Friday, February 07, 2014

The Hubristic, Meanspirited PR Campaign: What Sort Of Life Has It Left Knox And Sollecito Now?

Posted by lauowolf





Sometimes it can be frightening to see how people’s self-interested choices turn around to bite them instead.

Had Knox and Sollecito simply told the truth to begin with, this case would have been only a nasty local story in Italy, with a bit of light coverage in Seattle and London. They would have had to accept some narrative that explained their involvement and their guilt, and they would have been sentenced accordingly.

They would then have served their time and gotten out. Eventually they would have gone on, perhaps, to live relatively normal lives.

After all, by the time they left prison virtually no one outside the families involved would remember, or much care, what they had done. Their criminal records would follow them forever, of course, but certainly there would have been no public repercussions for an obscure murder in Italy, years in the past.

People live with such pasts: they live their lives and create a future despite their pasts.

Instead, Knox and Sollecito have rendered themselves toxic for the rest of their lives. Everywhere they go, as long as they live, they will be recognized, whispered about, and pointed out by supporters, opponents, and even the relatively uniformed public.

Always.

Already, Sollecito’s Austrian side-trip was busted by someone who, predictably, recognized him. The intense paparazzi effect will eventually wear off, but years from now, whenever either of them does something simple, its effects will live on.

Apply for a library card ““ instant name recognition, walk through the airport - and someone will realize why that face is familiar.  They’d better get used to it because some stranger will always recognize them. At their every life event, there will be a news alert, and someone potentially selling the story or a photo.

They and their families deliberately established an intensive PR effort for selfish reasons: in order to avoid the repercussions of a terrible act.

But this press creation is a terrible beast. Now that it is here it will need to be fed. Always. Get drunk in public - someone will have a cell phone handy; a marriage breaks up - the ex-spouse will tell all. (And, really, neither of them has the kind of money needed to live forever insulated from the vulgar public.)

For the rest of their lives, in everything they want to do, the whole did-they-or-didn’t-they narrative will be weighed in other people’s reaction: Would you hire either of them for anything? Would you rent them an apartment? Elect them to the school board?

All other things being equal, there will always be someone else available, someone equally good who has no awkward history. And everyone will know about that history; they worked hard to make it so.

And I’m not talking about the prejudice against ex-cons. That’s a real thing, and it will have its impact too. All convicted felons have real problems, after all, but few of them have achieved such notoriety, let alone embraced it.  What I’m talking about is the impact of even old-news celebrity, of always now, and for the rest of their lives, being tabloid fodder.

Sure, there will always be people (Mad Pax?) drawn to the faux glitter of it all, but a life accompanied only by those wanting to share in your “fame” seems pretty ugly to me. What normal person wants the hassle of becoming involved with something like this?

Furthermore, they will never know when someone they think of as a friend might suddenly start thinking of a way to cash in. There might be a book in it, or at least a juicy article for a tabloid.

This isn’t meant as expressing any kind of sympathy for them at all, by the way. They have blood on their hands and horrors in their heads.

Eventually they may come to some kind of terms with their actions. Frankly, though, I hardly care, for it is not merely their crime that requires expiation. I have been sickened to see the unfolding ruthlessness and the sheer ugliness of their publicity campaign.

At its center their PR beast reveals an utter selfishness that is willing to appeal to the worst in their supporter through appeals to American xenophobia, to racism, and in smears against Meredith, Rudy, and Patrick, as well as the entire system of Italian justice.

The PR beast they created denigrates every other element in the case, while portraying the pair of them as young, innocent, and only guilty of a visible passion for each other and a naïve belief in the police.

This tactic required a media product for sale: the attractive young lovers. Their campaign has forced their names, and images and story in all our faces for years now. They and their families did this entirely voluntarily, and they have seemed to relish the attention it brought them.

They’ve been interviewed extensively, treated sympathetically by those who should know better, and altogether have had much more than their fifteen minutes of fame. But celebrity is a beast that turns on its own.

And, importantly, unlike other famous people ““ actors, politicians, authors and the like - there is no proper use for their fame. They have nothing real to share with us, only their story. It is, literally, all about them. And that is how it will remain.

They have become a narrative whose next chapter will always be told. The PR beast, for all its reach, will not be enough to keep them out of prison. But the cameras will be there the day they finally leave prison, in case we have forgotten their faces.

And there will be photos when they drive drunk. Or marry. Or divorce.

Their names are out there, waiting for the tagline, waiting for the joke. (“How bad is your new roommate? Well, at least she’s no Amanda Knox.”) There will be no end to it, ever. They will have no privacy, ever. Karma at work is a scary thing. They invited the beast into their lives, and now it will never leave them alone.

[Below: Said to be Amanda Knox leaving home hiding under a windcheater]

Comments

So true. Karma catches up with them all.

The fate is an equally cruel beast. No kindness, no compassion, no forgiveness. Just like a mob.

They can get away from justice- run, run and run. But is it really so?

Will they ever be able to enjoy small pleasures in life? Smell a flower, walk on the beach, small talk with a stranger, sing a song, chat at the dinner table with friends and family- the real life, at least for me.

