Thanks to the WSB’er who just called to point out this is breaking on the international/national news services: The parents of Amanda Knox, including Edda Mellas of Arbor Heights, have been ordered to stand trial in Italy for allegedly libeling investigators by saying they had mistreated her daughter while questioning her in the murder case for which she was found guilty. The trial for Mellas and Curt Knox is set to start in July. More here from ABC News.
This is ridiculous and has gone on far too long. It’s time for the State Department and Hilary Clinton to really put pressure on these clowns in Italy. Forget international protocol; their system of justice is terribly twisted, and our government needs to call BS on it now.
If libel was committed, then good for them for prosecuting. A defendant doesn’t get to libel someone as part of a desperate effort to save themselves.
That is crazy !! They are on trial for beleiving their daughter and repeating what she told them?!?!
A moratorium on stories about this family would be most welcome.
Kayleigh – We don’t report every little thing in this endlessly ongoing saga (such as the impending TV movie, etc.) but if there is something major, we will, and an order for the parents to stand trial would seem to qualify as major – TR
@lucky chick
The parents had not been charged with anything, and as such aren’t defendants. They should be free to say whatever they want about the proceedings. A big part of the purpose of freedom of speech is to use the public forum to hold government accountable, and I think it’s fair for parents to criticize the treatment of their children at the hands of government authority, whether she committed the crime or not.
WSB, I understand; I really do. But I honestly think they get way more media attention than what is merited. Shoot, I’d rather read about just about anybody in West Seattle than this crew.
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PS A TV movie? Good gawd.
Maybe Kayleigh is referring to local media in general, not directed necessarily at WSB? WSB, I think you guys have reported when necessary. The local TV media has gone overboard with this saga.
I think it’s wrong what’s happening to the Knoxes. However, there’s some back story that people should be aware of.
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In 2005 an Italian court indicted 22 CIA employees on charges of kidnapping an Italian citizen on Italian soil, flying him out of the country to a secret location, and torturing him. To date, the US government has refused to extradite the accused kidnappers to Italy for trial.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4555660.stm
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In light of the US government’s decision to protect the accused CIA agents, Italians may have understandably taken offense when Amanda Knox’s parents came to Italy and publicly attacked their justice system.
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Putting the Knoxes on trial for criticizing the Italian police and court system isn’t fair. But shielding Americans who have been indicted for kidnapping and torturing Italians isn’t fair either.
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Of the two injustices here, which one do you think is the greater?
Well, the Italian police can simply put an end to the controversy by showing a tape of the entire interrogation process, uninterrupted for the full length she was in their “possession”. If they don’t have that, then it is a he says, she says incident and that would be tough to prove libel. In essence the police have to prove that they didn’t do what they are accused of doing.
July 4th means nothing in Italy. Do you know what the equivalent holiday is in their country? How about Canada? I don’t understand what you were trying to “not say” with your comment.
I am with Kayleigh on this one. Enough about this group. These parents were warned multiple times about the law in Italy while they were IN Italy. They broke the law… repeatedly. You can argue all day long about how insane the laws are concerning what they are now charged with…. but at the end of the day, it was still the law that they repeatedly broke.
Interesting that some people in this country are outraged about the *Italian* legal system. We never listen to “outsiders” (even the Pope) when they complain about the injustice of our death penalty. Hmmmmm. Otherwise, I agree with Kayleigh and WSB – I think WSB’s coverage is appropriate — overall I think the local media coverage is outrageously overblown. I don’t blame the family for trying to get publicity; I do blame much of the media for biting.
PS — thank you DP; sometimes we have trouble realizing we live in a world as well as a country.
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Seriously, NotMe? You can’t see the irony in a locked up (possibly unjustly) American standing trial on Independence Day? Ooookay.
TO ANYONE:
Start looking at this case from the point of view that the Prosecutor is “CORRUPT” and it will all make sense!
Fact: the prosecutor Mignini, was already convicted for abusing his power in another case
What are you talking about notme, you say: “but at the end of the day, it was still the law that they repeatedly broke.”
The Italian authorities under the leadership of Giuliano Mignini are using Slander charges against anyone to silence them.
Italy need to adopt new measures to deal with corrupt Prosecutor(S), Italians deserve to be treated fairly.
These kids are INNOCENTS, the truth will prevail!
Hillary Clinton, the US Department of State, the American embassy in Rome and Amnesty International won’t be intervening in this case because they all believe Amanda Knox is guilty of murder.
Harry pretty much just put the ‘period’ on all the debate about the so-called “innocents.” Good grief, when NONE of these or many other organizations intervene, why do you suppose that is?
