TU Tuesday

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This article is about Amanda Knox.  Four years ago she was an exchange student in Italy when her British roomate, Meredith Kurcher, was murdured.  Knox, her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollectio, and another man were arrested after Kurcher's death.  Italian officers accused the three of them for the killing "as part of a bizzare sex-game."  Knox was then tried in Italy, arrested, and held in an Italian jail for four years.  She and Sollectio were released on October 3 and Knox went back to Seattle, her hometown, since a court of appeals dropped the charge against her.  One of the judges on the jury that released Knox, Claudio Pratillo, said that the decision was made based on the evidence in the case, which was not enough to charge Knox with the crime, on the subject he said "'They could be also be responsible, but the proof isn't there.'"

Questions about the truth behind the case come from the way that she acted when she was arrested.  Knox originally said that she was in the apartment when Kurcher was murdered and that she even plugged her ears to block out the screams.  However, Knox later changed her story to say that she was at Sollecito's apartment.  Also, according to reports Knox "turned cartwheels and did splits as she waited for police questioning."  These are slightly troubling actions, that would make it reasonable for the Italian government to assume that she was guilty.  Knox, however, says that she "'tends to act a little silly' under pressure" and that the story was a fantasy she created because she she was answering questions in Italian, which she wasn't fluent in yet.  This confuses me, though, because I don't understand why she couldn't ask for a translator, so that she wouldn't have to make up a fantasy, that in the end only makes her look more guilty.

Although there is much in her actions and words that go against the belief that she is innocent, her family believed her the entire time.  According to the article, Knox's family spent a great deal of money trying to help her get free, although it doesn't specify how much it set her family back, it does discuss the fact that she could make a lot of money by telling her story.  According to the article, Knox "could get a book deal that easily reaches seven figures" plus movie rights and speaking deals that could make $50,000 each. 

I have heard of another case, similar to Knox's where an American man was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend in a Latin American country (I can't remember which one).  He also was held in jail, even though there was great evidence that he couldn't possibly have killed her.  He was held in jail and almost died on malnutrition, while his family was trying to get the government to let him go.  This article about knox reminded me of how unfair I thought it was that even though it was evident that there was no way he could have murdered his girlfriend they arrested him anyway.  Both stories of young people arrested abroad seem to me to be unfair in the sense that there was no evidence against them, but maybe that's because I'm used to the idea that you aren't supposed to hold people for a charge if you can't prove it with evidence.  This article does also leave some questions to be answered, like:

1. If Knox was actually at the apartment when Kurcher was being killed, why didn't she do anything?
2. If there really was no substancial evidence that Knox was there and killed Kurcher, should the Italian government really have them in custody?
3. Did Knox really do cartwheels and splits while waiting to be questioned? and Why?
4. Is it possible that other countries give Americans a hard time about getting out of their jails, even though there is clearly evidence that they didn't do it, simply because they don't like America?
5. Did this experience change Knox's life or out look on life in any way?