The last cry is going to haunt them all their life.

Posted by chami on 02/07/14 at 05:37 AM | #

@ lauowolf:

“They and their families deliberately established an intensive PR effort for selfish reasons: in order to avoid the repercussions of a terrible act.”

So succinct! So true! So selfish! So stupid!

Thanks; you sum it up so well.

Posted by Cardiol MD on 02/07/14 at 06:01 AM | #

Thank you for this insightful, necessary post. The destiny they have chosen is punishment of a sort. But it also inflicts additional harm on the Kerchers due to its in-your-face nature.

Posted by Skeptical Bystander on 02/07/14 at 07:08 AM | #

lauowolf.  An excellent post, I enjoyed reading. How loyal could evil be to people so poor in expectations. This is their world.

Posted by Macthomas on 02/07/14 at 10:35 AM | #

Thank You an excellent article. La Knox could not open a fridge door without putting on a performance.From day one she has thrived on the attention. Somehow she thinks she is something.A la “best selling author”?

Being a murderer and a committed liar are ignored and the strategy of believing in her own PR , her own “best truth” about her self is all she knows.

She sells her delusions to the media and seeks the hand holding sympathy she got on GMA. La Knox murdered Meredith because Meredith had all the things she lacked, warmth,genuine wholeheartedness, good strong friendships,a real intellectual curiosity. She is welcome to live in her own world of denial… but the sooner she goes back to Italy the better.

Posted by Olliebear on 02/07/14 at 11:39 AM | #

Than you lauowolf. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave…when first we practice to deceive”.

@chami

“Will they ever be able to enjoy small pleasures in life? Smell a flower, walk on the beach, small talk with a stranger, sing a song, chat at the dinner table with friends and family”

You put that very nicely! Unfortunately very many people - not just the sociopathically inclined - are unable to simply be, and enjoy what’s given.

Actually it is a nice day here (for a change) - a walk on the beach is an excellent idea!

Posted by Odysseus on 02/07/14 at 01:46 PM | #

The whole problem with the Knox/Sollecito position in terms of their guilt and involvement in this case is Rudy Guede (RG) Knox/Sollecito have now been found guilty for the second time and no doubt they will both now eventually, after much more anticipated legal wrangling (certainly in terms of Knox) have to serve time.

They have both written books which have been lucrative money makers. This fact alone would not have been lost on RG who has now already served a few years of his fast-track sentence. Lets face it, this is no ordinary murder case. RG is not going to be able to vanish into the shadows upon release and find a job as this has been one of the most high profile murder cases not only throughout Italy but holding word-wide interest as well.

It will be interesting to see what further revelations, truth or otherwise will eventually get revealed by RG knowing that the only prospect of him funding any kind of lifestyle post release will have to be paid for from royalties from his story. As unsavoury as it sounds this will presumably be from newspaper / book / film deals.

Let us all hope that in the fullness of time that RG will recognise that the truth is the only real meaningful story left to tell. We all live in hope that from his perspective he will eventually tell his story, fully, factually and honestly and that we were right, all along, with confirmation of our interpretations of the undeniable facts of this case.

This is the one big ‘elephant in the room’ for Knox & Sollecito & their supporters.

James

Posted by james99 on 02/07/14 at 03:24 PM | #

The picture above of Curt and his other daughter (?) leading what is supposed to be a hooded Amanda (but is in fact a decoy, her friend) out of the house is somehow very plaintive. What a fix they are all in.

However, their expressions are determined and righteous, Curt with his usual faux-military chest-out shoulders-back attitude. No trace of anxiety. More bunker mentality - they probably really do believe that it’s a railroad job. The alternative is too terrible to contemplate I suppose.

Posted by Odysseus on 02/07/14 at 04:21 PM | #

I liked this quote from Mr Oscar Wilde:

“How mad and monstrous it all seemed! Could it be that written on his hand, in characters that he could not read himself, but that another could decipher, was some fearful secret of sin, some blood-red sign of crime?

“Was there no escape possible? Were we no better than chessmen, moved by an unseen power, vessels the potter fashions at his fancy, for honour or for shame? His reason revolted against it, and yet he felt that some tragedy was hanging over him, and that he had been suddenly called upon to bear an intolerable burden.

“Actors are so fortunate. They can choose whether they will appear in tragedy or in comedy, whether they will suffer or make merry, laugh or shed tears. But in real life it is different. Most men and women are forced to perform parts for which they have no qualifications.

“Our Guildensterns play Hamlet for us, and our Hamlets have to jest like Prince Hal. The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.”

Posted by chami on 02/07/14 at 04:41 PM | #

@chami

That’s a very apt quote; thank you.

Sollecito, I feel, is particularly ill-equipped for the role he has bumbled into.

And Knox does not seem to have a comprehension of the character she is playing - a complex character with two distinct sides to the personality, and she over-identifies with just the one side. Hence she also fails to grasp or understand the reactions of the ‘audience’.

Oh, foolish, amateur, ‘kids’!

I wonder whether, when history tells the tale, they will be held up as a Cautionary Tale…..i.e. this is the sort of situation that can escalate when you do not tell the full truth - when you do not own up in a simple and timely fashion to whatever you have done.