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The parents broke the law, the law that they were well aware of when they repeatedly broke it IN THE COUNTRY that is now going to try them. Hey, look at this way, if the parents end up in the pokey, maybe they can plea bargain to be placed into the same prison. You know, so they can all be together. Now THAT is a good movie. Complete with an ending with a twist!
I’ve never been able to follow this story very well. Is Arbor Heights even in West Seattle? I’ve always considered it the classy part of White Center.
Yes, it is. White Center isn’t even adjacent to Arbor Heights – there is some unincorporated area (where the Roxbury Shell “polite robber” stickup happened, for example) but that’s not WC, which doesn’t start till about Holy Family, some blocks further south on Roxbury …
to Harry Rag: your opinion won’t change the fact that these Kids are Innocent.
@JCCourt,
Amanda Knox voluntarily admitted that she was involved in Meredith’s murder in her handwritten note to the police on 6 November 2007.
Harry, if by voluntarily you mean coerced through abuse and intimidation then maybe you are correct. I find it funny and sad that those here who think that there is too much media coverage don’t have any skin in the game. If it were you or a loved one in this mess then I am sure the coverage would not bother you one bit. Amanda Knox and her family are from Seattle. The entire investigation and trial was a joke. I do not believe that she is guilty of anything given the way the case was handled and the corruptness of the prosecutor. She was a target and a patsy. If the Knox family can not continue to get support from West Seattle and Americans in general then its over. Those of you that don’t like it should just move somewhere else or look somewhere else for your news…you know like the internet. For instance, pretend you live in Italy since you see nothing wrong with what they have done. Look up media coverage there. The Knox family deserves our support as Americans. If we all go away then we will have done what Italy wants us to do. We must keep it in the public eye and we must continue the pressure. I suppose those of you that don’t agree thought the Aruba coverage was ridiculous for Beth Holloway as well. If we don’t stick together as Americans when injustice occurs against us in this world then the rest of the world will see us as an easy mark.
@Joe,
You really need to get your facts straight. Amanda Knox admitted in court that she voluntarily wrote her note to the police. She even asked for a pen and paper to write this confession.
You mean after she was abused by interrogators Harry. Get your facts straight.
I’m apparently a low functioning geography student. Is it true that Arbor Heights is a West Seattle neighborhood that is only partially within the Seattle city limits?
@ Harry Rag. The time you spend on this case does not serve Dear Meredith’s memory at all.
The real Murderer who left a hand print in Meredith’s blood, had his sentence reduced from 30 to 16 years, this is No Justice for Meredith Kercher.
Dear Meredith would be appalled to know, that you are letting Rudy Guede getting away with it!
Note: We all know that Amanda was Coerced into signing a bogus statement, it’s like torture, sign this or else…. the following day she recanted, and you know it Harry…. true justice for Amanda and Raffaele, get on with it!
@Joe,
You weren’t present when Amanda Knox was questioned, so you don’t know that she was abused.
All the witnesses were actually present when she was questioned, including her interpreter, testified under oath that she was treated well and wasn’t hit. The judges and jury had to decide whether to believe the corroborative testimony of numerous upstanding witnesses or the word of a compulsive liar who had lied repeatedly. It would have been an easy decision to make.
So did Rudy do it and Amanda and Reffaele fail to report it, thus their involvement in the crime?
If a person views a crime scene, but does not report it right away because they are in shock I am not sure that qualifies as ‘involvement’. ‘Involvement’ as a descriptor should be saved for those who plotted the crime, carried out the crime, or even knew ahead of time about a crime and failed to report it. I don’t think it is a term to be used for anyone that discovers that a crime has been comitted by someone else whether they report it or not. If you are suggesting that a person was ‘involved’ in a crime if they happened upon the results of said crime and failed to report it then your thinking is not clear or logical.
Has anyone heard of people being indicted for libel in the U.S. for criticizing the police when their loved ones are on trial? Facing prison nonetheless. Could you imagine what it would be like- you couldn’t say anything to defend your loved ones. What’s up in Italy? Don’t get in trouble there and watch your mouth.
Not that I really care, but come on. I mean what if I said, “The Italian Police beat all suspects in their custody and the Italian Courts are full of Judges that have slept with more people than their Prime Minister.” I think it’s just a way to get Italy out of the news for the fact that they elected an out of control sex addict…
Thanks Joe, I understand your thinking. I don’t know who was involved but it seems like the facts of the case have been obfuscated. With some good factual reporting we’d know who should be in prison and who should be free. I’m under the impression that the failure to tell the whole truth from the onset started the obfuscation. Did a little deviation from the truth turn into a tarbaby?
