Meredith Kercher murdered-Amanda Knox appeals conviction #14

[SMK]

Quite right. Thank you. I read that letter. Isn't it full of funny facts, like the suggestion that Knox didn't have a translator and that she first confessed at 5:45 AM? That private citizen (he is not writing as a judge, but rather as one of the neighbors of the Knox/Mellas family) should get his facts right before he starts firing letters to the president.

I think it is a bit worse than that. Something about judicial misconduct for having promised not to speak on Knox publicly. :tears:

 

[otto]

Here it is

"Yet Heavey says consular officials did nothing. The seven violations, according to Heavey:

• Knox was arrested at about 5:45 a.m. after an all-night interrogation by a dozen police officers who operated in "tag-team rotation" and refused to allow Knox to get any sleep all night. The police and prosecutor then espoused a theory about a drug-fueled sex orgy gone wrong that was never supported by any evidence, Heavey says.

• Knox was denied a lawyer after she was detained, even though Italian law says a detainee is entitled to legal counsel and Knox specifically requested one.

• Italian law requires audio or video recordings to be made of all interrogations in any criminal case, yet the interrogation of Knox was not recorded. "This violation of Italian law should have set off alarm bells with consular officials," Heavey wrote.

• The Italian constitution requires an interpreter to be provided to suspects if they are not fluent in the Italian language. Amanda spoke little Italian at the time, yet was not allowed to have an interpreter, according to Heavey.

• Giuliano Mignini, the Italian prosecutor, was under investigation for abuse of office stemming from a previous murder trial when he took over the Kercher case. Yet U.S. consular officials raised no objections, says Heavey.

• In a preliminary hearing before Knox's trial, Mignini said the crime "was a sexual and sacrificial ritual in accordance with the rites of Halloween" - a groundless conjecture that equated Knox with being a witch, Heavey writes.

• The local Italian police repeatedly fed "false leaks" to the press that had no basis in fact, in violation of Italian law.

Heavey wrote to Obama that the "profoundly unjust process" has had a detrimental effect on U.S.-Italian relations.

He also points out that the maltreatment of Knox since her arrest has compelled protests from many people who have no personal stake in the case.

"Yet, our State Department, at home and abroad, knew nothing and did nothing," Heavey wrote. "The ongoing neglect of American consular officials in Rome to address this injustice sends a high-profile message - our government officials are too busy taking care of business to take care of our people."

"Mr. President ... I plead for your attention to this matter."

Heavey's request for a State Department probe comes just three weeks after a group of 11 Italian lawmakers called on the Italian justice minister to investigate the prosecutor's office in Perugia and its handling of the Kercher murder case."

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo...artment-probed-over-1418624.php#ixzz1P53XPte7

What exactly does he want the President of the United States to do ... invade the country and convert the Italian justice system to the US system?

I get a kick out of the complaint that the media posted incorrect information prior to trial ... wow ... like that wasn't invented in the US.

 

[otto]

I think it is a bit worse than that. Something about judicial misconduct for having promised not to speak on Knox publicly. :tears:

Oh, so he's in trouble for connecting his job to his personal interests ... again? He wrote a letter a couple of years ago using work stationary and was reprimanded. If he's using his position as a judge to influence people because of problems faced by his neighbors, that would be a bit of a problem.

 

[SMK]

Oh, so he's in trouble for connecting his job to his personal interests ... again? He wrote a letter a couple of years ago using work stationary and was reprimanded. If he's using his position as a judge to influence people because of problems faced by his neighbors, that would be a bit of a problem.

It goes back to this: http://www.cjc.state.wa.us/Case%20Material/2010/5975%20Heavey%20Final%20Stip.pdf I just wish they had held off until the Appeal could be finished.

 

[otto]

It goes back to this: http://www.cjc.state.wa.us/Case%20Material/2010/5975%20Heavey%20Final%20Stip.pdf I just wish they had held off until the Appeal could be finished.

That is a bit of a problem! What was he thinking? Will he be another person to lose his job because of wanted to control or influence justice in a foreign country?

 

[SMK]

That is a bit of a problem! What was he thinking? Will he be another person to lose his job because of wanted to control or influence justice in a foreign country?

*Sigh*. :waiting: I just wish they had waited. I suppose the whole thing will sort of fade away. I just hate empty fireworks, and would rather not see action if it will not bring a sure and swift response. of course, it still may, it is just..... :waiting:

 

[Nova]

...I get a kick out of the complaint that the media posted incorrect information prior to trial ... wow ... like that wasn't invented in the US.

Except that isn't the complaint in the letter. The complaint is that ILE LEAKED untrue information, not that the media printed or broadcast it.

 

[otto]

Except that isn't the complaint in the letter. The complaint is that ILE LEAKED untrue information, not that the media printed or broadcast it.

So what. That's normal in the US. Police are trying to solve a case and they release propaganda and all sorts of other info to the media ... that's part of police strategy. All that Foxy Knoxy stuff came from Knox's myspace page ... to whom should we complain about that info in the media?