“My best truth” is a phrase that will now enter the repertoire of phrases with loaded meaning.

Thank you , lauowolf, for your good and timely post.

@James99, yes it is indeed the elephant in the room. There will definitely be some kind of development. Although Guede isn’t very good at talking straight, to put it mildly.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 02/07/14 at 05:40 PM | #

That’s not Knox under the windbreaker. Check out the hand which belongs to a much older person

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/07/14 at 08:32 PM | #

Frederick Forsyth has jumped on the media bandwagon:

http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/frederick-forsyth/458391/Amanda-Knox-trial-was-just-a-farce#comments

But then, he’s a novelist. Funny how the likes of Patricia Cornwell, Douglas Preston, and Frederick Forsyth become such experts in the case, supported not by actual research but ready to hand confirmation of prior prejudices.

This sort of writing suggests how writers become hacks, they lose the ability for original writing and write, just to keep themselves in the public eye.

Sorry, but I have no desire to read any of Mr. Forsyth’s latest books; his best, Day Of The Jackal, was written 33 yrs. ago

Posted by Ergon on 02/07/14 at 08:40 PM | #

Lauowolf, what an insightful article!

Of course, the worst thing they did was torture and murder Meredith Kercher.

But if they’d just accepted their punishment, they would have been a lot better off.

Denial is not just a river in Egypt, as they say.

It’s a familiar trap to humans, though, and they got caught in it.

I think we’d all be better off if one of them finally told the truth.

One of my favorite books is “A Passage to India,” also a movie by David Lean. One of the best scenes in both the movie and the book is when Adela Quested makes the decision to stop falsely testifying against Dr. Aziz in the courtroom - “throws it all to hell” as one character puts it - she can no longer carry on with the lies, even though all of her friends and countrymen want her to. She’s extremely brave, and it kind of ruins her life, but she’s shown later to be at peace.

A kind of peace the three perps will never know, until they tell the truth.

Posted by Earthling on 02/07/14 at 09:39 PM | #

Well done, that has very neatly hit the Knox/Sollecito future on the head!  It is so very well deserved!

Posted by MHILL4 on 02/07/14 at 11:08 PM | #

@Grahame Rhodes

True. And it’s not just the hand, there are other pictures (on pmf.org I think) which show, as they get nearer the car, that the clothes identify the shrouded one as - who could guess -  Obknoxious’ best friend and dumb acolyte Madison Paxton. Meanwhile, the “celebrity” has presumably raced out the back door , to avoid the paparazzi.

How much more ludicrous can this murder case get?

Posted by Odysseus on 02/08/14 at 12:37 AM | #

@ Odysseus

My own guess here is that they are practicing misdirection in anticipation of disappearing her once the extradition situation becomes more immediately threatening.

After all, it’s not as if

1) there is any reason to hide her face at this point to protect her future privacy, or

2) there’s any reason to believe she’s suddenly become camera-shy for some other personal reason of her own.

But then again, they are all such peculiar people that anything could be going on.

Posted by lauowolf on 02/08/14 at 12:53 AM | #

Hi lauowolf

That makes sense.

I suppose the major thing they might learn from this trial run is to make sure that the decoy is not wearing clothes that were earlier seen on someone else!

Posted by Odysseus on 02/08/14 at 01:08 AM | #

Makes no difference Frederick Forsyth notwithstanding. As the time goes forward the truth will eventually all come out. They can’t stop it. Oh sure they can slow it down but it’s a losing battle.

The real point though is that some of these fools will eventually have to admit, even to themselves, that they were lied to.

Of course there will always be those such as Steve Moore and his mad wife who will sink into oblivion never to be heard from again. They, and all the others Preston included, will go down with the sinking ship.

Denial denial denial Roll on.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/08/14 at 01:41 AM | #

Correction: Frederick Forsyth wrote a good book 43 years ago 😊

Posted by Ergon on 02/08/14 at 03:28 AM | #

It may have been to keep Amanda away from the press in order to ensure GMA Robin Roberts be the VERY FIRST to EXCLUSIVELY hold the murdering hand.

They must have had an agreement with ABC to let them be the first to have any access at all to her - even to catch a glimpse of her post-verdict face.

Just my take on it.

Posted by thundering on 02/08/14 at 11:38 AM | #

As her conviction has a sexual assault component to it, will the US put her on the sex offenders register?

Posted by Spencer on 02/08/14 at 12:52 PM | #

I think everyone is waiting for the final SC verdict before action of any kind one way or the other is taken.

Posted by thundering on 02/08/14 at 01:04 PM | #

i guess they are rehearsing if what is to come.. a drill

Posted by sikandar on 02/08/14 at 01:17 PM | #

Cheers.

Posted by Spencer on 02/08/14 at 01:22 PM | #

i wouldn’t call her beautiful at all ...  ( have read it quite a few times )

Posted by sikandar on 02/08/14 at 01:36 PM | #

The whole thing seems to me like it’s Knox allowing her public relations team to paint her into a corner, with Knox helping them of course.