Thousands of people die every day. Amanda Knox and Natalie Holloway are/were young, white, pretty and most importantly American (because we are more important than everyone else in the world). That accounts for the wall to wall media coverage, pretty sickening.
To all innocentists: relax!
Italian Law permits 2 free appeals after a guilty criminal verdict–with different judges, juries, and prosecutors.
The eyes of the world will be focused on these proceedings.
We’ll see them if the Italian Justice System is corrupt, backward ,incompetent etc.
The Knox family are guilty of repeated slandering not only of the Perugia Law officers, but of the whole Italian people and our beautiful, beloved country.
May God forgive them.
@Born To Be Mild,
The English translation of the Massei report can be downloaded from here:
People who are upset by this whole Amanda Knox thing need to keep in mind that this isnt taking place in the US and Italy does not have the same laws as us they dont live by the amendments we do and their freedoms are not the same as ours, so in American eyes what the Knox’s are doing isnt wrong but the Italians not necessarily see it the same way we do… and I know the knoxs and I feel for waht they are going through but I have also lived in Italy and knew better then to associate with sketchy people (which is what Amanda did). You may not agree but if this was an Italian in the US you all know you wouldnt be thinking the same things. JUST SAYING
Get a Life – I think that referring to someone on this blog as a “pathetic little troll” is uncalled for. He simply has a different opinion than you do. Many people on this blog express different opinions. Last time I checked, that was still allowed in this country. Also I think the word “troll” is entering into the realm of last years “epic” – the year’s most overused word. People are now using it to refer to anyone who doesn’t agree with their particular opinion.
Denise – that’s namecalling that we don’t allow and I’m sorry I didn’t catch it till you mentioned it, comment deleted – TR
Denise
I have much respect for most posters…if you bore witness to the voluminous mongering of dear Harry on boards globally well beyond our scope, I would imagine you too might feel otherwise.
Cheers
I do not know if Amanda is guilty or innocent. Neither does anyone else except Amanda. That being said I am amazed at the spaghetti justice that is being served in Italy. I fell deeply sorry for Amandas family and would be honored to contribute to their defense fund for themselves or Amanda. We travel internationally each year and will never step foot in Italy now that we know what their laws and government can do.
I completely understand that other countries have different laws than ours. I don’t always agree with some of our laws here in the US. Whether the laws are just and criticism of them is warranted is another story. How can anyone call a country or its laws fair and just if they allow their prosecutors to fabricate lies as facts to be placed into evidence and allow their police to abuse defendants until they confess? Then to top it off they have laws in place preventing the individual or their families from reporting such abuses of justice. Based on these facts I don’t care if they are Italy’s laws. It doesn’t make what happens to defendants in Italy right or just. Freedom of speech is a vital part of freedom of the individual particularly in how it relates to obtaining and maintaining justice. It really doesn’t matter how you decide to dress it up in the end. It is a pitiful justice system that behaves as Italy’s does these days. If the prosecutor has been found guilty of the charges of abuse in a just manner then any case work that he has been involved with during and after his illegal actions had taken place should be considered tainted at this time. Any conviction gained by the prosecutor during and after his illegal abuses should be thrown out and either retried or dismissed.
Freedom of speech is not everywhere, Joe… and that phrase is a bit over-used. Sometimes, we don’t even have freedom of speech here in the good ole USA. But, my point earlier was, these parents were warned multiple times about the liable laws. The Dad even scoffed at it in one interview, and continued to make statements against the police. Oops.
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You can’t expect to be protected under US law while you are in other countries.
This is a move to further the difficulty of enabling Amanda’s parents from defending her.
Recently the new judge for the appeal has ruled against the prosecutor in about 90% of the rulings;
The DNA results are under going an independent review RIGHT NOW;
The Prosecutors “star” witness has been arrested for selling Heroine and his testimony about seeing Amanda and Rafael getting off club buses is going to refuted by the owners and operators of those clubs and buses as false since the buses WERE NOT running the night in question. A tid-bit of info that has come out of this arrest is that the prosecutor has used this same guy as a “star” witness for three other murder trials;
The knife is going to be taken apart in the search of blood in the handle (plastic, not wood), which was microscopic in amount on the blade;
The whole evidence collection process is going to be reviewed and the bra clasp that was used had been in the room for over 40 days BEFORE it was even looked at. In those over days the room had been cleaned, material removed and moved about and WAS NOT found in it’s original location;
There has been a confession made in the murder and that guy WAS convicted. He STATED that HE ALONE killed Meredith. He was sentenced to 30 years. He recanted and lo and behold his sentence was reduced to 16 years the day after.
