OF 'DEATH IN PERUGIA', SAYING: "If Amanda is acquitted her lawyers told me that she will swim the Atlantic if necessary to get away from Italy as fast as possible and get back home. If she's convicted there will be another trial, it will go all the way up to Rome Supreme Court which may itself order a new appeal trial before a different court." PEOPLE OUTSIDE COURT ENTRANCE
  • Embargoed: 9th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy, Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVABTCC17USZQ8FCTUN76NVF9WAV
  • Story Text: Amanda Knox, the American college student convicted of murdering her British housemate in a frenzied sex game, is struggling but hopeful as her appeals trial entered its final stages on Friday (September 23), her mother said.
    Knox's hopes of being set free were given a strong boost by an independent report which cast strong doubt on DNA evidence used to convict her. But prosecutors urged the court to look past the confusion in the case and look at all the evidence.
    Meredith Kercher, from Surrey, England, was found lying semi-naked in a pool of blood with her throat slit in her apartment in the university town of Perugia, where she was doing a year of overseas study.
    An Italian court in 2009 sentenced Seattle-native Knox to 26 years in prison and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito to 25 years for the killing, which prosecutors said took place after a frenzied sex game which got out of hand.
    Rudy Guede, an Ivorian drifter with a criminal record, was also sentenced in October 2008 to 30 years in jail for taking part in Kercher's murder. All three say they are innocent.
    Knox's case for release was bolstered by a forensic report this year saying DNA evidence used in the trial was unreliable and numerous errors had been made by police scientists.
    Forensic experts said there was no evidence to support the original police conclusion that Kercher's blood was on a knife handled by Knox that was identified as the murder weapon.
    Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, who had arrived in Perugia on Thursday (September 22) evening for the closing arguments said the appeal had gone better than the original murder trial but added that the family was prepared for all outcomes.
    "Every day is a struggle for her, every day that she is locked up is horrible. The appeal has gone great, you know, and that's great, but today you get to hear all the lies and you know, the misinformation all over again. It's hard but you know I think none of us are assuming that this is over, we just have to wait and hope that the right thing is done and that she is released," Edda Mellas said during a break from court proceedings.
    "It's looking much better than the first time and finally now, even the media is reporting the truth and the truth has finally come out in court," she added.
    Mellas said she had heard reports that arrangements had already been put in place to take Amanda Knox back to the United States after the trial concludes but said no such agreements existed.
    "We're just taking it day by day, coming every day to support Amanda but that's it," she said.
    Meanwhile, writer John Follain, author of 'Death in Perugia', which examines the case said the final outcome was impossible to predict.
    "I think the verdict is wide open, none of the prosecutors or the lawyers I've spoken to are placing any bets. One prosecutor thinks that they might acquit, another one thinks they will convict, one defence lawyer believes that they will acquit simply on the basis of the controversy over the DNA expertise," Follain told Reuters outside the court.
    "If Amanda is acquitted her lawyers told me that she will swim the Atlantic if necessary to get away from Italy as fast as possible and get back home. If she's convicted there will be another trial, it will go all the way up to Rome Supreme Court which may itself order a new appeal trial before a different court," he added.
    A verdict from the appeal hearing is expected after concluding arguments from both prosecution and defence are wrapped up next week.
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