Headsup: To those many lawyers amazed that Knox did not get on the witness stand to head off a certain re-conviction: the best guess among Italian lawyers is that Knox's own lawyers feared ANOTHER calunnia charge if she repeated the crackpot and highly disprovable claims that she was tortured. The tough calunnia law is primarily a pushback measure against mafia meddling which is widely suspected in this case.
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Understanding Why Guede’s Appeal For A New Trial Was Declined By The Florence Court
Posted by Machiavelli
A few days ago Guede’s requst for a trial review was declared inadmissible by the Florence court. As usual a written explanation will be issued by the court; meanwhile, this is my take.
A trial review is something that resembles what in the US would be called an “appeal”, in fact a kind of appeal that a person convicted might request, in the event that new evidence emerges that may change the verdict. The existence of new evidence is required in order to simply request a revew trial. The burden for presenting new evidence which is significant is fully on the convicted person (requesting party).
So this is what Guede was attempting to request. The “new evidence” that he was presenting as I understand was basically the points made by the Fifth Chambers of the Supreme Court, that is basically: the finding that presence at the murder is not sufficient evidence to convict beyond reasonable doubt; despite it being proven the suspects were there there is still no evidence beyond reasonable doubt of their active role in the act of killing.
If that point was applied to Guede too, he could argue that there is still reasonable doubt on his participation in the murder and guilt, despite the evidence of his being on the scene of crime (as the Fifth Chambers said about Knox).
In a situation of the normal functioning of the law - where the previous judges’ decisions are actually legal - there would be no room for a review of Guede’s conviction, because in order to obtain a trial review, a convicted person has to show that given the new evidence, the overall assessment of the evidence has a significant probability to change, meaning that a court assessing all the evidence would have a significant probability to come to a different conclusion.
Now, if evidence on Rudy Guede is assessed legally by a court, there would be no significant probability that any court would come out with a different verdict, because there is in fact sufficient evidence that he took part in a murder and that he is guilty in complicity along with other culprits as the courts have already found.
Before the Florence ruling my mind was open because the situation was not a normal legal situation: we had the Fifth Chambers verdict that was making those absurd points of law potentially changing the legal landscape, they created a precedent on which Guede could have requested a different assessment of his evidence, aligned with the standards set by the Fifth Chambers.
Those standards are not normal, not legal. They are delusional. But they are in the record, and so the decision on whether to allow a re-trial of Guede would depend on (1) whether the court decides based on the normal legal standards, or (2) whether they decide based on the verdict & rationale on reasonable doubt by the Fifth Chambers.
Since there is a conflict of res iudicata any possible rationale on Guede’s request was theoretically possible.
My guess is that the Florence judges could see that based on normal legal rules it was obvious that there is no actual room for a trial review of Guede’s verdict. So they declared his request inadmissible.
The question of how to fit the decision with the Fifth Chambers Bruno/Marasca verdict is an open question, upon which the court may decide to invent something so to make it look consistent in the pending report.
It is impossible to make it *actually* consistent with the Fifth Chambers verdict, but the Florence court can’t change the Fifth Chambers verdict and the verdict is not about Guede, therefore they might just ignore it, or mention it in a way that is vague, or write arguments that are either building pretexts about it or dismissive of its implications. What they write doesn’t really matter, actually because their decision is not about Knox & Sollecito.
The Florentine court can neither find AK & RS guilty nor “acquit” them, that is they cannot “take them away from the murder room” where the Fifth Chambers definitely placed them. This is true no matter what the Florence courts decides to write about AK & RS: it doesn’t matter what they write about them, since they only have power to assess the final verdict about Rudy Guede for retrial purposes and nothing else.
Whatever excuse they write about any other topic - such as the participation of Knox & Sollecito - is legally irrelevant, because they are not invested with the task of finding anything else. Whatever they write in their motivations might be useful for the media, but we shall bear in mind the Florence court is making no decision about Knox & Sollecito and cannot make any finding that could ever change the previous definitive judicial truths.
That included the definitive finding that Guede acted in complicity with others, that he was not the person who was holding the murder weapon, and that AK and probably RS were right there.
Posted by Machiavelli on 01/19/17 at 06:33 AM •
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Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Meredith’s Birthday: By Now She Could Have Risen Far And Fast, In A Career Of Great Implication
Posted by Our Main Posters
Brussels, the headquarters of the European Community.
This is where Meredith thought she might be heading. With a skillset and natural leadership talents that Europe and, well, everywhere so badly needs now.
Have others of her age been so inspired? We have heard from friends that their mostly brief acquaintances still really matter, and their own futures are better for having known her.
And the prosperous attractive caring well-run town of Perugia, now relatively drug-free, has some of that to revere her for.
Posted by Our Main Posters on 12/28/16 at 10:04 AM •
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Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Prospects For Guede’s Attempted Appeal, On Which Clemente & Richards Are Short On Hard Facts
Posted by KrissyG
[Rudy Guede at Viterbo Prison with one of the legal advisers there who works on his case]
1. Guede’s Legal Situation Per The Courts?
Guede has brought the application for a review of his case to the Florence courts.
A closed session excluding the media and the Knox and Sollecito teams is scheduled for today. Guede’s application cites “˜internal inconsistencies’ within the Marasca-Bruno reasoning in respect of Knox and Sollecito.
I plan to sort out the facts from the fiction and to provide a definitive review of what the legal facts concerning Guede are.
These will be as specified at his trial and appeal and rubber-stamped by the Supreme Court in Guede’s case, plus how the Supreme Court verdict in the Knox / Sollecito case impacts on then.
I also anticipate what might be the comebacks of the Knox and Sollecito defenses if they are allowed to participate down the road.
(1) Sources Of Known Hard Facts On Guede
There are many theories about Guede’s role in the Kercher murder case with many assertions becoming common currency, as interested parties, such as Knox and Sollecito compete for the hegemony.
I refer to original source material to get to the actual facts of the matter. These consist of Guede’s Prison Diary whilst under extradition proceedings in Koblenz, between 21 Nov 2007 and late November 2007, his Skype talk 19 Nov 2007 with best friend Giacomo Benedetti, whilst on the run from the police; and the detailed Micheli report, Perugia, 28 Oct 2008,the finalised legal findings of fact, and as approved by the Cassazione Supreme Court.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the court findings or of Guede’s exact role in the crime, these remain the legal position today, and these are the grounds on which Guede is bringing his application for a review to the Florence Supreme Court.
(2) Micheli Findings On Guede Summarized
“¢ Guede definitively did not wield the murder knife.
“¢ He had no meaningful prior contact with Meredith.
“¢ Therefore he was not invited to the cottage or let in by Meredith, nor had any consensual contact.
“¢ The burglary and rape mise en scene was a second stage of the crime after the murder.
“¢ It thus follows, says Micheli, that Knox let Guede into the murder cottage.
“¢ The crime was sexually motivated, and not one motivated by theft.
“¢ There were multiple assailants ““ as per DNA and luminol testing and the fact of a return to the scene to rearrange it.
“¢ Guede did not steal the rent money or the phones.
“¢ He was guilty of aggravated murder because of his complicity in the attack and failure to stop it as soon as knives were produced.
“¢ Complicity: “Above all if the certain facts include the consequent outline of that supposed “˜unknown’ (the presence of the three at the scene of the crime) they are abundant, and all abundantly proven”. - Micheli
(3) Timeline of Events, Guede’s Perspective
Born in the Ivory Coast 26 Dec 1987 six months older than Knox and three years younger than Sollecito. Came to Italy with his father Roger, aged five, rejected by his mother. Lived with a series of foster families, including a wealthy local family, whom he left as soon as he reached age of majority. Stayed with an aunt in Lecca. Took up various short-term jobs, had periods of unemployment, tended to “˜disappear’.
His childhood friend Mancini, the son of Guede’s teacher, Mrs Tiberi tried to keep tabs on him. His last job he was fired from for sickness without a note, took up bedsit in Perugia in early September 2007 nearby Sollecito and the cottage. Socialised with the Spanish contingent in his house. Mrs Tiberi described Guede as always polite and well-behaved. His childhood friends, Mancini and Benedetti, say they never saw him take drugs or get drunk, although latterly they had not seen him much. His more short-term acquaintances mentioned witnessing him drunk at various times.