There are MANY MANY more discrepancies and crime scene contamination that are documented, but were not allowed in the first trial that will be allowed in the appeal.
Very important note about the prosecutor…he has been found guilty of corruption and is going through his own appeal right now.
Go here: http://www.injusticeinperugia.org/ to see more about the trial, appeal and evidence used in the trial.
This has been a fiasco from the start. A “Keystone Cops” Italian version but it’s not so funny what two innocent lives are being ruined by incompetence.
Right now it appears that the Prosecutor’s Office is trying to do anything and everything to cover up their mishandling, mis-prosecution and general lack of integrity and intelligence in this trial.
Say what you want, but if it was you or your son or daughter you would speak out and inform the public and the world about the atrocities taking place against yourself or your loved ones. Obviously you missed the point of my post entirely when I said that it is an unjust system with unjust laws. What the Knox family is doing is nothing more than what we would do for ourselves and our families regardless of how many times we are warned about the unjust laws. That’s how revolution was started in our country. We had unjust laws regarding taxation and when those in power did nothing about the continued oppression then the people did something about it. I see nothing wrong with the Knox family shedding light on the darkness of the Italian legal system and how unjust and corrupt their system is today. The Italians are upset because these people won’t go away and their supporters won’t either. It is embarrassing to them, but they should be doing something to improve the legal system in their own country. Many people worldwide will not set foot in Italy including myself because of this nonsense. It seems unthinkable when I think of the free spirit of many Italian families that they would let this kind of censorship and corruption continue in their country.
I am happy Joe will not step foot in Italy. From the looks of it, I don’t think Cheryl will be hitting up Alitalia for a ticket anytime soon.
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It floors me that anyone thinks the entire country is somehow guilty of conspiring against one American teenager.
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How many of you are even involved with this one teenager that at BEST, lied about a murder victim at the worst critical time. You don’t lie, buy a couple of gallons of bleach, blame the African guy, then recant your own stories if you are supposedly innocent.
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I think I will side with the jury on this one. With all the defense, with all the evidence and all the hoopla, this group of citizens – not politicians – found her guilty. Huh… I wonder why?
Joe, yes it is unthinkable that the Italian people would throw in jail for 25-30 years two innocent young people, one of which is Italian, remember?.
And you should not think of it, because it isn’t happening!
An appeal is starting: new judges,new prosecutors and a new jury. No Mignini either! And this after 18 independent judges have stated that the guilty verdict was just.
Now, Joe, pay attention to the proceedings, and try to listen to both sides of the case,not only to the Marriott-Koch propaganda machine.
Wow! 18 independent judges that are part of a corrupt justice system found the verdict just. Does anyone else see the problem with this one? Its funny how there was a guy that freely admitted to the killing and said that he did it all alone. He is serving 16 years for it, but that wasn’t good enough for the unjust Italian judge and prosecutor. No, they wanted to put the American away and her Italian boyfriend. There is nothing from the crime scene that would suggest that they did it. If there was it was tainted as numerous Italian crime scene investigators and police trampled through it. There was however the handprint of someone else or don’t you want to acknowledge any of those facts. The whole circus is a joke over there and Amanda Knox is paying for what someone else did to that poor girl. You can’t erase any of those facts oldbird, Harry, and NotMe! By the way oldbird pony up to some other propaganda machine because I think for myself. I would also like to remind you that ‘old’ doesn’t always mean wise.
Joe, you of are using a farrago of character assassination and outright lies to defend two convicted murderers.
A). Guede has not said that he did it all alone: he said that he was bumped by an “Italian-looking” man in the corridor, and then looking from a window, he saw a man and a woman running upstairs towards the square.
B). To believe that the Judicial System and the people of a whole country want to ruin two young persons is simply crazy.
C).With the appeal there will be a new trial altogether. Try to be a little more objective this time.
“Good God, Italy has lost it’s mind”
Cheryl, I am assuming you are real, and also a good person.
To make this kind of statement, a good person like you must have been totally brainwashed by the Marriott-Knox propaganda machine.
There is a mountain of evidence against A-S, but I want to give you an episode only:
During questioning she falsely accused Lumumba. The M-K machine explained it away saying that she was hit, threatened, scared, etc etc., all baloney.
The fact is that a day after the interrogation she called her mother in Seattle, and told her she was sorry to have accused an innocent man.
Lumumba was jailed for 2 weeks, lost his business, himself and family suffered mental stress, etc.
He was freed after the Police found he had a solid alibi.
Neither mother or the daughter ever notified the police.
Who does this, except a guilty person?
Cheryl, did you know this?
deprived of sleep etc.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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