Friday, December 04, 2009
The Summations: The Two Defendants Make Their Final Pleas To The Court
Posted by Peter Quennell
Click above for a video of Amanda Knox’s final plea.
The Judge had asked Knox if she’d prefer to speak in English. She declined, speaking her last words to the court in Italian - and she neglected to mention Meredith by name, even though she followed some notes.
A fact that apparently escaped few in the courtroom.
Instead it was really only all about her. Nick Pisa reporting the Amanda Knox statement in the Daily Mail
Knox’s voice shook as she told the court in perfect Italian: ’” am confident that my conscience is clear” adding that she was afraid of “having the mask of a killer branded onto my skin”.
The American also said: “I want to thank the accusers because they are only trying to do their job even if they don’t understand. They are only trying to bring justice to someone whose life has been taken from this world.”
“‘I am vulnerable in front of you and decisions are being made about me. ‘People have been asking me how I stay so calm - I am not calm. ‘These last few days… I was worried that I was not going to be myself and that I am being described as someone who I am not.”
“I feel sad, confused and frustrated. I could face years in prison and this makes me unhappy. ‘I could be pulling out my hair, taking apart my cell but I don’t do these things. I just take a breath and try and be positive in moments like this.”
Knox, who spoke from notes, ended by telling the judge and jury: ‘Now it’s your turn and I thank you.’
Andrea Vogt reporting the Raffaele Sollecito statement in the Seattle PI.
“Why would I commit something so horrible as murder?” asked Sollecito, a computer-engineering graduate. “You are deciding my life. I am not living a nightmare anymore, but something far more dramatic.”
Through it all, Knox has not changed, said the only woman on her defense team, Maria Del Grosso.
“I have gotten to know her during this trial. She is intelligent, sweet, and yes, a bit naive. She didn’t cry to get your attention. She’s like that. She’s genuine, and I think she has shown great dignity through all of this.”
Sollecito also defended her, saying he thought it was difficult to imagine that she was the maneater the prosecution depicted. He added that he did not feel dominated by her.
“I am not a dog on a leash, and I am not Amanda-dependent as the prosecution has argued.”
Richard Allen Greene and Hada Messia report on the CNN website
Before [Sollecito’s] testimony, prosecutor Manuela Comodi offered a rebuttal to defense claims of sloppy evidence-gathering at the crime scene. She focused on the technical aspects of the evidence against Knox and Sollecito and questioned the forensic arguments used by the defense. She also defended the investigators, calling them professionals who stayed out of the media show surrounding the case.
Comodi rejected allegations that Sollecito’s DNA found on a bra belonging to Kercher could have been contaminated. Other than a cigarette butt in the kitchen with Sollecito’s DNA on it, she said, investigators did not find his DNA anywhere else in the house. The bra, the prosecutor said, was found in the bedroom where Kercher was killed. Forensics investigators wore gloves when retrieving the bra, Comodi said.
That proves, she said, that Sollecito was at the crime scene when the slaying took place.
Sollecito also left other traces of having been in the house, including footprints, she said. Some of the footprints were found in the bathroom, Comodi said.
Comments
Amanda should spend the rest of her life in prison. As a Seattlelite, I can’t imagine her getting acquitted and returning here. She would be a stain on the city, a white/female OJ Simpson.
Posted by stevema14420 on 12/04/09 at 07:40 AM | #
Why did Sollecito require notes for his brief statement? Do the words, even in his native tongue, not fall easily from his conscience? Italy gets to keep him, whether convicted or aquitted. It has been an excruciatingly long two years, and I doubt the jury is so happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel that they will be hasty in their decision, nor will they conveniently forget earlier, more disturbing statements made by Knox.
As to her, please don’t send her back to Seattle. I don’t want to see her waving, like Royalty, from atop a candy-coated float in next year’s HI-YU Parade. I would have to hurl something “yucky”.
Posted by mimi on 12/04/09 at 08:04 AM | #
I find it peculiar that Sollecito said: “Sento dire che Amanda ha ucciso Meredith per questioni legate all’igiene e agli uomini. Un quadro che stento anche ad immaginare. Vorrei capire perchè avrei dovuto partecipare all’omicidio”: I am hearing that Amanda killed Meredith because of her hygiene habits and men. Something I find hard to even imagine. I would like to understand why I would have participated to such a crime.
He does not say that Amanda “would have killed” but “killed”. The motives seem to be the reason of his awe.
He had written that on a note. Probably his lawyer read it before. And agreed with him reading it. My feeling is that they are already getting ready to appeal and emphasize that he is only a witness, that Amanda did it, not him.
Posted by Patou on 12/04/09 at 01:54 PM | #
Very telling Patou. I would like to understand why he participated in such a crime also…...
Posted by tigger34 on 12/04/09 at 02:11 PM | #
I have to say that I find it very interesting that Amanda has started to suddenly wear clothing appropriate for a court case of such gravity and that that obnoxious smile has finally been wiped off her face. Did she finally start listening to her counsel (or did she only just now start getting proper counsel)?
How dumb can she be? Did she really think that dressing like the girl next door would garner more sympathy? Of course she is quite pretty and attractive, but that doesn’t change the fact that her demeanor has been completely inappropriate. There is NO reason for one to be smiling so much when one is defending against murder charges. Her sister Deanna smiles a bit too much as well.
Whether or not Amanda is innocent (I think the evidence proves that she is not), what about having some respect for the victim’s family and the court? You’re not a Miss America contestant, you are being charged with murder! Attention garnered for being charged for a heinous, gruesome murder isn’t exactly positive attention, is it? This behavior supports the theory that Amanda is indeed a sociopath.
Posted by devorah on 12/04/09 at 04:18 PM | #
why amanda, when you “thank” the prosecuters for doing their job, you cannot say Meredith’s name? ..“a person that was taken from this world” is how you refer to her, not as MY FRIEND Meredith(as you claim that she was), or my housemate Meredith, or even just Meredith ...
YOU CANNOT EVEN SAY HER NAME!
after learning of all of the evidence against you amanda it is quite clear WHY you cannot say her name.
Posted by rach on 12/04/09 at 04:29 PM | #
12/4/09
Last words, another AK masquerade.
AK, chill. You can’t say a straightforward word. “My conscience is clear,” you can’t even say that without prelude.(‘I am confident that…) Yep, you and Curt Knox, oh so confident, always the bold bluff.
Posted by Hopeful on 12/04/09 at 05:21 PM | #
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Where next:
Click here to return to The Top Of The Front PageOr to next entry The Ruling Deliberations: Updates On Any New Developments Today Friday
Or to previous entry The Summations: Ghirga Finishes, Mignini Wraps Up. And Knox May Speak Tomorrow