A witness claimed he had said he wanted to go to Milan for a few days “˜to dance’. In Milan 27 Oct 2007, just a few days before the murder, he was caught trespassing at a nursery, but was not charged at the time. He was found in possession of a stolen laptop, a knife found at the nursery, a ladies watch and a small glass-breaking hammer. His mobile phone was confiscated, thus claimed to have no phone as of the time of the murder. He was charged post-murder conviction for the laptop possession.
Around the time of a friend’s birthday (Owen), “˜12th or 14th October 2007’ he’d been out celebrating with friends, met up with some basketball playing pals outside, which included the boys in the downstairs apartment of the cottage, Knox approached, whom he had seen before at Patrick’s bar, Le Chic, to say “˜Hi, I’m Amanda from Seattle’, the boys made off towards home, together with Guede. Knox went into her apartment on the upper level whilst the boys went downstairs and lit up a joint. Knox came down to join them, and then Meredith later. This was the first time she met Guede. Guede relates Meredith had just one toke on the joint and then said she was off to bed, Knox followed shortly after.
The next time Guede saw Meredith was at a pub called “˜The Shamrock’ where the World Cup Rugby Final between England and South Africa was being played. This took place 20 Oct 2007. Witnesses confirm that both Meredith and Guede were present, within groups of friends. Guede claims to have struck up a banter with Meredith, but there are no witnesses to this and Meredith never mentioned it to her friends if it happened. On Sunday, Guede went by the cottage to watch the Formula One final after seventeen events. This took place 21 Oct 2007. If Guede had struck up a friendship with Meredith, he made no attempt to pop his head around the door to say hello. Laura Mezzetti, one of the roommates upstairs did witness Guede there, when she came down to “˜buy a smoke for €5’.
Guede then claims to have asked Meredith for a date on the night of Halloween on 31 October 2007 at the Domus nightclub, again there were no witnesses to this and Meredith never mentioned it to anyone. Both were at the packed night spot. He gives this as the reason he approached the cottage the next evening, 1st Nov 2007, claiming Meredith let him in. He had a drink from the fridge whilst Meredith went to her room. He claims he heard her cursing Amanda, as her money was missing; she showed him her drawer where she had kept it; he calmed her down; they searched the cottage together and, after chatting about their families; they began canoodling. They had no condoms so it went no further.
As Meredith had not been home when he first arrived circa 20:20 pm, he had gone to see his friend Alex and then went to buy a kebab whilst he waited. Because of the effects of the kebab, Guede claimed that whilst at the cottage, he had to rush to the bathroom and whilst there, the doorbell rang, Meredith who had been on her way to her room, answered the door and Guede heard Amanda’s voice with Meredith saying, “˜We need to talk’ and Amanda reply, “˜What’s happened? What is the problem?’
Guede put on his earphones to listen to loud music for ten minutes when he heard a loud scream, ran out, the light was now off, “˜to my astonishment’, saw the figure of a man standing on the threshold of Meredith’s room, who suddenly turned with a knife in his hand. Guede backed off and grabbed a chair in self-defence, the man said, “˜Black man found, black man guilty’ and then “˜Let’s go!’ and ran off. Guede administerd three towels to the dying girl before himself running off, because he heard a noise from downstairs that frightened him, he claimed.
He ran home via Plaza Grimana direction, changed and washed his jogging pants, then went out nightclubbing.
3 Nov 2007 he went to Milan via Modena and Bologna and after midnight he jumped on a random train, to avoid police seen at the station, an ended up in Duesseldorf in Germany. Between then and 19th he stayed in barges and places along the Rhine. Sixteen days to reflect. Mancini his childhood friend had contacted him 12/13th November via the internet, unaware he was wanted, accusing him of “˜always running away’ and Guede replied, “˜You know why’, without elaborating. His other old friend, Benedetti helping police, set up a Skype conversation with Guede, 19 Nov 2007,and persuaded him to return. In the meantime German police caught him on a train without a ticket and on an Interpol warrant, held him in custody in Koblenz until 1 December 2007, whilst processing an extradition order.
Guede was brought back to Italy and subsequently interviewed by prosecutor Mignini 26 March 2008 and charged with the murder, in complicity with Knox and Sollecito. Guede opted for a separate, “˜fast-track’ trial, which was closed, although we can discern what took place from the presiding Judge’s reasoning (Micheli) for the “˜guilty of aggravated murder’ verdict and the dismissal of the theft charge of the phones and credit cards.
2. Clemente’s And Richards’ Anti Guede Case
(1) Context Of These Claims
There is a recent crimepodcast by Jim Clemente, ex-FBI agent and ex-District Attorney & prosecutor, with Laura Richards, criminal psychologist and ex-Scotland Yard.
They attempt a “˜behavioural analysis’ of the Guede interview on RAI3an Italiana TV channel earlier this year with interviewer Franca Leosini. reflecting a lot of the apologists’ claims.
My questioning below of their claims will highlight some of the misconceptions about the case they reveal. The podcast can be accessed here.
Especially, is Clemente’s and Richards’ core claim ““ one of Guede being the “˜lone killer’ really grounded in any substance?
Does it fit with the timeline of the events from Guede’s point of view? Does it fit with the Knox and Sollecito timelines and evidences? Does it fit with the actual legal position of Guede as laid down at Guede’s trial?
And does it fit with the ruling on Knox & Sollecito by the Supreme Court in 2015? That controversial ruling acquitting the pair on the grounds of Article 530 Para II, “˜Not guilty: due to insufficient evidence’.
(2) “Behavioral Observations” Of Guede
These are among the claims of Clemente and Richards, which reflect the views of pro-innocence campaigners of Knox & Sollecito, critiquing Franca Leosini’s tv interview.
Clemente & Richards 1 “˜The foundation as to why he is in her room and cottage, DNA inside as well as outside ““ he is finding a plausible excuse for being there.’
Comment: Guede did not claim to have made sexual advances in Meredith’s room.
Clemente & Richards 2 “˜Meredith had locked door from the inside ““ helped self to drink ““ Meredith went to bedroom ““ claimed she was mad at Knox for stealing money and being dirty.’
Clemente & Richards 3 “˜He said he “˜wouldn’t go with her unless she had a condom. Not appropriate time to get going so got dressed. As if.! Leosini cracks, “˜You missed the best part of the evening ““ “˜No Sex Please We’re British’ ““ inappropriate ““ she is flirting with him (Leosini). She purports to get tough with him, but he dances around the question.’
Clemente & Richards 4 “˜Got dressed, had bad stomach, had to go to bathroom, kernel of truth ““ poop in toilet. Before Meredith came in. Trapped in there ““ he if flushed the toilet, she’d know he was there. She tells him to use that bathroom, in kitchen, then went to bedroom.
Comment: Guede used the large bathroom which was by the front door. If he was in there when Meredith unexpectedly returned, it was easy to run away unrecognised.
Clemente & Richards 5 Heard doorbell ring, Meredith opens door, engages in conversation - 101% it is Amanda. Fallacy ““ Amanda lives there, why would she ring doorbell? “˜Meredith had locked inside door.’ There is no reason for Amanda to ring doorbell.
Comment: The courts agree. The courts uphold that it was Knox who let Guede in.
Clemente & Richards 6. Becomes very detailed and specific. He saying look, I’m very clean. Poor boy “˜found myself in Germany’. 101% - extending.
Clemente & Richards 7. Why would Amanda ring, Rudy’s explanation. Identifies someone by voice ““ despite listening to very loud music. Hears girls arguing, puts on ear phones to block out- 2.5 songs ““ 10 minutes. Inconsistency. It’s a lie. The attack on MK took about 10”. Kernel of truth in the lie.
Comment: Guede says he put on headphones after hearing initial greetings. However, Micheli agrees that how come Guede only hears the last scream, from 4-5 metres away, when a nearby resident, witness Mrs Capezelli, heard a series from 70 metres away.
Clemente & Richards 8. It was Meredith coming home, not Amanda, we “˜know as a fact’ it didn’t happen. His sleeve had the victim’s DNA. He carried a knife consistent with bloody impression on bed.
Comment: There is no evidence Guede carried a knife. At the Milan nursery trespass 27 Oct 2007, Guede was found with a knife which belonged to the nursery so had not carried it with him.
Clemente & Richards 9 Scream louder than his music, runs to Meredith’s room, lights off. So concerned about his image in terms of cleanliness. He leaves a dying girl alone. “˜Lights were suddenly not on’ coming out of the bathroom into the hall, but were on in her room.
