Amanda Knox fundraiser tonight at Salty's on Alki

Toad January 25, 2009 (1:56 am)

No offense, but I can think of 500 things more worthy of donating money to than a girl who got mixed up with the wrong guy and is now accused of murder. Especially when money is so scarce these days.

Bender January 25, 2009 (10:07 am)

And one of those things is to post on a website saying that you disapprove of her fundraiser? 499 to go.

Aidan Hadley January 25, 2009 (10:55 am)

I’m sort of with Toad. I’ve been rooting for Amanda to be exonerated just because I have the sense that the investigation is incredibly flawed. But at the end of the day her roommate was murdered while Amanda was actually in the apartment and Ms. Knox has been less than forthcoming about what actually happened. I’d have a hard time forking over my hard-earned dollars to support her defense when there are so many unanswered questions about what actually happened.

jeannie January 25, 2009 (12:55 pm)

I wonder what the family of the British girl who was murdered would think of this. We don’t know if Amanda is guilty or not, and I feel very bad for Amanda’s family. And yes, it’s true, people can donate to whatever they want, but I can think of much greater needs. I also have to wonder if there would be such an outpouring of support if Amanda was less photogenic.

Meghan January 25, 2009 (2:18 pm)

I can’t believe how judgmental and lacking in compassion a few of the above posts are. A dear friend of mine know this family very well and they, along with every single person who really knows Amanda, believe 1000% that Amanda is innocent. Plus several independent investigators have concluded that there simply isn’t evidence to show she did it and that she is being railroaded by a very flawed investigation and a desire to “bring someone to justice”. This nightmare has destroyed their lives and this fundraiser will help put a dent in the incredible expenses that have mounted fighting for Amanda’s freedom. So I think it is a very worthy cause. And I hope that if you or a member of your family is “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and is erroneously accused of a crime, people will be more compassionate than you.

DCS Foyle January 25, 2009 (3:18 pm)

Don’t forget, everyone, about Patrick Diya Lumumba. Remember him? He’s the bar owner that Ms. Knox tried to throw under the bus. He was completely exonerated, but because of all the notoriety, he lost his business. I don’t suppose the Knox family and their well-connected friends could slide him a few Euros to help make ends meet? ‘Randy Mandy’ may not be the plaster saint you’re trying to make her out to be.
There’s a lot of unanswered questions here, and I’m not ready to make Ms. Knox the next Poster Child for Amnesty International. Ms. Knox is being represented by one of the best lawyers in Italy. I’m pretty sure she’ll get a fair trial.

seriously January 25, 2009 (5:55 pm)

how about a fundraiser for that family in England who is missing a daughter/sister/grandchild/niece?

c'mon now January 25, 2009 (6:04 pm)

Meghan- no disrespect, but please. Of course people close to Amanda think she is innocent. “wrong place at the wrong time” is more along the lines of being part of a random act in a random place. I would say having someone brutally murdered in the apt. where Amanda lived, coupled with the fact that she and others changed their stories makes (rather justifies) her being a person of interest. How erroneous is it? Go give them your paycheck, Ill keep mine for a better, more worthy cause.

Krystal January 25, 2009 (8:36 pm)

seriously: are you referring to Maddie McCann? There’s an interesting case!

Marie Antoinette January 26, 2009 (8:07 am)

While it is natural for family and friends to support someone accused of a crime, the lengths to which this family and its friends have gone to wage a smear campaign in the United States against the Italian prosecutor and indeed Italy’s system of criminal justice is highly suspicious.

The website set up by supporters does not tell the whole story by a long shot. No fewer than 12 independent judges have confirmed that the evidence against Amanda Knox is real and serious, and in October she and her boyfriend were indicted after a long, serious and good faith investigation.

The event at Salty’s on Saturday night was nothing more than a public relations ploy. The local media was summoned and the local media came with their cameras for sound bites at 11 pm. Indeed, the local media has done nothing more than serve as a mouthpiece for the family and friends, whose access to the press has been orchestrated by a PR firm. There has been no investigative journalism, no verification of the facts, no real reporting. For anyone who is really interested in the complex set of facts surrounding this case, and who wants to know why Knox and her ex-boyfriend are on trial, just google true justice for Meredith Kercher or Perugia Murder File. They may be exonerated after the trial is conducted, and in spite of what the friends say, Italy respects due process and innocent until proven guilty.
You wouldn’t know it from reading or watching local sources, but Meredith Kercher is the name of the victim here — the young woman from Britain who was brutally murdered on the night of November 1, 2007. Meredith’s family has been remarkably silent and dignified, but on the few occasions they have spoken publicly, they have expressed their full faith in the prosecutor, the investigators and the Italian system of criminal justice. The centerpiece of the Knox PR campaign, which the local media has not questioned at all, is that the prosecutor and the Italian system are corrupt and out to get Knox because she is American or to save face. This is nonsense.