 

[Nova]

So what. That's normal in the US. Police are trying to solve a case and they release propaganda and all sorts of other info to the media ... that's part of police strategy. All that Foxy Knoxy stuff came from Knox's myspace page ... to whom should we complain about that info in the media?

I'm sure it has happened in the U.S. that a prosecutor has given disinformation to the press, but "normal"? On what do you base that claim?

Let's be clear there is a difference between a strategic release of info (only part of a letter from the Zodiac killer, say) and a concerted campaign of false accusations intended to poison the juror pool before a trial even begins.

As you say, the "Foxy Knoxy" nickname was available on Knox's myspace page, so obviously that isn't relevant to a discussion of leaks by the Perugia prosecution.

 

[Malkmus]

What makes you think the dryer was not warm?

There was no "dryer" in the cottage. It was only a washing machine. Clothes had to be hung up to dry.

There's no evidence that RS and AK used it for any sort of post-murder cleaning once you realize this important fact.

 

[otto]

I'm sure it has happened in the U.S. that a prosecutor has given disinformation to the press, but "normal"? On what do you base that claim?

Let's be clear there is a difference between a strategic release of info (only part of a letter from the Zodiac killer, say) and a concerted campaign of false accusations intended to poison the juror pool before a trial even begins.

As you say, the "Foxy Knoxy" nickname was available on Knox's myspace page, so obviously that isn't relevant to a discussion of leaks by the Perugia prosecution.

Right. Knox's reputation was dragged through the mud right from the beginning in part (in my opinion in great part) because of her self-appointed myspace name. Her myspace photos, short stories and descriptions of what she thought of others didn't help. The police released whatever information they wanted in order to solve the murder, while a huge amount of information was simply snooped. Who is really to blame? Not the prosecutor ... again, I hope.

Police release information to the press for the specific purpose of generating leads - and it doesn't have to be true.

 

[otto]

There was no "dryer" in the cottage. It was only a washing machine. Clothes had to be hung up to dry.

There's no evidence that RS and AK used it for any sort of post-murder cleaning once you realize this important fact.

I'm only responding to the remark that we should now assume that Filomina is a liar because she reported that the washer (not the dryer, thank you) felt warm to the touch when she returned home. Is there any statement contradicting her statement? If not, then I think we can discard any suggestion that an innocent roommate of Meredith has a questionable character.

 

[otto]

I think it is a bit worse than that. Something about judicial misconduct for having promised not to speak on Knox publicly. :tears:

Hopefully he's close to retirement. Too many people have tried to make their reputation on this case while too many others have managed to destroy their reputations with this case.

 

[Nova]

Right. Knox's reputation was dragged through the mud right from the beginning in part (in my opinion in great part) because of her self-appointed myspace name. Her myspace photos, short stories and descriptions of what she thought of others didn't help. The police released whatever information they wanted in order to solve the murder, while a huge amount of information was simply snooped. Who is really to blame? Not the prosecutor ... again, I hope.

Police release information to the press for the specific purpose of generating leads - and it doesn't have to be true.

So...

You have no basis for your belief that it is "normal" for American LE to release false info to the media.

And you aren't even claiming that the letter is wrong when it says ILE leaked untrue info re AK to the press. You're just saying you imagine the same thing happens in the U.S.

 

[Nova]

Where are you getting this information?

It's been discussed at length in this thread.

See the video at:

http://www.injusticeinperugia.org/TheBraClasp.html

 

[SMK]

I'm only responding to the remark that we should now assume that Filomina is a liar because she reported that the washer (not the dryer, thank you) felt warm to the touch when she returned home. Is there any statement contradicting her statement? If not, then I think we can discard any suggestion that an innocent roommate of Meredith has a questionable character.

I never called her a liar. I said she turned out to be flat-out wrong that the washer was warm. It wasn't. I guess her hand was warm or something.

 

[SMK]

Hopefully he's close to retirement. Too many people have tried to make their reputation on this case while too many others have managed to destroy their reputations with this case.

Well, if Hellman is half the man they say he is, they ought to be trusting the Italian Appeals process. Obama , as Nova et al have found, has proven to be lax and slow and negligent and complacent; why try to start a fire under him? :waitasec:

 

[otto]

So...

You have no basis for your belief that it is "normal" for American LE to release false info to the media.

And you aren't even claiming that the letter is wrong when it says ILE leaked untrue info re AK to the press. You're just saying you imagine the same thing happens in the U.S.

Yes, I do have a basis for knowing that police are known to release information to the public in order to generate leads, even if the information is false.

 

[otto]

It's been discussed at length in this thread.

See the video at:

http://www.injusticeinperugia.org/TheBraClasp.html

It is an opinion that the bra clasp was mishandled. The courts rejected the argument that there was contamination.

 

[otto]

I never called her a liar. I said she turned out to be flat-out wrong that the washer was warm. It wasn't. I guess her hand was warm or something.

I'm wondering where you found information stating that the washer was not warm when Filomina arrived.