Clemente & Richards 10. Can only describe the jacket ““ guy facing Meredith. Guy turns starts flashing with his scalpel. Happened so fast, did didn’t know what was in his hand. He says, “˜I said’, not what happened. Recount what happened, not “˜when I testified I said this’ ““ leakage ““ skips ahead. “˜This is the story I am sticking to’. It shows he is trying to keep to the story he testified.
Clemente & Richards 11 “He turned around and came to me I didn’t see his face”. Quotes self. Not in the moment any more. Wildly gesticulating hands ““ struggling for words. Cognitive load, wants to get it right. Story trying to remember. How do you remember insignia but not face? (The brand logo on the man’s jacket.)
Comment: The light was described as an abat-jour so it’s possible it was on an auto-timer. Guede explains he was busy concentrating on the blade in the man’s hand. The man’s face would have been back lit. Good point about Guede reverting back to testimony.
Clemente & Richards 12. German police found he had a cut on his hand.- “˜you were focused on his hand’ ““ “˜I said I thought it was a scalpel. It could have been a knife 12” long 7” blade. So he says, “˜I thought’ but didn’t know. Mignini argued, “˜There are two knives’. Rudy and Mignini are “˜perverted accomplished liars’ (Clemente’s view). “˜Pissed off with Mignini for perverting justice. Collusion’. Man fleeing. RG backed out of way.
Comment: The fact of at least two knives was decided by the courts after expert witness testimony and not up to the prosecutor.
Clemente & Richards 13. Says he saw Amanda walking away outside. Statement made to Mignini ““ You must have seen her, you must have seen her! - I saw her silhouette a long way into the night. - Voice over music in earphone from bathroom. Mignini pushing his agenda to ID Amanda. “˜Man is like ““ had beret with red band, jacket’ ; called out to other person, let’s run before they catch us; black man found’ odd thing to say . “˜Great! We just killed Kercher, we’ve got a black man here we can blame!’
Comment: the courts agree this is Guede being self-serving. The fact he doesn’t mention the silhouette until later, could be preclusion, from reading the press.
Clemente & Richards 14. Hero, he finds Meredith bleeding ““ runs out of bedroom to grab towel x 2. Grabs third towel, that didn’t work, so left. Said she was alive. Was able to run into Romanelli’s room ““ sees Amanda run away with this young man. Made silhouette ID in time period there is a dying woman on the floor. More important than helping Meredith is to go to Filomena’s room to ID these people.
Comment: No DNA on towels due to environmental degradation, but someone did apply them.
Clemente & Richards 15. Why, If he is already 101% certain it was Amanda? No reason except to please the prosecutor. All of a sudden, people saw the three together. Pressuring others. Mignini ends up giving Rudy a fast track trial. ““ he wouldn’t have to testify on any subsequent trial. Takes first amendment against self-incrimination, should have to testify in Amanda and Raffaele’s case ““ he was not used.
Comment: Mignini as a prosecutor (district attorney) has no authority to provide legal advice. Guede would have been advised by his counsel to take the fast track as it offers the incentive of a ‘one-third off’ discount from the sentence. He pleaded, “˜Not Guilty’ therefore, he had the right to decline from giving any further self-incriminating testimony, as exercised by Sollecito himself in his trial. There are mechanisms. A party can appeal for other documents or transcripts in evidence instead (as Mignini did at one stage) and it is up to the presiding judge whether to accept the application or dismiss it. It is the Judge’s or the defendant’s decision, not the prosecutor’s.
Clemente & Richards 16. Why does he want the fast track? ““ wait. He has to say he stayed in bathroom for that long. This other person did it, when he left, Rudy was trying to stop the bleeding. Meredith was saying af ““ writing on the wall “˜in her blood’ ““ there’s a desk right there. Why didn’t he alert for help? Has to construct a narrative to make sense. How does this person get in when door was locked? What we hear in his narrative is how he is overwhelmed. He is the victim, everyone feels sympathy for him.
Comment: In his original claims he says he was in the bathroom between six and ten minutes. Later Guede changes this to “˜lightning fast’, although he may have meant the supposed fight between him and the mystery man.
Clemente & Richards 17. He hears scream. The broadcast host, Laura Richards says she once saw someone run into a room and stab someone. Stabbing had very little blood. Saw stab put pressure on it. Quick in and out ““ what prisoners do. Will never forget the guy’s face. Guy turned ran out, Guede could not remember the guy’s face. Would he forget? In the only lit room. Light is on this guy, why can’t he ID his face? ““ clearly lying. Fear. Afraid he’d be blamed. What does he do, he goes out drinking with his friends ““ he is establishing an alibi. He ran out of country “˜because he was afraid’ ““ alibiing himself.
Comment: The issue of the blood spray after the stabbing is an important forensic point, which is dealt with further on.
Clemente & Richards 18. Clever narrative because of kernel of truth. Always wants to be seen as victim. “˜Why didn’t you call for help?’ a six-year old would ask ““ he starts to talk over her ““ the real him. “˜The investigators didn’t believe your point’. Sad fact is, that black people do get blamed for crime ““ he is lumping himself in with them. OJ? Exactly same situation ““ charismatic, wants people to think he’s a victim. How he left Meredith. Details of crime scene.
Clemente & Richards 19. When he left Meredith she was fully dressed. In his story, Amanda had argument with Meredith killed her, then ran away everything was in order except one drawer pulled out. Filomena’s room undisturbed.
Comment: Guede describes Meredith as wearing a white top. Robyn Butterworth (friend) testified Meredith was wearing a sky-blue zip up top with sporty arm stripes, with a beige top underneath, and perhaps a second, patterned one.
Clemente & Richards 20. If he saw her, she must have seen him. Raffaele must have told Amanda man there. Why would Amanda then come back? Feel bad for anyone who believes this crap. “˜Judge didn’t believe your version of events’. Why did someone come back and alter the crime scene?’ He left Meredith fully clothed, with full details of clothes she was wearing but can’t remember the guy’s face.
Clemente & Richards 21. Franca Leosini says left foot and face showing. Crime scene staged , as a legal fact. Glass and rock on top of clothes, rock thrown from inside. Glass and rock on top. Rudy gets specific about Knox and Sollecito; not in dispute they were there. Judge said Rudy wasn’t the one who had the knife and dealt the blow, not in dispute. It is now in dispute, they were declared “˜innocent of the crime’.
Comment False: there is zero mention Knox and Sollecito were “˜declared innocent’.
Clemente & Richards 22. Rudy did it in concert with two people ““ it is a legal point of law and cannot be appealed ““ certified fact. Once evaluated it was 100% fraudulent, not a mistake. People would be fired if they did not say what Mignini wanted them to say. If they disagreed, they weren’t called to testify. (Clemente’s views.)
Comment: Mignini - and later Comodi - only get to choose the prosecution witnesses, the defence get to call whomsoever they wish..
Clemente & Richards 23. Leosini: You fled to Germany. Guede: I had no idea how I got there, it could have been Russia. Conversely, they (Knox/Sollecito) did not run. Rudy trusts the system. Skyped with his friend Giacomo for four hours. Threw away clothing. Choosing not to give an account.
Clemente & Richards 24. Specifically says, “˜Amanda was not there’. Why bring it up at this point? Friend says Amanda was arrested. Friend brought her up. Police direct the conversation. Says clearly, “˜She was not there’. Rudy gets it from Mignini. Mignini gets Rudy to ID Knox ““ silhouette, knife. Patrick Lumumba has a proven alibi, so they needed another black man there, which is why Amanda volunteered his name.
Comment: Knox was hardly arrested “˜for no reason’.
Clemente & Richards 25. Accomplished liar. Part 9, Leosini talks through the forensics consensual foreplay. Palm print, DNA on toilet paper . Interesting leakage about Patrick being there ““ he gets vociferous there, true self. Why fast track trial? He says because of his “˜non-involvement’. More than one person. Sentence reduced from 30 to 16 on assumption he did not hold the knife. “˜He went along with others’; someone else’s initiative.
Clemente & Richards 26. Jan 2016. People are still sticking to their beliefs Sollecito and Knox are still guilty. Reformed character, artsy, intellectual. Served sentence because, “I didn’t call for help”. Lawyers have been very strategic ““ stylised interview ““ deliberate choice. FB and twitter set up.
Clemente & Richards 27. All evidence points to him being only killer and guilty of murder and sexual assault. He’s charismatic, intelligent, detail-oriented no sign of remorse. Psychopath; gifted at selling himself. Takes a trained eye to see the holes in his story. Let Meredith die; fled country only after he went drinking with his friends. Abominable. Foster father says he is “˜an accomplished liar’. Multiple perpetrators.