Only thing is she is stood on a trapdoor that is soon to fall and the public relations goons are stood on a safe bit of flooring, for now. They will do their utmost to squirm their way out of their corner of course, and leave Curt Knox to ponder if it really was the best move he ever made.

The second image above (Knox’s proclamation that she will hold her head up high aside for now) illustrates the whole sham perfectly.

It shows the fine upstanding and honest father Knox with the fine upstanding and honest sister Knox photographed perpetuating the enormous lie they have all taken part in, and in this case lying and tricking the public in general and officials that this is Amanda Knox under the jacket when in fact it is Knox’s love lorn friend Madison Paxton.

Just one of many lies, deceptions and falsehoods from the Knox family we have all been unfortunate to witness over the years.

Posted by DF2K on 02/08/14 at 02:08 PM | #

The sad irony is that, in the UK, we usually only see people covered in this way, incognito, when they are persons who have been confirmed as responsible for heinous crimes. For lesser crimes we don’t usually see this.
Is it the same in the US?

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 02/08/14 at 03:06 PM | #

My father once met Frederick Forsythe at a café in Spain. Forsythe used his last name as one of The Jackal’s aliases, but he changed the spelling.

I am on a celebration binge buying jewelry. Nencini’s guilty verdict was sheer delight after years of injustice. Also amazon.com sees me day and night. I hope everyone on TJMK and PMFs will do likewise and celebrate truth.

Posted by Hopeful on 02/08/14 at 03:53 PM | #

I have to admit that I do sometimes feel sorry for them. I think it was a mistake they wish they had never made.

They have been lying because they seriously do not want to go to prison and do want to live a normal life despite having made such a big mistake. It may sounds unfair to Meredith and a lot of people. But that is just how they are.

I only hate it that they try to mislead other people, especially when they unfairly hurt some other people in the process (in this case the reputation of some in the Italian justice system).

They have proved that they always think of themselves first. That only goes to show why they committed such a horrible crime in the first place.

Since being selfish was what drove to commit that crime, they need to learn to be fair to others. So they do need to confess before they can be forgiven.

Posted by janenewyork on 02/08/14 at 05:57 PM | #

@SeekingUnderstanding

Thank you. I too think the Italian to be really unfortunate to meet the American.

You see, I am not really a creative writer and I love to quote:

(from the agony in eight fits)

“Then, silence.  Some fancied they heard in the air
A weary and wandering sigh
Then sounded like “-jum!” but the others declare
It was only a breeze that went by.

They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
Not a button, or feather, or mark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
Where the Baker had met with the Snark.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away—-
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.”

The two kids too, shall disappear.

Posted by chami on 02/08/14 at 07:21 PM | #

I do not know whether we have to actually feel sorry for them or not. They murdered someone after all, what did they expect ? Praise?

Posted by aethelred23 on 02/08/14 at 07:31 PM | #

@aethelred23

If we do not feel sorry for them, the act of punishment will be a mere act of cruelty, an official torture.

Like a parent disciplines the child who has done something wrong, with love and compassion. Else the parent will breed hatred and sow seeds of revenge in the child.

These two are part of us, in the sense that they are the creation of the society in the same sense we have made the system for our common good. Just like god makes imperfect men and women. Just like our greatness lies in the realization of our imperfections.

At least you will agree that they did not invent murder. It has been there and will be there.

Let it be understood that I am not supporting their actions. I never have.

Posted by chami on 02/08/14 at 07:46 PM | #

So I read this long long article in the guardian written by one Simon Hattenstone who writes that Amanda Knox first contacted him six years ago. (Straight away a red flag,) I mean of all the journalists in the world why him, and out of mid air to boot.

Then I noticed that the logo for the guardian is a lower case (g) which incidentally is the same colour as Ground Report only that is a capital (G) so much for my suspicions. The similarity between both articles, apart from the shear length, is the syntax and sentence construction.

The sob story (Poor Little Me) from Knox is paramount, since Simon Hattenstone went to Seattle to interview her. Point is that this article is full of the usual lies. (Knox was interviewed for four days etc)

Point here is that this sounds so much like Nigel Scott wrote it. It’s full of nice comments about her home life and how anyone reading this who didn’t know the true facts would be taken in. She says she feels guilty about Patrick Lamumba et al. But these are obviously just words.

She does say that she feels trapped.Surprise surprise!! Also supposedly, Ryan Ferguson is her friend since he was exonerated of murder two months ago.

This I take with a grain of salt since anyone who was exonerated two months ago would be more likely to spend time with his family and not Knox since (again according to Hattenstone) its a very cramped household.

It’s the usual sob story stuff to make Knox appear human which as far as I am concerned she isn’t.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/08/14 at 07:55 PM | #

they are definitely not a part of our society and i personally wouldn’t feel sorry for them.. this is not torture to them. this is what they have asked for….

torture can also be to an innocent person, which clearly they are not. thats why feeling sorry is out of the question..an innocent daughter and sister of someone is dead cos they did it for fun n amusement and they dint even care…

i feel sorry for meredith and her family.. i feel sorry for poor pro knox supporters.. i feel sorry for those who blindfold themselves in live like herds, but certainly not the knox family .... i think justice is served .. now its just wait and watch ...