Sally January 26, 2009 (8:20 am)

man, it doesn’t take long for all of crazies to show up, saying the same stuff every single time

TeresaP January 26, 2009 (8:37 am)

I have a bad feeling about anyone who is standing outside the crime scene macking on her boyfriend while the police are investigating a murder in her apartment.

Something really really wrong with that.

gimmeAbreak January 26, 2009 (10:35 am)

Hey, thanks.

Any other murders and rapists we can give support to out there?

Maybe some who aren’t rich enough to hire a PR firm to burnish their tattered images?

You\\\'llBelieveAnything January 26, 2009 (10:40 am)

Shortly after her arrest, Knox’s family hired Seattle public relations specialist David Marriott. Along with Bremner and others, Marriott has waged a polished, aggressive campaign to present a more sympathetic picture of Knox while assailing Italian authorities, particularly prosecutor Mignini.

To bad that governor from illinois couldn’t hire Seattle PR consultants

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/395681_knox12.html

BelieveAnything January 26, 2009 (10:43 am)

Shortly after her arrest, Knox’s family hired Seattle public relations specialist David Marriott. Along with Bremner and others, Marriott has waged a polished, aggressive campaign to present a more sympathetic picture of Knox while assailing Italian authorities, particularly prosecutor Mignini.

To bad that governor from illinois couldn’t hire Seattle PR consultants

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/395681_knox12.html

Meghan January 26, 2009 (10:53 am)

Wow, there are sure a lot of mean-spirited people out there. I hope you know that you reap what you sow. The tragedy of Meredith’s murder doesn’t make Amanda guilty. You need real evidence to convict someone of murder and there just isn’t enough whatsoever in this case. Anyone who thinks Amanda is guilty ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ (or AT ALL) needs to what the “48 Hours” (a show not known for giving the accused the benefit of the doubt) that dealt with this case. They concluded, through interview after interview with forensic experts, that it was very unlikely Amanda committed this crime. The investigations was incredibly flawed from the start. And as is SO often the case (which you’d know if you followed the workings of the legal system closely), the police knew who they wanted to accuse and manipulated the media and crime scene to fit that outcome. I do not believe Amanda will be convicted. But because the police won’t really pursue anyone else, she probably won’t be able to clear her name either. And if you knew this family, you would know that they are FAR from rich. They are a middle class family from Arbor Heights with a modest home.

Johnson January 26, 2009 (10:58 am)

Really, did W. Seattle Blog get any money fromt he PR firm to advertise this fundraiser?

Did Salty’s or Holy Rosary get their 30 pieces of silver for their role?

Where can I sign up to get on the gravy train?

WSB January 26, 2009 (11:06 am)

We didn’t advertise it. (And when we do mention a sponsor, we always put [WSB sponsor] immediately after the sponsor’s name, so there is NEVER any lack of clarity about who’s a sponsor and who is not.)
I put it in the events calendar after reading about it someplace else – regardless of what you think about the people involved and the purpose, it was an event, in West Seattle, with apparently hundreds of people in attendance, and our events calendar is intended to be as complete a record as possible of what’s happening.
Our crews were busy at two other community events Saturday night which we felt were more important to our community-coverage mission, so the coverage I linked above was the Q13 story, and I believe it’s fairly clearly labeled as such.

beachdrivegirl January 26, 2009 (11:14 am)

Thank you WSB for being as unbiased with your reporting as possible. Although, I dont know Amanda’s family personally their store has created a soft spot in my heart. And yes, like Meghan, I did watch the 48 hour mystery show and that is what changed my mind.

Marie Antoinette January 26, 2009 (2:56 pm)

“West Seattle, with apparently hundreds of people in attendance, and our events calendar is intended to be as complete a record as possible of what’s happening.” WSB editor

Sorry to correct you, editor, but it looks like you only read the West Seattle Herald headline, which referred to “hundreds.” The body copy said 120 (which in someone’s mind is hundreds, I suppose). I am guessing about 100, which is the room’s capacity for a silent auction.

Nancy Grace spent about five minutes talking about this case today on Barbara Walters’ daytime show The View (ABC). She was her usual factual and succinct self. She offers a very different picture from that provided by supporters. The 48-hour mystery program referred to above was widely discredited as having been made on the cheap and lacking in facts. Paul Ciolino, who was Saturday night’s star speaker, made a fool of himself on the show.