Clemente & Richards 28. Retrial 20 Dec will be interesting. Already eligible for parole. 2018. By the time the motivation comes out. Opens everything up for Kercher family. This interview may have been the grounds on which the interview is granted. Engaging charismatic young man ““ interview strategy to get him out. “Amanda got away with murder.” It was because of Mignini. He used Rudy to get Amanda. Should be prosecuted. Recommendation: Amanda wrongfully convicted and then exonerated. JC and LR.
Comment: Mignini was nothing to do with the ultimate conviction. That was solely for the courts to decide.
3. Case Made For Guede As Sole Killer?
The Missing Money: Who first mentioned it? It was Guede, and he brags about this fact of being first in his Prison Diary written in Koblenz up to 19 Nov 2007.
Who First Mentioned Knox and Sollecito at the scene? Whilst Guede does refer to a mystery man holding a knife in the doorway of Meredith’s room in his presence, he does not actually name either Knox or Sollecito until his recorded interview with Mignini, March 2008. We know he read the papers whilst on the run for he mentions to Benedetti in the Skype conversation he saw that Knox is accused of using the washing machine to clean Meredith’s clothes.
An alternate explanation is that he was applying “˜Prisoners Dilemma’, a situation when there are several perpetrators and each is dependent on the other/s to not “˜grass’ them up. Therefore, it is theorised, the best strategy is to say nothing. Knox did not name him, he did not name Knox. Guede himself confirms he did not know Sollecito at all to name him.
Who First Mentioned Sollecito and Knox together at the scene with Guede, and when? A witness, Kokomani did come forward to say he had seen the three together outside the cottage prior to the murder, and police have corroborated he was in the region because of pings from his phone and his account of seeing a dark car, also seen by a separate car mechanic witness. However, his testimony was dismissed by Micheli as “˜ravings’. It appears that what holds the three together is circumstantial evidence as constructed by the forensic police (DNA, luminol, bathmat footprint), the inactivity of Knox & Sollecito’s phones in advance of the crime and for the rest of the night, their false alibis and inability to “˜remember’ what they did that evening, together with the apparent staged scene of the burglary, clean up and repositioned body.
The case against Rudy Guede When comparing Guede’s original account with his later recorded interview, it is safe to note that much of what he says is:
“¢ To try to establish justification for being at the cottage at all. To do this, he claims to have made a date with Meredith the night before. However, when he made a date with a Latvian girl in a similar circumstance, they wanted to swap telephone numbers, with Guede having to memorise hers as he did not have a phone at the time. He does not say this for Meredith.
“¢ To try to justify his DNA being on Meredith’s body, he precludes this by claiming the contact was consensual. In his conversation with Benedetti he expresses he knows none of his sperm will be found. In his Prison Diary he makes no mention at all of Meredith talking about her mother being ill. Micheli points out that his later claim that Meredith spoke about her mother’s specific condition was already widely reported in the papers since 4 November 2007, by Meredith’s aunt.
He claims in his testimony the Formula 1 final race (21 Oct 2007) was BEFORE the Rugby World Cup (20 Oct 2007) ““ and Micheli does not pick up on this ““ to evade the fact he didn’t say hello to Meredith when he visited the cottage to watch the F1 race downstairs. In his Prison Diary he claims Meredith told him she had “˜someone special’ back home, implying she was free in Italy. However, we know Meredith was in an exciting new relationship with Silenzi, from downstairs, so would not have made herself easily available. None of the British girls corroborated Guede’s claim to have made friends with Meredith.
“¢ Guede in both his original Prison Diary account and in the Leosini tv interview in Jan 2016, expresses disapproval of Meredith cursing out Knox over the missing rent money. In the interview he becomes quite agitated. Thus, Guede takes Knox’ side in this dispute and is not a friend of Meredith’s.
“¢ To try to justify running away without calling for help for Meredith, despite his claim it was “˜another man’ who did the killing, Guede says he was worried he would be blamed because he was Black and because the man said so, before running off. He claims he was frightened off by “˜a noise downstairs’.
“¢ Most incriminating of all is the description of the blood. Micheli found as a fact that Meredith was stabbed in the neck and then immediately fell backwards into a supine position because (a) of a bruise on the back of her neck indicating a violent jolt, (b) because there is no spray of blood on the desk where one would expect it to be and (c) it was a logical position by which to carry out the sexual assault by Guede. Her left hand was restrained. Dr Arpile an expert witness said this was a characteristic of a sexual attack.
“¢ In his Prison Diary in Koblenz he recalls the stabbing of Meredith was being like the time he was whacked over the head with a stick by his father and blood spurted out of his head “˜like a fountain’. This suggests he may have witnessed the “˜fountain of blood’ spurting from Meredith?
In his Prison Diary Guede makes much of the sheer volume of blood. He sees blood everywhere, and sees nothing but “˜red’ when he closes his eyes to sleep. Massei in the later trial of Knox and Sollecito, does not agree with Micheli that she was stabbed whilst standing and then falling onto her back, and rules that Meredith was killed whilst forced into a kneeling position. Where then, did the spray of blood go, when the knife was pulled out, if there is none to be seen on the furnishings and upholstery? Garofano in Darkness Descending offers his expert forensic opinion that the blood surge would have gone all over the person who withdrew the knife.
Guede by his own account relates that his pants were “˜soaking wet’ and he’d had to cover them up with his sweatshirt as he ran home fleeing the scene.
“¢ Guede states that on his way out, none of the windows were broken and Meredith was full dressed. The broken window and condition of the body were all widely reported so it could be argued that Guede states everything was intact when he left as a self-serving narrative to preclude himself as the culprit.
4. Back To Micheli’s Findings Of Fact
Micheli ruled that Guede’s claim to have struck up a first date with Meredith was proven false and therefore it was not Meredith who let him into the cottage. As Meredith was in a new relationship and no-one could corroborate any date with Guede, she did not consent to any sexual activity with him. In addition, Knox would not need to ring the doorbell as she had a key and in any case, had Meredith locked the door from the inside, she would have in effect locked Guede in for the night, not to mention locking out Knox. Therefore, as the burglary was staged ““ clothes rummaged first and then window broken, bits of paper from the burglary on top of the duvet on top of the body ““ then it must have been Knox who let him in.
Micheli directs that it is a legal fact that Guede did not wield the knife based on submissions by the prosecutor and that the crime was in complicity with the others. This was due to the fact that even if Guede only intended a sexual assault, he became culpable of murder “˜as soon as the knives were produced’.
Micheli legally acquitted Guede of the theft of the phones as he ruled that they were taken “˜to cause their sudden removal’ and not for lucrative gain. He ruled that the autocall to Meredith’s bank Abbey National logged at circa 22:11 was due to the phone falling from her person to the floor due to her wanting urgent contact with her sick mother, and indeed, there does appear to be an outline in blood in the shape of a phone.
Micheli ruled that Guede did not go through Meredith’s bag as his DNA (which was scant at the scene) was midway on the clasp at the top of the bag, indicating Guede had gripped it to lift and move it, as there is no DNA or blood stains inside it. In addition, there were multiple differing footprints of sundry persons at the murder scene, as highlighted by luminol, a forensic instrument to make visible invisible blood which had been cleaned up.
“¢ Complicity: “Above all if the certain facts include the consequent outline of that supposed “˜unknown’ (the presence of the three at the scene of the crime) they are abundant, and all abundantly proven”. ““ Micheli
5. Cassation Ruling 2015 On Knox and Sollecito
This merely stated that the pair were acquitted because of “˜insufficient evidence’, not because they were “˜innocent’. Knox was placed at the scene of the crime and Sollecito probably so. The attackers were estimated most probably at three. All attempts to prove they were other than Knox and Soillecito fell far short.
It specifies that Knox did wash off the victim’s blood from her hands and did cover up for Guede. It stated that the pair told “˜umpteen lies’ and that their behaviour remains “˜highly suspicious’.
So does Guede have a case, based on the final definitive facts, as set out, above?
We shall see.
All sources: Wiki and TJMK.
UPDATE: It has been decided that there will be a decision on whether to revise Guede’s verdict on 10 January 2017
Posted by KrissyG on 12/20/16 at 09:23 AM •
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Saturday, December 17, 2016
On Tuesday BEHIND CLOSED DOORS Guede’s Crack Team From Rome Will Argue That AK & RS Killed Meredith
Posted by Peter Quennell
Rudy Guede’s legal team: Carla Anastasio, Tommaso Pietrocarlo, and Monica Grossi
In the Florence court - behind close doors? It happened for the same reasons first in February 2013.