Posted by sikandar on 02/08/14 at 09:00 PM | #

Hi, Earthling, thanks for the reminder about “A Passage To India”, loved the book and the movie.

How fitting then, to remember Patrick Lumumba. A false accusation, a life ruined. In the end, Adela Quested does have peace, because she told the truth. When she meets Dr. Aziz again, he is still bitter, but, he forgives her.

Can Amanda Knox ever tell the truth? How can she ever hope for forgiveness and understanding from the Kerchers, when she lies? It is an examination of her pathology, every time the media gives her a platform.

What I do know is, she might be free for now, but can never ever know peace. Until she tells the truth.

Posted by Ergon on 02/08/14 at 11:29 PM | #

Hi, Grahame, re Simon Hattenstone (his Twitter handle sounds funny Austin-Powers-style to a foreigner like me: @shattenstone, yeah, baby) , this bloke’s a world-class hypocrite, by some accident I stumbled upon his latest tweets, where he says we must never forget the real victims, the Kerchers. This after being Amanda Knox’s poodle in a variety of interviews, including a video interview filmed in a pub, where Knox sits pretty and tells her story unchallenged, pretty sickening stuff. I was a very big fan of the Guardian many years ago (when Julie Burchill still looked sane and was a lone voice in blasting imperialism in the late 1990’s (1999 ...), that’s another story), but today I wouldn’t go anywhere near their website. So, yes, I wouldn’t put a lot of value on what Shattenstone says (I tweeted him and also gave him a piece of my mind on the Guardian, too, he never replied, oh well).

Posted by Bjorn on 02/09/14 at 02:22 AM | #

HI Bjorn yes I got the same thing. Another fair weather friend who thinks he can make money off this tragedy.  You will find that there is very little going on with these people eventually. To repeat myself though, the similarity between the guardian logo and ground report is too much of a coincidence. It’s even the same colour. So I think there has to be a link. Hacks of the same colour stick together sort of thing.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/09/14 at 05:04 AM | #

it must also be considered that, once in jail, remaining in denial and creating a parallel world of truth is risky as parole is not given to all prisoners.  This crazy unjustified PR, interviews, calumnies etc. are putting AK in a corner. New crimes are particularly dangerous for this procedure.  That means about 10 years more in prison and getting out at 52-53 instead of 42-43 (assuming she is extradited as by treaty once convicted also by supreme court, which I give for granted)

Posted by Popper on 02/09/14 at 12:48 PM | #

In case anyone hasn’t seen it, compare the clothing of the person being bundled away in the second image above with this picture of the obknoxious one’s “best friend” Madison Paxton:

http://goo.gl/zcJ8cQ

Whatever the game is with all this subterfuge the Knox family are surely scoring an own-goal (from their point of view) by subliminally conveying the message that they are aiding and abetting a heinous criminal, since most people would surely see that image and automatically think “that’s someone in deep trouble being led away”. If they were then told it was actually a family-arranged decoy they would be pretty certain that this was a family in deep denial over something very serious.

Posted by Odysseus on 02/09/14 at 06:51 PM | #

DF2K
Usually this kind face-covering is an attempt to keep one’s face out of the news. from shame or embarrassment.
Since the family has neither shame nor embarrassment,that cannot be their purpose.
We all know what AK looks like, so it makes no sense.
It isn’t even AK under there - this was just a decoy.
Dumb of them to do it so obviously at this point, because it simply alerts the camera people - and potentially the local law as well - to their use of the ploy.

Posted by lauowolf on 02/09/14 at 09:30 PM | #

To me everything looks like a dry run for the day when there will be an outstanding warrant for Knox—right now there isn’t, and, moral issues aside, everybody wants to get a piece of the action before it becomes illegal (very sad, but really the pressure now is on Italy to request extradition, and the ball must be passed neatly to the US, so that they wouldn’t be able to reject it on a technicality).

Based on the absence of a warrant, I am wondering if Knox can go as far as get a gun in Washington state, being such a darling and all:

http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/firearms/faconcealreq.html

I dare her to try, if she has no valid pending trial, appeal, or sentencing on a charge that would prohibit her from having a license, as her family and FOAKers claim.

Posted by Bjorn on 02/09/14 at 11:00 PM | #

Considering the pressure that Knox has been put under by her rabid family and acolytes it would not surprise me if she either goes totally crazy and does something stupid.er etc: Or something/anything to get out of the eventual sentence. Given the total moronic stupidity of her family, as shown by the P/R (screw you) scheme, perhaps they will talk her into getting pregnant. I’m sure the subject has been broached by several very nasty self serving people such as Curt Knox who thought this up in the first place in order to make money. This has been shown and proven by his total disregard for Knox and her mother when he was taken to court for not playing child support. Lovely family each and every one.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/10/14 at 12:07 AM | #

@ Grahame Rhodes

Good point. It is explained here, at page “Penitentiary laws” and then paragraph “The house detention”.

http://www.ristretti.it/manuali/inglese/index.htm

@ Popper

Let me say that the concept of “parole” is very different here in Italy. I recommend reading the chapter “The alternative measures to the detention” at the same link above.

