Please continue here and please be mindful of the TOS. Some leeway is allowed in this thread BUT you should always remain respectful of one another.
Thanks,
Salem
Thread 13
So the appeals process is simply a gesture, a process of jotting the is and crossing the Ts, and the convictions being upheld is already a done deal. If this is truly the case, Knox's parents have been led down the primrose path by the media. I just do not know what to believe at this juncture....
In response to a comment from the last thread ...
I don't think that media has misled the Knox/Mellas parents, I think the Knox/Mellas PR machine has misled the US media. Amanda's mother said, prior to the verdict, that the appeal was the real trial. I think it's important to recognize that Amanda's mother was saying this before the trial verdict as it tells us that she was fully expecting a guilty verdict, or at least preparing the public via the media that a guilty verdict was likely. That also tells us that she realized that evidence was overwhelming. Now we are at the appeal stage. I suspect that Amanda's mother was expecting a full retrial similar to what happens in the US ... and now has to face the reality that it is not a retrial, but merely reconsideration of specific, limited items of evidence.
If the analysis and review of the two items of evidence leaves unanswered questions, I think additional DNA evidence could be reviewed ... such as the DNA in the bathroom sink. If all the evidence were reconsidered, it would be like a retrial ... but is that really the purpose of the appeal court? I don't know the answer to that.
I'm sorry, otto, but your malice toward the Knox/Mellas family seemingly knows no bounds. I can respect your protective feelings toward the Kerchers, but basic decency demands that you realize Knox and the Mellases are also faced with losing a daughter.
There is no PR "machine." If AK's family consulted a PR rep, it was only because public discourse was dominated by a corrupt prosecutor who chose to charge with little evidence and from the beginning preferred to try his case in the press. AK's family were forced to defend her in the media just as they hired an attorney to defend her in court.
If Ms. Mellas expected a guilty verdict, it wasn't because the evidence was overwhelming, it was because she could see the Italian trial system was rigged in favor of the prosecution. If she is hopeful that the appellate stage will end differently, she is simply being a mother and clinging to whatever hope she can.
In the U.S., appellate courts do NOT conduct full reviews of the evidence, nor do they replicate the trial. They hear claims of error in the original trial and rule on whether any errors committed there were significant enough to deny the defendant a fair trial. If yes, then the entire case is sent back down to a trial court and a new, full trial begins there.
It is Italian appellate courts that actually review evidence and revisit the verdict, not those of the U.S.
Here's an example of the PR Team efforts:
"Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:40pm EDT
Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.
Regarding The Amanda Knox Case: Statement From The Knox, Mellas Families March
27, 2008
SEATTLE, March 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Information being attributed to Rudy Guede regarding the investigation into the murder of Meredith Kercher is impossible to believe. There is no evidence to support his suggestion that Amanda and Raffaele Sollecito were present when Meredith was murdered. Guede lacks credibility just as his current statement lacks credibility.
We find it quite interesting that this information comes forward just a few days before a Supreme Court hearing in Rome to determine whether or not Amanda should continue to be held in the Le Capanne jail in Perugia. Guede said before that he did not see Amanda and Rafaelle that night, and
is now telling a different story. We know that Amanda is innocent. There is no evidence against her, and we
await her release.
SOURCE The Knox family; The Mellas family
David Marriott of Gogerty & Stark Marriott, +1-206-292-3000,
dmarriott@gsminc.com, for The Knox, Mellas Families"
http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/03/27/idUS250728+27-Mar-2008+PRN20080327
Nice try Otto. Marriot himself has stated that his role is limited to managing PR requests as well as advice on how to present themselves. You continue to push this line of thinking and once again simply makes your arguments less valid. The links are to news agencies such as cnn, reuters etc.
"From that day forward, there has been continuous intense pressure from national and international media to talk with members of the family about their daughter. Gogerty Marriott has sought to relieve as much of the media pressure from the familys shoulders as possible"
http://www.gogertymarriott.com/showcase/amanda_knox/
New Hope for Amanda Knox
Update on from 20/20 for those that are interested
http://abcnews.go.com/2020
I don't continue to push anything. It is a well known fact that the family immedately hired a PR firm. PR firms are notorious for managing the public image of an individual - in this case Amanda Knox. The links are indeed to news outlets, including links connecting Marriott to those news outlets ... which is my point ... that the PR firm regularly manages the image of the murderer in US media and regularly communicates with news outlets regarding managing information about Knox.
(snip) It is a fact that the Knox/Mellas family hired a PR group as soon as Knox was arrested and it is a fact that this PR group has done everything they can to present Knox as a victim - that was the job they were hired to do. (snip)
Are you calling Marriot a liar as well? As well whom is the representative in Italy that is there to manage AK on behalf of Marriot?
Marriott has been in contact with ABC news, and CNN (see links). I have no idea why Marriott's main focus has been in the US, but it's possible that the language barrier is a factor that worked to his advantage. That is, people in the US generally did not have access to Italian news content (because it was in Italian). They were made aware of the case through the PR team. Interest in the case required English language information ... and that was primarily managed by Marriott, Knox and Mellas (eg: there were numerous talking head show appearances by the parents). In Italy, people had direct access to news about the case through news publications, so misinformation from the family was viewed for what it was.
Why do you think that Marriott's primary focus for managing the image of Knox was in the US?
Again Otto, although the experts themselves could not attend someone was appointed to represent them during the DNA testing on that particular occassion. As well as pointed out to you on a number of occasions it is quite common for experts not to be in attendance as they usually come to a case after the forensics are done but kindly stop stating that there was no defense representative there
As for the TOD information there also appears to be misinformation being stated to this as well from what I can determine from the last thread and I will try and post more on that when I have more time.
"The hearing began with a surprise defense request to have the charges (or at least the DNA evidence) against the two thrown out, because the new, detailed information was only provided July 30, too late, they argued to allow for preparation of a proper defense strategy.
The jury rejected their requests, however, with Judge Giancarlo Massei noting that consultants for the defense had the right to be present at the time that DNA tests were carried out and the accompanying documentation was made available just two weeks after it was formally requested."
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/arti...-knocks-DNA-evidence-895012.php#ixzz1OMFPHmef
Could you please provide a media/news or legal document link contradicting this claim, and stating that experts for the defense were present during the initial DNA testing.
The time of death cannot be pinpointed accurately, but can be placed between the time that Meredith returned home, and the phone call from her father shortly after midnight. The call from her father is after the murder, as the cell phone tower in pinged on was near the location where the phones were found (in a yard some distance from the cottage).