Actually Guede has already very publicly made his case to all of Italy on Italian national TV.
A clearly agitated Sollecito lashed out though with zero effect, Maybe leaving his dad not too thrilled.
Knox and Sollecito have tried very hard to keep it unknown that in their report late 2015 the Supreme Court’s Fifth Chambers placed Knox at the scene of the crime, for multiple reasons, and Sollecito probably so.
That damning fact is not in the faux Netflix “documentary”.
Again for multiple reasons, the trial court in 2008 and the appeal court in 2009 and the Supreme Court in March 2011 had all found Guede guilty in conjunction with others. All of the courts concurred that Guede did not attack Meredith alone.
The proof that two others were party to the attack is voluminous, though unfortunately at trial in 2009 it was almost all presented behind closed doors. Still, the court reports did tell us a lot.
- 1) Our main poster Brian S summarised the trial decision here. No lone wolf.
2) Our main poster Cardiol listed 20 key evidence points pointing to all three.
3) Our main poster Pat Az spots something damning for the other two that even the courts did not.
4) Some in Guede’s own team helpfully mapped out further the minefield for Sollecito.
Rudy Guede’s team consists of Tommaso Pietrocarlo, Monica Grossi and Carla Anastasio, who have offices (chambers, legal studio) about 5 minutes walk away from the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday they will get the opportunity to repeat all of that telling evidence above - with the Knox and Sollecito forces locked out.
This is ironic. Throughout the Knox and Sollecito legal process it was usually Guede on the outside and being stridently accused as a lone-wolf killer - except when Alessi and Aviello were brought forward by the defenses, with alternative theories.
Odds of his sentence ever getting wound back are remote, but it was obvious to Italian TV audiences that he mostly wants Knox and Sollecito to serve time too.
If the Florence court agrees that his case should go forward and a new outcome is the result, the First Chambers of the Supreme Court - not the rogue Fifth Chambers - will have the final word.
Posted by Peter Quennell on 12/17/16 at 04:56 PM •
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Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Epidemic Of Anti-Italy Fake News She Generates Bites Knox In The Tail
Posted by KrissyG
Fake News Has Been Knox’s Main Weapon
Amanda Knox has been in the news a great deal recently, riding the crest of a PR-driven “exoneration” campaign
Currently this barrage of fake news culminates with the Netflix film six years in the making which was released worldwide on streaming media in Sept 2016. In the film, the factors that led to her so-called “˜wrongful conviction’ (she claims) included Nick Pisa’s tabloid reportage in that most middle class of UK “comics” the crucifix-and-garlic Daily Mail.
The Lurid Caricatures Resulting, UK Version
A paper much loved for its doomladen headlines, to the extent that the Guardian’s pop hackette, Julie Burchill, famously nicknamed it “˜THE DAILY HORROR’, wherein the non-Guardian-reading masses could immerse themselves daily in an entertaining round of “˜illegal immigrants and asylum seekers flooding the country’, “˜family of 27 given 50-roomed mansion’ and that most loved standby of all, “˜Benefit Scroungers’.
Bearded “˜modern parents’ Guardian readers, on the other hand, in their peep-toed sandals and chomping of organic vegetarian nut roasts, lap up bleeding heart eulogies (note there the protest of over 100 of Meredith’s friends) of Simon Hattonstone and other reporters for the wrongfully imprisoned one.
Thus Guardian hack good. Daily Mail hack Nick Pisa bad.
In the Netflix movie there is the plodding Italian Prosecutor, a Dan Brown-style Italian Catholic, with a paranoia about masonic cults and devilish conspiracies, who sees himself (the film makers claim) as Sherlock Holmes.
So that explains his lurid interest in her! Not a shred of evidence she had anything to do with Meredith Kercher’s murder! Yes, it’s all about priggish, obsessive tyrants, still living in the Italian equivalent of the Victorian ages.
Fake News By Donald Trump Confounds Knox
Enter Donald Trump, whose finger in the pie of Meredith’s case actually goes way back.
Swept along on a wave of her own lies, see above, we are now entertained by the spectacle of Knox claiming that Donald Trump’s support for her, after her original conviction, only made it worse for her!
Because after all, the Italians were riding on anti-American feelings in convicting her (and Sollecito)! (But not anti-African, as Rudy Guede did do it. That’s quite different.)
Knox is now claiming, in her fervent support for the Democrats’ Hillary Clinton, that she despises Trump for his views on the Central Park Five, whom he still refers to as “˜guilty’, despite their exoneration, as contrasted with her, whom he described as “˜completely innocent’.
She sees racism in his stance. Oh, the irony of Knox who fingered an innocent black man for Meredith’s murder.
Paradoxically, Knox seems to be saying, the Five are innocent and Trump calls them guilty, whereas I am guilty and Trump calls me innocent. Both made because he’s a racist. Really.
Knox vocally states she does not stand with Trump and why should she vote for him, just because he supported her and helped fund her defence?
These are perhaps commendable points. But before we get carried away, whoa! Let’s stop and take a reality check. For the astonishing fact to come out of all of this, is that Knox should indeed be grateful to Republican Trump.
Of course, not to agree with his political views. However, had her conviction been upheld by the Marasca-Bruno Supreme Court, as all the legal experts expected, Trump, as President of the United States has the weapon of refusing her extradition. Not directly, as that is a veto tool for the State Secretary, but that power is there - and the Government of Italy knew about it
Senator Cantwell The First Politician To In Effect Threaten Italy
We saw it highlighted when Maria Cantwell the senator for Seattle (a Democrat) put out a press release, which was propagated globally and rebutted by our Seattle posters demanding of the then-State Secretary Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration that the USA should intervene to free Amanda Knox because of the clear anti-American sentiment of the Italian judicial system, or so she states.
Maria Cantwell even made an appointment to see Hillary Clinton, saying she had been strongly petitioned by friends of Amanda Knox.
Didn’t the makers of the Netflix film Amanda Knox (2016) assert it was the tabloid journalists who had bullied the Italian police and courts? We see immediately that, true, whilst the mass media is intensely powerful in influencing opinion, it doesn’t actually do anything, except reflect social mores. The real movers and shakers being politicians and political advisers.
From day one, Amanda Knox had the full weight of American politicians behind her, and, rather than Nick Pisa being responsible for her conviction, it is surely the likes of Donald Trump and influencers in the US State Department in part responsible for getting her off the charges. It can be readily seen that Knox has a debt of gratitude owing to these shady enforcers behind the scenes.
Tom Ford of The Washington Post writes on 06 Dec 2009:
As angry Americans promised to boycott Italian holidays, wine and food, a vociferous support group calling itself Friends of Amanda Knox urged people to email Barack Obama to ask him to support her appeal.
Maria Cantwell, a US Democrat senator for Washington state has said she plans to bring her own concerns about the trial, including possible anti-Americanism, to the Mrs Clinton’s attention.
Mrs Clinton, the Secretary of State, said on Sunday that she had not yet looked into the case as she had been preoccupied with Afghanistan policy.
She told ABC News: “Of course I’ll meet with Senator Cantwell or anyone who has a concern, but I can’t offer any opinion about that at this time.”
The dastardly Daily Mail publishes this on 8.12.2009:
After the verdicts, Knox’s furious father Curt Knox vowed to fight to clear his daughter’s name and spoke of his ‘anger and disbelief’ at the Italian justice system.
His campaign seems to be gaining support on Capitol Hill. Senator Maria Cantwell, from Washington state, declared there were ‘serious questions about the Italian justice system’.
She said she was concerned there had been an ‘anti-American’ feeling at the trial and said she would be raising her concerns with Mrs Clinton.
‘The prosecution did not present enough evidence for an impartial jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Miss Knox was guilty,’ she said. ‘Italian jurors were allowed to view highly negative news coverage about Miss Knox.’.....
Mrs Clinton was asked about the trial in an appearance on a U.S. news programme. She said: ‘Of course I’ll meet with Senator Cantwell or anyone who has a concern but I can’t offer any opinion about that at this time.’
She said she had not expressed any concerns to the Italian government. Last night, Knox’s Italian lawyer distanced himself from the senator’s claims. Luciano Ghirga said: ‘That’s all we need, Hillary Clinton involved. I have the same political sympathies as Hillary but this sort of thing does not help us in any way.’