Posted by ncountryside on 02/10/14 at 01:16 AM | #

Thank you ncoutryside most informative.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/10/14 at 01:20 AM | #

@ ncountryside

I do not see why I should read a brief summary in English if I can read and know the applicable laws in Italian.
Parole is a decent translation for “liberta’ condizionale”.  Sometimes I have translated it “conditional freedom” but I find “parole” a good translation.  In the past 6 years we have explained in detail all the possible measures (semiliberta’ condizionale, discount for early release etc.) in numerous posts on pmf and the differences vs some foreign systems and how they could apply in this case.  We have also detailed the requisites a prisoner must have to obtain the benefits.  That good website was linked several times, as well as many articles of OP translated. On a final point, do you not agree any crime committed in the middle of the reeducation program would bring compromise to it and its benefits?

Posted by Popper on 02/10/14 at 02:40 AM | #

semiliberta’, liberta’ condizionale (a comma and a word are missing, sorry)

Posted by Popper on 02/10/14 at 02:45 AM | #

Has anyone read this?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10611826/Amanda-Knox-could-face-detention-in-tough-US-jail.html

It’s less pro-Knox than other articles I’ve read on their site.  I love thinking about obKnoxious in prison in her own country. That would probably get through to her more (reality check).

Posted by all4justice on 02/10/14 at 03:33 AM | #

I just read the above. Thank you all4justice for bringing it forward

Please note that in paragraph fifteen it states that there is a possibility that “The local FBI Office could do it.” (Arrest Knox that is)

Would this mean that the arresting officer would be Steve Moore? retired or not. If that were to happen I would laugh for the next 20 years.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/10/14 at 04:29 AM | #

@Grahame Rhodes

Please don’t laugh! It is a very serious matter.

No, not for Ms Knox. She has worked hard for it. She just wanted to be close to home.

I am only worried about the FoA members. What they will do? Whom they will blame? The evil I-ta-li-ans?

Perhaps they will just move on to a greener pasture. I wish them best of luck!

Posted by chami on 02/10/14 at 03:16 PM | #

No Chami Of course it’s a very serious matter. Any humour from me would be directed at those who have aided and abetted Knox so thereby are accessories to murder.

These enablers who have denigrated the Kerchers, including Knox herself, have in point of fact murdered Meredith twice, and therefore this is where my bitterness has it’s roots.

If Knox was arrested by Moore FBI notwithstanding (which of course it would not be him) would be a prime example of being ‘hoisted on their own petard’ and any humour from me would be one of vindication at their confusion.

The Knox supporters have come to see this as a sort of contest. This is not a game in any way shape or form but as you rightly point out. “It is a very serious matter.”

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/10/14 at 03:37 PM | #

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/02/03/ac-intv-raffaele-sollecito-italy-murder-trial.cnn.html

Where is this interview taking place?  In Rome?

Why would the prosecutors not question Sollecito - is this just a lie?

Posted by believing on 02/10/14 at 06:02 PM | #

http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/02/02/legal-analysis-of-amanda-knox-verdict.cnn.html

A more balanced interview on CNN by both but Derschowitz seems to backtrack a little bit by saying there is reasonable doubt at the end of his speech.

Posted by believing on 02/10/14 at 06:09 PM | #

Nevertheless, Derschowitz says ‘there is compelling - if not overwhelming - evidence of her guilt.’

And ‘all the evidence combined points in one direction - to her guilt.’

He also stresses that it is simply not true there is no evidence, and brings out the point that Guede did not act alone.

So all in all, he managed well to get these points across in the present atmosphere.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 02/10/14 at 06:59 PM | #

What Sollecito says is simply wrong. He exercised his right to silence at his trial, which is the time he would have been cross examined. Therefore he was not available to ask or answer any questions.

During this appeal just ended, he gave a spontaneous statement, - after which the judge made a point of saying that any other statement, or anything else he wished to submit, he (the judge), and the court, would be open to hearing it. However, Sollecito must do so before the end of the appeal, as when the verdict was given, it would be too late.

I don’t know how the judge could have made it any clearer : ‘You are welcome to approach us with any extra information, but you must do so before the verdict is delivered.’

In this CNN interview, though, Sollecito does separate himself from Knox. He says there is nothing to link himself to the crime, but purposefully says, ‘there is nothing very strong to link Amanda ...’

He is also definite that ‘I don’t want to have to pay for someone else’s “peculiar behaviour” ‘.

Well. That’s probably a first : murder referred to as ‘peculiar behaviour’.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 02/10/14 at 07:21 PM | #

Amanda Knox falls into the category of a Level III sex offender. She has convictions for sexual assault and murder and is a known substance abuser. 

The University of Washington Police Department considers the protection of our community from sex offenders of significant importance. The objective of the 1990 Community Protection Act was to provide adequate notice to the community concerning sex offenders who are, or will be attending, working or residing on the campus, and to assist our community members in developing constructive plans to prepare themselves and their children for residing near released sex offenders.