It is probably a good idea to look beyond US media sources if you really want to get accurate information. Their coverage, with a couple of notable exceptions, has been appalling. Read Barbie Nadeau’s coverage in Newsweek, for example. She is actually based in Italy and has followed this case from the start. Or read the UK Guardian. Its coverage has been consistently factual and non-sensationalistic.

WSB January 26, 2009 (3:26 pm)

We published this item on Saturday night when the only thing online was the Q13 story, but several other reports have appeared elsewhere since then. If you were there, I’ll take your word for it; more than a hundred is still a big-enough turnout to make it a ‘major’ event, but your comment reminds me of what has long been the standard for both media and police – don’t estimate the crowd unless you counted it yourself. (Which we usually do, such as in the case of the school-closure march yesterday in the CD.) So I apologize for regurgitating a number read somewhere; “apparently” is not a good enough qualifier – TR

Cleveland Ken January 26, 2009 (4:26 pm)

Why doesn’t everyone wait to see if she is innocent or guilty. If innocent you can give some of your hard earned cash. If guilty let her rot. Easy as that.

beachdrivegirl January 26, 2009 (4:37 pm)

Marie Antoinette how do you decide what is a more factual news source do you work for any of them?

Denny Colt January 26, 2009 (7:35 pm)

beachdrivegirl, you do raise a provocative question, but let me ask you this: outside of “The First 48 Hours”, what research have you done on the case? Have you read any non-US news sources for comparison? Have you logged on to the BBC website, the UK Guardian, or read the Newsweek article Marie Antoinette cites. The fact that MA cites these sources suggests she may be a little more well-read on this than you. Just remember: many of OJ’s most fervent supporters are convinced he didn’t do it, either. I just have this feeling that a lot of folks who think they know Amanda Knox may be in for some real rude shocks. With a high-profile case like this, the World will be watching, and I’m sure the Italians are going to be bending over backwards to ensure AK gets a fair trial, in spite of everything the Knox family’s hired PR guns say to the contrary.

Jimmy Olsen January 26, 2009 (7:43 pm)

I’m with Marie Antoinette. If you actually compare news magazines like “Time” vs. the “Economist”, there really isn’t much comparison. Outside of the NY Times and the Washington Post, the state of American journalism is pretty pathetic. These days, most newsrooms have too few resources to do more that reprint press releases from advocacy groups (like the friends of Amanda Knox). And forget about TV. Those Barbie and Ken dolls reading Teleprompters are not journalists. At least the British believe in truth in advertising, and call them ‘presenters’. This is a complex case, and before one makes a hasty judgement, they should really Google a few different news sources.

Nancy Drew January 26, 2009 (7:59 pm)

I can see how the prosecutions claim of ‘a sex game gone wrong’ makes sense because of personal experience. A long time ago, when I was in high school, I was at a friends house playing Monopoly. One of my friends started fooling around with a knife, waving it around. Like an idiot, I tried to grab the knife hand, but he zigged and I zagged, and the blade came down on the web between my thumb and forefinger, cutting all the way to the bone (do you know bones are pink?)! My friend never intended to hurt anyone but it happened. Young people can do jackass things; it’s just our nature sometimes. But this is no game. A girl is dead, and another man was ruined by Ms. Knox’s false testimony; where’s the sympathy and fundraisers for them? Like it or not, Ms. Knox has not been upfront about what happened, and there are holes in her story big enough to drive a Hummer through. Time and the trial will tell just what her role, if any, was in all this, but I think there’s a lot she’s not telling.

beachdrivegirl January 27, 2009 (7:54 am)

Denny colt I have read both outside sources as well as watched the “48 hours” show I actually was quite obsessed with the case and have mixed emotions as to what I think I happened. My concern with the current prosecuters theory is that it does not add up. I do think Knox knows more than she is saying but i do not believe that she is the sex crazed cold blooded killer the prosecution is making her out to be. I am guessing Knox’s lawyer knows the hole story and in time we will all have a better udnerstanding of what happened.

PrepPantherAlumn January 28, 2009 (10:10 pm)

Jeez, I missed the party for OJ Simpson and Casey Anthony!

Friend of the Truth February 8, 2009 (2:23 am)

Odd that Skeptical Bystander repeat her usual comments as Marie Antoinette here. Shouldn’t she have mentioned she hung around Salty’s all night with her friends and wrote about her “findings”?