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini said: ‘This senator should not interfere in something she has no idea about. I am happy with how the trial went.’
Enter the American cavalry. Two years after first ranting at Italian justice, near the end of the Hellmann appeal Donald Trump tweets this:
Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump
Everyone should boycott Italy if Amanda Knox is not freed—-she is totally innocent.
5:12 PM - 30 Sep 2011
In a tv interview with Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren, Donald Trump explained:
“I helped the family out “” I felt very, very badly for that family and for her “” I never thought she did it,” Trump told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “I watched very intently, like everybody else, and there was just no way she was involved in that.
“And so I did help them out “” I feel very, very happy about it “” in fact, I said boycott Italy until they release her,” Trump said. “It was really an injustice “” and I would get on that plane so fast if I were her and get out.”
Van Susteren asked Trump whether he had ever spoken to her parents. Trump said he had and “well, they’re lovely people.”
(Newsmax 4th Oct 2011)
Not That Knox Reigns In Her Own Aggression
Whilst Knox has been complaining loudly about the intervention of Donald Trump the ingrate stalks, taunts and laughs in the face of the Kercher family, who had to struggle financially as John Kercher wrote:
How Foreign Office let us down
We were surprised at the lack of financial help available from the British Government as we dealt with the aftermath of Meredith’s death.
We had received tremendous support from the British Consulate in Florence, which arranged translation facilities and made transport arrangements, but despite our pleas, we did not receive any financial support from the Foreign Office.
A number of MPs campaigned on our behalf for some contribution towards our flights, but their efforts were to no avail.
Indeed, it seemed this was a policy decision, one that did not affect just us, but anybody who had suffered an ordeal such as ours. This lack of help was despite the fact that we were obliged to provide testimonies in court.
Nor could we expect any help from the Italian government. Before Meredith was murdered, EU states had said they would sign an agreement to compensate the families of foreign nationals who were victims of a violent crime committed in their country.
However, of all the states, Italy failed to sign the agreement in time.
Financially we were alone and it made the business of attending the trial, and seeking justice for Meredith, all the more problematic.
(Daily Mail Femail 15 April 2012)
Guardian Long Chained To PR Of Curt Knox & Marriott
The Guardian has been the most single-minded of any newspapers anywhere in giving Amanda Knox, in particular, a sympathetic ear. Nick Richardson in a reader comment wrote:
From the outset the innocentisti accused the colpevolisti of anti-Americanism. Following the trial the US senator Maria Cantwell wrote to Hillary Clinton to alert her to the anti-Americanism at work in the courtroom ““ though Sollecito, an Italian, was being tried too.
Was there anti-American sentiment among the colpevolisti? The resentment, even, of a former great imperial power towards the current hegemon? Almost certainly. But the anti-Italian sentiment flowing in the other direction has been just as concentrated.
The managers of Knox’s downfall have come in for savage caricature: Giuliano Mignini, a Perugia public prosecutor, has been portrayed as a senile fuddy-duddy; Monica Napoleoni, head of Perugia’s murder squad, a vindictive bully; Patrizia Stefanoni, who was responsible for collecting forensic evidence from the crime scene, has been slammed for incompetence, though at the time of the crime she was well respected in her field.
Cantwell stated that she had “serious questions about the Italian justice system”, though the state she represents, Washington, currently holds eight people on death row. (Guardian 30.1.2014)
A blogger on My North West astutely ripostes:
I was intrigued by a press release that came out right after the guilty verdict. Senator Maria Cantwell issued a statement in which she said “I am saddened by the verdict and I have serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted this trial.”
Anti-Americanism??? I can understand how that could have been a factor during the Bush years when the world hated us.
But once we elected Obama, the world fell in love with the United States all over again. We were once again “welcomed into the world community””¦ and “no longer a pariah on the world stage””¦
How could Senator Cantwell suggest that anti-Americanism played a role in this verdict. Barack Obama is our president ““ THERE IS NO MORE ANTI-AMERICANISM!!!
I guess the other possibility is that Knox actually whacked the gal”¦
Dori Monson MyNorthWestCom
The “˜abominable’ Daily Mail published this:
This high profile case though, brings a particular set of problems for the Obama administration because of the high emotions if elicits on both sides of the Atlantic - not just in Italy and America, but in the United Kingdom too.
The United States and Italy enjoy a successful extradition relationship, with cooperation high on busting organised crime.
It would cause a potential diplomatic row should the president and John Kerry choose not to send Knox to Italy if her appeal fail.
However, on the flip side, Italy may choose not to anger their most powerful ally over such an emotive case.
Knox herself has said that she would not return to Italy and that would only do so, ‘kicking and screaming.’
Regardless, any decision on whether to extradite the 26-year-old from the U.S. is likely months away, at least. Experts have said it’s unlikely that Italy’s justice ministry would request Knox’s extradition before the verdict is finalized by the country’s high court.
If the conviction is upheld, a lengthy extradition process would likely ensue, with the U.S. State Department ultimately deciding whether to turn Knox back over to Italian authorities to finish serving her sentence.
So far the State Department has refused to be drawn on a position regarding the outcome of the Knox re-trial.
Spokesman Patrick Ventrell was asked in March last year what would be the likely decision and only offered that the verdict was still months away.
‘We can’t really comment beyond that,’ Mr Ventrell told reporters according to the Daily Telegraph. ‘We never talk about extradition from this podium in terms of individual cases.’
(31 Jan 2014)
So, we see that the decision to extradite would now have been in Trump’s Secretary of State remit whether or not to extradite and with the power to override any treaty with Italy or US court.
From what we see of Trump’s attitude towards the legally exonerated “˜Central Park Five’ and his public disregard in continuing to label them guilty and to refuse to apologise for the ads he took out in four main newspapers calling for the death penalty, it is a short step to his overriding any guilty verdict by the Italian Supreme Court.
Many observers in Italy are convinced of the invisible hand of the US State Department in the background in the recent shock acquittal of the pair.
In Fact Knox Got Unique Level Of Official Help
Another disturbing aspect is the issue of press releases by Maria Cantwell calling on Italy to free Knox. The question arises, on whose authority was she given permission to issue press releases about sensitive international legal matters?
It seems she then had to petition Hillary Clinton during the appeal process, who prudently declined to comment. Matt Ford of The Atlantic.com analyses the issue in fine detail on 31.1.2014:
Slate’s Justin Peters hypothesized that the U.S. could use Article X of its extradition treaty with Italy, which requires the requesting nation to prove “a reasonable basis to believe that the person sought committed the offense for which extradition is requested,” to block her extradition.
There are more drastic options the U.S. government could take to protect Knox, though. Could Congress and/or President Obama override the extradition treaty with Italy to shield Knox, for example? Yes, says Julian Ku, an international law professor at Hofstra University, but they’re unlikely to do so. “I doubt there will be any need for Congress to intervene,” he said. “If the political winds blow so strongly in favor of Knox, Secretary [of State John] Kerry has all the authority he needs to keep her in the U.S.”
But even if Italy does request Knox’s extradition, Kerry can still simply refuse regardless of whether there are legal problems, says Ku. “It would be a real diplomatic blow, and a bad policy decision in my view, but neither illegal nor unconstitutional.”
Peter Quennell of TJMK channeling John Kercher (see quote above) posted this earlier this year on US v UK governmental support.
Compare with how the UK government reacted after Meredith died. Basically it looked the other way. Many in Italian justice were amazed at how totally disinterested the UK government was in the case in all the years since Meredith’s death.
The US government sprang into action to help Knox and to make sure she was treated right, though there was no proof the Italians would do anything but. They found her a Rome lawyer with good English (Carlos Dalla Vedova) and monitored all her court sessions and her four years in Capanne.
This came at a probable cost of over half a million dollars. And that is just the public support. Nobody ever said “the Federal budget cannot stand this”.
The extent of the British government in pushing justice for Meredith and her family? Exactly zero over the years.
Nothing was ever paid toward the legal costs or the very high travel costs of the Kercher family to be in court as the family finances ran into the ground. Nobody from the Foreign Office in London or the UK Embassy in Rome observed in court except in Florence, just the once.
So Hothead Knox Distances From Hothead Trump
In more recent weeks Knox made a powerful denunciation of Trump in the wake of Clinton’s presidential election defeat.
Knox went on to say that Trump called for the death penalty to be reinstated in New York during the Central Park Five case.
Is It Because I Is White?