Information that is relevant and necessary to protect the public and to counteract the danger created by a particular offender is released pursuant to RCW 4.24.550.

Level III

Level 3 offenders are the greatest risk to the community. Most are predatory, have other violent crime convictions, refused treatment and are known substance abusers. Community notification is the most extensive.

Washington State Law permits notifications about Level III offenders that include relevant, accurate and necessary information. This information MAY BE disclosed to the public at large.

University of Washington Police Department will disclose Level III Sex Offender information to the general public. Any Level III Sex Offenders registered, working or volunteering at the University

http://www.washington.edu/admin/police/prevention/sexoffenders.html

Has the University of Washington Police notified the people who work and study at the UW that a convicted sex killer is currently studying at the university?

Here are the contact details of the UW Police:

Anonymous Tip-line: 206.685.TIPS (8477)

Business Office: 206.543.0507 (M-F, 8-12, 1-4:45)

Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Posted by The Machine on 02/10/14 at 08:35 PM | #

@SeekingUnderstanding

In the early days, during the “original full”, Ms Knox needed Mr Sollecito more than anything else.

However, once she reached home (back to terra firma) surrounded by her foot soldiers, she no longer had any use of Mr Sollecito. Now that he needs her more than anything (as his bride hunting expeditions shows) but fate has her plan for him. Is he really retarded? No offence meant to anyone!

If he has honestly spoken in the first trial, things would not have come to this stage. It would have been a decent strategy not to share the single life jacket with his girlfriend of one week. I mean, a good lawyer could have done a lot if he was not carrying any baggage. Is he really so dumb?

I liked the CNN interview. It is fairly presented. Sollecito appears cornered. Karma (see my first post at the top) is so cruel.

Posted by chami on 02/10/14 at 08:52 PM | #

@chami

Yes, there would seem to be something missing, absent, from Raphaele Sollecito’s brain…..

And now, as you rightly say, he will never be able to wander in peaceful solitude by the side of a lake in Italy, and gaze, and smell the rain…

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 02/10/14 at 09:12 PM | #

I remember about two years ago we had a heading “The Incredible Shrinking Knox Support.” or at least something like that. Except for a handful of rabid individuals/wanna be’s this continues to slide south. Mind you there will always be someone out there who is to far into denial a la (Jody Arias is innocent etc:)

Anyway I predict that, although there will be the usual ‘hue and cry’ people will simply stop caring what happens to Knox. This is as the result of people getting tired of the same old story and is indicative of the coming backlash against the P/R scam.

Point is to the vast majority this is old news and people have far more to interest themselves with.

Posted by Grahame Rhodes on 02/10/14 at 09:55 PM | #

@believing

Thanks for the CNN link.

@SeekingUnderstanding

Dershowitz also seems to think it’s possible that Italy won’t seek extradition on the basis that they let AK return to the US - even though they knew the case was still pending and it would be difficult to get her back.

Therefore he presumes the Italian government might be satisfied with just the final conviction, and then let her spend the rest of her life in the U.S., “not able to travel to Europe or Italy”

“Maybe it will all be resolved in that way” he says. Marvellous, open season then for psychopaths in the US to murder throughout Europe knowing the only penalty is they will not be allowed back.

What kind of ridiculous diplomatic balance would be maintained by barring a convicted murderer from entering Europe yet allowing them to walk free in the U.S.

If I was an American I’d be extremely angry at this suggestion (and very afraid - especially if I lived near Seattle).

Posted by Odysseus on 02/10/14 at 10:26 PM | #

If Italy does not request extradition (unlikely, in my opinion), can the UK request it?

Posted by Bjorn on 02/10/14 at 11:01 PM | #

@Odysseus

Yes, I was just a little taken aback to hear this, but not really…  I think inevitably Dershowitz has come under stressful pressure and exposure. He would seem, understandably, to want to avoid ‘taking sides’ - the media always seem to try to set up two diametrically opposing sides (from their point of view more dramatic news).

Personally I think this trait in journalism is regrettable and a symptom of dumbing down to ...  well, I won’t say.

Anyway, I believe the brave professor is trying to keep on an even keel, and deflate the divisiveness, and minimize the ‘black or white?’ scenario.

I think perhaps anyone intelligent realizes that it would be better for absolutely everybody if the whole affair could die down, out of the spotlight.The more indifference the better. It’s better not to feed narcissism and/or hysteria for a start.

I was encouraged that about half (49%?) in the US had no opinion or didn’t know whether Knox was guilty. That’s quite a lot of indifference. Perhaps, as Graham Rhodes says, this will slowly increase.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 02/10/14 at 11:36 PM | #

@SeekingUnderstanding

You may well be right, I hope so.

Posted by Odysseus on 02/11/14 at 12:13 AM | #

A California porn company wants to turn Amanda Knox into Foxy KnoXXXy.

Monarchy Distribution has offered the 26-year-old murder case cause célèbre $20,000 to do a naughty-nudey flick.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/amanda-knox-offered-20g-california-porn-company-adult-film-article-1.1607976#ixzz2syEkVaf3

“As you may have read, and were most likely well aware of, the general consensus is you are absolutely smoking hot,” the company’s founder Michael Kulich wrote in an email to Knox.

