by Anne Bremner
The following piece was originally written in March, 2010, and still holds true today, as the Italian appeals court hears DNA evidence that may set Amanda Knox free.
One year after the murder of Meredith Kercher, a man has been convicted and two other suspects await trial. Public interest in the case remains strong, and the truth about what happened is emerging, gradually and inexorably. But the truth is not without staunch foes who are doing their best to keep it submerged beneath a sea of resentment. Recently, for example, La Nazione published an article quoting Rudy Guede’s lawyers Walter Biscotti and Nicodemo Gentile, who allegedly made the following comment:
“A request was made to move the trial to the United States. Maybe to an outdoor affair in Alabama, where there’s a tree with a noose ready to hang the negro whose turn it is.”
This statement is spectacular in malicious intent. It goes beyond slander and reaches the level of hate speech. And since I am the one who supposedly made this request, I should clarify the record.
I did not request, and would never request, that Italy yield jurisdiction over a criminal case arising within its borders. This erroneous allegation was made by the London Telegraph, and they formally retracted it the next day, but not before it was widely repeated. Italy is one of the world’s great democracies, with public institutions that befit that status. I have no doubt that the Italian court system will deliver justice in the end.
At the same time, this particular case has been managed by Perugia’s chief prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, in a way the public should know about. Somebody needs to challenge the bizarre conjecture through which Mignini and his associates have turned a straightforward murder into a fable with no precedent in the annals of crime.
And somebody needs to make the point, again and again until the world understands, that Amanda and Raffaele Sollecito are innocent. The case against them is based on evidence so ambiguous and compromised it should have no place in a fair trial. But the prosecution has done a good job of using lies, distortions and innuendo to incite resentment and public prejudice against these innocent suspects, and that is why I am speaking out. No one is paying me to do so. I have practiced law for 25 years, both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney, and I recognize an outrage when I see one. This case is an outrage.
Someday the smoke will settle, the mirrors will be pulled away, and the public will see that. I’m going to stay involved until that day comes. And if people slander me along the way, I’ll take whatever steps are necessary to deal with it.
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9 comments:
i like this post"my truth my challenge".
This case is a travesty on so many levels. I applaud you for staying with it ms. Bremner and I wish you the best of luck in getting through to the Italian authorities.
Amanda is not being railroaded. Why are there people who obstinately refuse to see the evidence that she certainly was involved in this crime? Also, the science of Statement Analysis shows repeated deception in her statements regarding the crime. She is young, attractive and bright, and while these attributes helped get Casey Anthony off, the Italian jury was not so blind about Amanda Knox, and their own Rafaelle.
Yes, Anne, good for you for speaking out on this case, and the hate speech and slander that goes with it is heinous. I know this kind of travesty from my own life, which is why i wrote the fictional platform around a forensics invention that i could have well written first under my own name -- but I had so many people circling around full of envy that it meant going through other means...
@Mechele - Casey Anthony got off because there was no case against her. Simple as that. Her looks was actually a disadvantage because it supported the prosecutors picture of her as an irresponsible party-girl.
Amanda Knox on the other hand got convicted because a few italian officials prefer to put a couple of innocent teenagers away for good rather than admitting to the Kerchers and the public that they screwed up a high profile murder investigation.
Quote: "Somebody needs to challenge the bizarre conjecture through which Mignini and his associates have turned a straightforward murder into a fable with no precedent in the annals of crime."
No precedent? Except for so many, many cases in the USA you mean.
Anne, I really respect your opinions, so I would never slander you. In this case however, I disagree with your conclusions.
Forensic evidence aside, the statements made by Amanda Knox after the murder and her bizarre behavior must be viewed as powerful circumstantial evidence. How are you giving that a pass?
I believe she was involved in this murder, along with Raffaele Sollecito and Rudy Guede. Please do not say that her statements were given in Italian and misinterpreted. I am talking about her English statements as well. She is young and pretty, so there's no way she's involved in a crime? Not one person that knew her in the U.S. has ever stated she was emotionally immature, they actually stated the opposite. So where did the callous, indifferent behavior come from after her "friend" was violently murdered? Ugly coping?
I see the excuses coming from her doting, enabling parents, but I wouldn't expect that from you, a seasoned attorney...everyone decrying this verdict is perpetuating the ugly American stereotype to the world.
If a pretty, young American woman is convicted of a crime in a foreign country, that countries justice system must be corrupt.
Amanda Knox is exactly where she should be.
"The case against them is based on evidence so ambiguous and compromised it should have no place in a fair trial"
Really?
Lets forget the DNA evidence, as it has been called into question.
What about all the other evidence?!
Have you read the Massei Report? Or the summary or the Massei Report? I have read both and can tell you the DNA evidence was just one of many types and pieces of evidence.
I would say there are about 20 extremely strong pieces of evidence.
It's my feeling you and a lot of other people need to read the Massei report, because you're basing your cry of innocence on a few parts of the case, not all of them.
The Amanda Knox case: it's just not that hard
Says it all.
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