“Even now, he views (the suspects) as guilty, though they were exonerated when the true perpetrator, a serial rapist, confessed to the crime,” she wrote. “Why did Trump defend me and condemn them? Is it because I was an American on trial in a foreign country? Is it because I’m a white woman?”
So, when Amanda Knox declares her opposition to Trump, are we to take her seriously? Any more so than her claim it was, “˜Nick Pisa wot got me jailed’?
Knox has had all kinds of senior and anonymous political figures involved in her rescue from justice: Cantwell, Kerry, Clinton, Ventrell, President elect Donald Trump, and faceless officers of the US State department, the latter of whom appear to have issued a press release to the global media, circa 31 Mar 2015, that they would refuse to extradite.
We need to ask, on whose authority were all these press releases circulated? It kinda takes your breath away when Knox claims ““ and as reported in the national press ““ that she is not “˜standing by Trump’.
To claim firstly that the likes of Nick Pisa is more powerful than US politicians really exposes the manipulative lies of Knox and the Netflix film makers.
Donald Trump is reported in the Italian press in recent days as being “˜bitter’ about Knox’s comments about his donation towards her legal costs, and who can blame him? Sure, she doesn’t need to share his views, but a little gratitude may have been the better part of valour.
Law And Order And Donald Trump
Consider Trump and his views otherwise on law and order. The Washington Post interviewed Kevin Richardson, one of the Central Park Five on 8 Oct 2016
Trump became a part of this widely reported and closely followed crime story when, two weeks after the teens were arrested, he spent a reported $85,000 placing full-page ads in all four major New York daily newspapers.
“Just like those ads, that speech was a call for extreme action based on a whole set of completely false claims. It seems,” Richardson said, “that this man is for some strange reason obsessed with sex and rape and black and Latino men.”
This week, when confronted again with just how wrong he was about the Central Park Five, Trump not only refused to acknowledge widely reported and well-known facts or the court’s official actions in the case.
He did not simply refuse to apologize: He described the men as guilty, and then demonstrated, once again, that he is a master at the dark art of using long-standing racial fears, stereotypes and anxieties to advance his personal and political goals.
He used the Central Park Five to differentiate himself from his political opponent. He stoked support for solutions inconsistent with the law. And he refused to admit any error….
Wise “” who served the longest term of all the wrongfully convicted teens and eventually crossed paths with the real Central Park rapist in prison, setting off a chain of events that got the convictions tossed out “” said the content of Trump’s campaign is really a continuation of those 1989 ads.
The Washington Post also interviewed Yusef Saleem, on 12 Oct 2016
At the time, our families tried to shield us from what was going on in the media, but we still found out about Trump’s ads. My initial thought was, “Who is this guy?” I was terrified that I might be executed for a crime I didn’t commit.
Another man, Matias Reyes, eventually confessed to the rape and was definitively linked to the crime through DNA. Because of this, we were exonerated in 2002. New York City paid us $41 million in 2014 for our false imprisonment. (As is customary in such settlements, the city did not admit liability.)
Trump has never apologized for calling for our deaths. In fact, he’s somehow still convinced that we belong in prison. When the Republican nominee was recently asked about the Central Park Five, he said, “They admitted they were guilty.”
In a statement to CNN, Trump wrote: “The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. [= This applies to Knox, her confession and Sollecito. ~ KG] The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same.”
(Meili, for her part, told CNN in 2003: “I guess there are lots of theories out there, but I just don’t know. .”‰.”‰. I’ve had to come to peace with it by saying: “˜You know what? I’m just not going to know.’”‰)
It’s further proof of Trump’s bias, racism and inability to admit that he’s wrong. When I heard Trump’s latest proclamation, it was the worst feeling in the world. I couldn’t breathe….. I realize, too, that I’m not the only victim. Trump has smeared dozens of people, with no regard for the truth.”
Some Final Commentary
Trump’s intervention in the Central Park Five case illustrates how imprudent it is for a politician to attempt to intervene in legal cases. He can have had very little idea of the impact of the huge body of evidence presented before the jury.
Trump’s gung-ho White Knight charge-to-the-rescue of a fellow German-American - and backed by hard funding - is based on irrationality, emotion and jingoism, “the last refuge of a scoundrel”.
How dangerous and meddlesome for Cantwell to demand a defendant be released, regardless of the facts of the case. How reckless and patronising, too, were Trump’s interventions.
Okay, Knox doesn’t stand by Trump today. But it’s directly thanks to the likes of the Lizard King she is walking free today.
I am the Lizard King
I can do anything
I can make the earth stop in its tracks
I made the blue cars go away ~ Jim Morrison
Posted by KrissyG on 11/29/16 at 08:49 AM •
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Monday, November 21, 2016
Fast US Arrival Of Eataly The Remarkably Large Italian Marketplace With Multiple Places To Eat
Posted by Peter Quennell
New York city now has two of the huge Eataly food marketplaces, the first of which opened in Turin just a decade ago.
Each has multiple bars and numerous areas to buy or to eat Italian food. Chicago already has one open (see the video below) and next Tuesday Boston will open one too. Eatalys are already open in Los Angeles and San Francisco as well.
Each occupies the equivalent of a city block. One in New York is on 23rd Street by Madison Square Park, with a special elevator to a rooftop restaurant and the other is in a newly-occupied highrise tower at the World Trade Center which has great views - and thousands of financial types looking for lunch.
It seems Atlanta and Toronto have joined the line. And next year a 20-acre Eataly will open in Bologne.
If you are in any of these cities, do think to take a look. This is an exciting new scene with a lot of happy mingling going on, something the US could use a lot more of.
And happy mingling on Thursday, Thanksgiving for those in the US!
Posted by Peter Quennell on 11/21/16 at 09:32 PM •
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Thursday, September 22, 2016
Wiki Status: Harder & Harder To Claim No Evidence Or 2009 Jury Got Verdict Wrong
Posted by azoza
A rough physical equivalent of our document library
Overview
This is a progress update on the increasingly vast Meredith Wiki file library:
Remember that much of the trial was conducted behind closed doors. Italians got good reporting from the trial, often in real-time; but those of us in other countries far less-so - though the notion that any of the fairly limited English-language media mentions in 2009 influenced the Italian jury is a seriously absurd one.
So the one and only key to getting the case right is in the documents. Absent a knowledge of the documents (as in the Netflix case) conclusions become quite vacuous.
Remember that NO media outfit ever translated any of the large documents. The Italy-based foreign reporters certainly did some for their own use and for excerpting, but all the heavy lifting was done by the teams on our cluster of websites.
Remember that NO American or British lawyer ever who is fully on top of the extraordinary number of documents has attempted to argue that this was not a strong case or that points pointing to guilt were not overwhelming.
The file library is increasingly being made into something resembling a huge book with a internal strong logic for the help of the numerous intended researchers.
You can see that logic strongly at work here.
Four search approaches
Since my article last June, there have been big changes to the file library layout. We scrapped the nested box approach due to the amount and different kinds of documents.
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Main_Page
Now there are four approaches to find files: (1) the master list; (2) by file type; (3) by subject matter; (4) by chronology of when file was made.
The last branch will be done when uploads are complete.
(1) The master list contains links to all the files, roughly in chronological order. Given the thousands of files (over 3800 now), the master list serves only as a reference point. You get a sense of document flow- what appeared when- by scrolling through the list.
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Master_list
(2) The type pages subdivide files by main types (audio, documents, images, videos) and then further subcategories.
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Files_by_type
The images category will be better filled with more files in due time. The documents category has the most subcategories with descriptions under the headings. So for instance, all court motivation reports are here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Court_motivation_reports
All court testimony PDFs are here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Court_testimony
All deposition and interrogation PDFs here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Depositions_and_interrogations
and police and consultant reports here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Reports
The above are most significant, but there are many other subcategories.
(3) The by subject pages will have pages of all files, disregarding type and date, of a particular subject. So all files related to DNA on one page; all files related to the knife on one page; all pages related to Curatolo on one page. These pages will be more detailed than other pages.
(4) By chronology pages organize files by date:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Files_by_chronology
These pages are only PDFs for now. Eventually the other file types will be linked too. At the bottom of each chronology page is a link to the next section, so it’s possible to click through chronology pages without returning to the chronology menu page each time.
Important files:
Crime scene:
Crime scene photos were distributed by police in 5 volumes and can be found here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Crime_scene_photos
There are more photos in the 5 volumes than in the web page photo gallery.