Kulich, known for his knack for publicity stunts, described his offer as a “unique opportunity” for Knox to strike now while her case is back in the news.

oh puh-lease…..

Posted by chrrypi on 02/11/14 at 02:56 AM | #

I like this page: http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/MURDERINITALY.html

I agree with this statement of his:

“I am now changing my mind and am opposed to what I wrote below about Amanda not deserving the 26 years. Unless she comes clean and confesses I believe she deserves the sentence she got. It’s Italian court vs. Amanda’s lies. The choice is easy.“

Posted by janenewyork on 02/11/14 at 03:19 AM | #

I think Raphael Sollecito is actually deluded enough to think he is going to get off scot-free.

He seems to be remarkably calm, unconcerned, living in never-never land right now, pretty much unphased that he was just sentenced to what, 25 years in prison?  I think he is plotting an escape, somehow, somewhere.

Neither one seems to really believe they are going to jail but I would think RS would be a bit more jittery, considering he is an Italian citizen and has already had the passport taken away.

Posted by believing on 02/11/14 at 05:47 AM | #

I live in West Seattle. I’m not any more afraid of being attacked by Knox than by any other random young person under the influence of a combination of emotional disorder/ drug cocktail.

She has good reason to be ultra cautious about how she behaves in public, as well as in private, vis a vis the law.

Regardless, I want to see her face the music, and pay penance for her crime. ( And NOT see her face on every magazine cover and television screen!)

Posted by mimi on 02/11/14 at 07:34 AM | #

mimi,

Yes and all the time Knox is still raking in the money. The newspapers, magazines and TV are all still throwing money her way.

It was truly bizarre to see a TV presenter holding the hand of a murderer convicted of a most cruel sex attack on Meredith Kercher resulting in her death, a person who is still pursuing Meredith’s family to boot.

How she is at liberty to taunt her victims family and invite people to criticise them beggars belief.  The world has gone mad.

Sollecito himself, her partner in crime and the other half of the deadly duo, continues in his way to publicly mock and pore scorn on virtually the entire Italian establishment and society in general because they are such fools to convict such an entitled soul like he.

It is so “absurd” to think the bloody footprint matching his precise characteristics are his and how “absurd” that Italy’s leading DNA experts matched 17 out of 17 loci from the copious amounts of his DNA they found on Meredith’s bra clasp.

I cannot understand his current strategy (perhaps a strategy of desperation) of trying to distance himself from his partner in crime, as he has already had a book written for him in which he received just short of a million dollars in which he is depicted as a most honourable person for standing by her and saving her from the clutches of the people perpetuating all the absurdities that are now the bane of his life.

He is quite the hero to boot, after laying his freedom and life on the line for Knox considering he had only known her for just over a week.

However, if you believe that you will believe anything.  No one in their right mind would make such a sacrifice if they had no involvement in the crime.

Posted by DF2K on 02/11/14 at 08:36 AM | #

apparently Rudy gets day release to go study—

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2556472/Meredith-Kercher-killer-freed-prison-study-serving-just-six-years-sentence.html

Meredith Kercher killer freed from prison to study after serving just six years of his sentence

serving a 16 year sentence for murder and sexual assault
day release to study History at university near Perugia
has been a model prisoner with no incidents of misbehaviour
insists Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are guilty of the murder

Posted by mojo on 02/11/14 at 05:05 PM | #

Hi mojo,

Rudy Guede hasn’t actually been freed from prison. It goes without saying that you can only trust reliable journalists like Andrea Vogt.

Posted by The Machine on 02/11/14 at 07:34 PM | #

@believing

Now that Sollecito has been hit on his head (his passport has been taken away), he is awaking from the deep slumber to the harsh reality.

This is his style of “kicking and screaming”. He is now just providing free entertainment.

It is a pity that his bride hunting expedition ended in naught.

I don’t believe he has any strategy. He simply follows what papa says. But for the time being, that is the best strategy (though he should have followed that from the beginning).

Posted by chami on 02/11/14 at 07:42 PM | #

perhaps the Machine - but Andy Lines of the mirror also bylined this story some days ago sourcing a friend of Meredith’s family. granted the DailyMail and the Mirror are not high journalism, but I’m gonna put a ‘wait and see” on this one.

Posted by mojo on 02/11/14 at 08:18 PM | #

apparently Nick Squires of the DailyTelegraph refutes one aspect of the Mirror’s story in that Rudy is not out on day release, but Squires has spoken with Rudy’s lawyer and Rudy is indeed eligible to apply but has not yet done so.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10630656/Meredith-Kercher-killer-eligible-for-parole.html.

Posted by mojo on 02/11/14 at 08:28 PM | #

It comes to something if a person feels safer or more protected in prison than out of it.

What a tangled web has been woven.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be a surprise if Rudy Guede preferred to wait until AK and RS start their sentences, before he comes out in the public arena again.

They could have been looking forward to forthcoming release if they hadn’t elected the path of lying and covering up.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 02/11/14 at 09:34 PM | #

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