A subset of these photos are in a second police document from Dec 31, 2007 done in Word. We printed it to PDF:
Photos from this document were captured, censored and stored in this zip file, which has crime scene photos not in the webpage gallery:
Crime scene video is here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Crime_scene_videos
We have taken great pains to keep November 2-3 crime scene video intact with sound, censoring as necessary to respect Meredith and her family. It is the most complete version available- 1 hr 20 minutes long.
There is also video of Scientific Police (Dr. Stefanoni) at Sollecito’s apartment on November 13th:
Police video comes from discs prepared by police, complete with menus. It’s likely the video compilations on these discs don’t show all video taken. As an example, the above video at Sollecito’s apartment seems incomplete and is cut-off at the end.
The December 2007 video of the 2nd cottage visit is complete. Police purposely distributed this video without sound.
CCTV:
We have made films of CCTV capture:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_CCTV_videos
We did this because the program and files are proprietary. We will capture photo sequences of important segments and post later.
We could not find “˜video’ for camera 7 from 00:00 to 06:00 on November 2nd. There are other cameras at the garage as well, and we are looking to find any extra footage.
DNA:
We have DNA report complete and in color:
so charts are now clear. Dr. Stefanoni’s DNA report references these photos here too:
Egrams in color are here:
Clearer Egram prints of key traces can be found on this page, and also negative controls:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Reports
UACV report:
As mentioned by Olleosnep, this report has not been talked about, but very important crime scene analysis report:
More UACV materials are here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Presentations
Rinaldi & Boemia:
Rinaldi & Boemia presentation showing errors in Vinci report is here:
There is much Rinaldi & Boemia presentation material on that page. They also did two reports, one on footprints and a second on shoes. Those are here, with separate photo attachments:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Reports
Conti & Vecchiotti critiques:
Dr. Stefanoni presentation showing errors in Conti Vecchiotti report is here:
and her written report here:
Dr. Novelli report critiquing Conti Vecchiotti report is also good reading:
Dr. Torricelli has two reports. The second is an updated version of the first:
Medical consultants:
This medical consultant hearing- asked by Judge Matteini in April 2008- is very important:
Related reports (all censored for disturbing content):
Autopsy:
Matteini’s consultants:
Mignini’s consultants (replacing Lalli):
Dr. Mignini:
His case summary to the Riesame court on November 24, 2007 is important. It shows an early description of the case:
He made a case summary for Guede too in December 2007:
Formal charges issued in English from July 2008:
Final fingerprint report:
Court testimony:
There is much more court testimony now. Matteini, Micheli, Massei, Hellmann Nencini, but also Guede appeal court Borsini. All testimony is here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Court_testimony
Much of Micheli is audio only, which is here:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Court_audios
Various:
This Kokomani interview with Canale 5:
http://themurderofmeredithkercher.com/File_library:_Interview_videos
shows Kokomani in a good way. Court transcripts with him seem confusing, but here he is easy to follow.
This video shows unpacking of kitchen knife on February 26, 2008 in front of all consultants:
The meeting was after knife was tested for DNA, but shows the original box used.
Posted by azoza on 09/22/16 at 08:15 PM •
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Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Florence Courts Resent Mangling Of RS/AK Appeal By Cassation Now Have Ominous Ways To Re-Visit
Posted by Peter Quennell
Highrise Florence courts are just visible at left background
The Marasca/Bruno verdict setting RS and AK free has taken some hard knocks within the Italian legal community.
It is not lost on anyone that Sollecito defense lawyer Bongiorno was given special favors, including being allowed to argue unchallenged before the Fifth Chambers for some hours beyond the legal limit.
Or that the Fifth Chambers should never ever have received the appeal.
Or that the drafter, Bruno, was suffering seriously ill health at the time, and delivered a report which is largely legal nonsense.
Here Machiavelli and Catnip and most exhaustively James Raper explained many of Marasca’s and Bruno’s absurdities.
But the Florence courts are not done yet. They are still processing cases involving Knox, Sollecito, Sfarzo (a stage name, real name Sforza) and Aviello. They still sit on this potential bombshell of a case against Sollecito lawyer Maori, which explains how the Fifth Chambers acted illegally.
Other cases are also possible, and two involving Knox are still continuing in Bergamo.
Now Rudy Guede’s team of lawyers in Rome and Viterbo prison have filed an appeal against his own conviction. It is filed with the courts in Florence.
The team notes that judgments against Guede up to and including the Supreme Court’s First Chambers concluded that he had acted against Meredith only in collusion with others and not in isolation.
This could reopen the Marasca/Bruno outcome which argued that he DID act alone or at least not with RS and AK though there is massive evidence to the contrary. That judgment while final in the normal course of things cannot stand under Italian law if illegalities were entered into.
With more and more documentation being read widely, the case against Knox and Sollecito acting in collusion with Guede is coming to look as strong as it did throughout their trial in 2009.
That is the quite possible Florence outcome.
It is one that Guede might accept fairly calmly, as his fury at Sollecito is quite palpable, and he wants nothing more than to nail his fellow attacker.
Posted by Peter Quennell on 08/30/16 at 09:12 PM •
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Archived in Defendants in court, Rudy Guede, Evidence & Witnesses, The pack attack, Appeals 2009-2015, Cassation 2015, The legal followups, Italian related, Hoaxes against Italy, 5 No pack attack hoax, Hoaxes Knox & team, 13 AK persona hoax, 15 Single alibi hoax, Hoaxes Sollecito etc, 25 RS persona hoax, 27 Single alibi hoax, 28 Not at house hoax, Hoaxes re Guede, 33 Sole attacker hoax, 35 Good guy hoax, Hoaxers from 2007, Raff Sollecito PR •
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Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Bad News For Knox - Buzz From Italy Is Spurious ECHR Appeal Will Probably Fail
Posted by Our Main Posters
[The European Court Of Human Rights in Strasbourg France]
One major misrepresentation out of the Knox campaign in recent months was that the ECHR had already agreed to entertain her appeal.
See here and here and here (wow) and here (wow!).
We have posted repeatedly that the ECHR had “accepted” nothing - a processing clerk had merely asked prosecution and defense for actual hard facts “acccidentally” omitted from defense lawyer Dalla Vedova’s submission documents.
Had Dalla Vedova acted ethically and truthfully, there would have been no need at all for this stage.
We explained especially that Knox’s team had never lodged a complaint with any Italian court as Italian law requires and so due process in Italy prior to involving the heavily burdened ECHR had not even begun.
And that pre-emptively the Italian Supreme Court itself had already forcefully ruled that Knox had no ECHR case.
All this was known to Knox and her lawyers and PR but they continued to lie to the world anyhow.
Now the buzz is that detailed Italian government submissions to the ECHR have killed all prospects for Knox’s fraudulent appeal.
The absence of any effective comeback to the ECHR from Knox lawyer Dalla Vedova is understandable - by not filing any complaint in Italy first on behalf of Knox he might have been breaking Italian law requiring such a complaint if deemed credible.
Posted by Our Main Posters on 08/17/16 at 11:29 AM •
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Archived in Defendants in court, Amanda Knox, Hoaxes Knox & team, 15 Single alibi hoax, 16 Interrogation hoax, 24 ECHR appeal hoax •
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Saturday, August 06, 2016
Crash Ruins Prospect Of Olympic Gold For Italy’s Cycling Star the “Shark Of Messina”
Posted by Peter Quennell
What a real shocker for cycling-mad Italy..
You could watch world-class cycling for years, and maybe never see anything quite like this.
The men’s Olympic cycling road race is unusually long and grueling - six hours on average.
The American TV commenters were agreeing that the course, on the coast just south of Rio, was the most beautiful ever - and also the most dangerous.
Termed dangerous because there were three steep descents down one mountain, and then two more descents, even steeper, down another mountain with a ten-to-one gradient.
A main leader throughout, Vincenzo Nibali, is not for nothing called the Shark of Messina.
Just minutes before the race’s end a breakaway group of 3 cyclists, including Nibali, were heading down the final descent so fast that the motorbike with the camera could not keep up with them.
Breathtaking stuff. Normally you just never ever see that happen. All 3 disappeared from sight, leaving just shots of an empty road descending sharply.
When the TV camera DID catch up with them several minutes later it was only because of what you see in the video - two of the lead cyclists unstuck at a probable 60-plus mph.
The commentators had been saying a gold for Nibali seemed certain. Now he is not only out of the Olympics - he is being flown back to Italy for surgery.
Posted by Peter Quennell on 08/06/16 at 07:23 AM •
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Archived in The wider contexts, Italian context •
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