Judge seeks probe of State Dept. in Amanda Knox case

[rsmith6621]

Source: KOMOTV 4 Seattle

SEATTLE - A local judge has sent a letter to President Obama, accusing the U.S. State Department of failure to protect the rights of Seattle student Amanda Knox since her 2007 arrest in Italy after her roommate's killing.

The letter, written by King County Superior Court Judge Michael Heavey in his capacity as a private citizen, also calls on Obama to launch an executive inquiry into the State Department's entire handling of the Knox case.

Knox was arrested in November 2007, four days after the body of her roommate Meredith Kercher was found in the apartment the two shared as foreign students in Perugia. The 21-year-old Kercher was stabbed to death.

Read more: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/123584869.html

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I'm glad to see this. She has been abused by the Italian courts.

[Merlot]

1. Not sure this will help. What can the state dept do?

BTW, it's Italy, not France that has abused justice in her case.

[Orrex]

2. Maybe we could bomb the shit out of Italy.

I mean, provide humanitarian aid to Italy.

[rpannier]

8. Oh please stop

Our beef is with the Italian courts

We should be bombing Romania because of it

[Orrex]

13. I stand corrected

:thumbsup:

[pnwmom]

7. The State Department routinely gets involved when the rights of a U.S. citizen

appear to be threatened in a country that doesn't protect the rights of its citizens.

Italy clearly should be added to the list.

But what does France have to do with this?

[COLGATE4]

14. Your idea of State Department 'involvement' when a US citizen

is arrested overseas is typical, but misinformed. In fact about the only thing the State Department will do is 1) eventually come and see you in jail to make sure you're not being treated worse than the host-country national inmates, 2) give you a list of lawyers (they are not permitted to recommend one to you, so take your chances) and 3) call someone you indicate in the US to let them know you've being held. Once this is done you are really and truly on your own.

[KT2000]

3. Something needs to help that girl

maybe this will help.

[pnwmom]

6. If this is Italian justice, their system is much worse than ours.

If it's an aberration, then people there should be speaking out.

I'm beginning to think they think this is normal. No translator, tag-team interrogations all night long, no video or audio visual records of the interrogations (although the room was equipped and this is routinely done there), no attorney until after charges pressed, trial by media (including DVD's with "evidence" handed out pre-trial, non-sequestered jury, no independent review of DNA "evidence."

This was the Inquisition, Mignini was High Inquisitor, and Amanda was the witch.

[notesdev]

9. In defense of Italy

It's pretty trivial to come up with worse abuses in the US court system, and we routinely jail people for years over total bullshit, so one sensational case really doesn't change the equation.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. Ms. Knox will likely serve 10 years for a vicious murder she committed

and be paroled.

By contrast, ordinary Americans are routinely sentenced to 30 years in prison for property crimes in which nobody was killed or even physically harmed, and they serve most of it now.

[Merlot]

16. Except if you do even the slightest amount of research you'll see she didn't

actually commit a crime. It was all sensationalism and headlines.

Every point of prosecution has been throughly debunked at this website by a retired FBI guy - it's very interesting reading.

http://www.injusticeinperugia.org/

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. Guilty

[TonydelBalzo]

20. Amanda Knox- -Where is SOS ?? American is Abandoned

Believe her or not, Amanda Knox is still a frightened, somewhat naive young lady who choose to stay in Italy to comfort Meredith's father and stayed in Perugia to help the police rather than seek shelter with relatives in Germany. She needs encouragement as she returns to court. It's frustrating and mentally exhausting. Let's send her a message of courage and hope.

Let’s flood her cell with cards and letters of encouragement on or before July 9, her birthday. Please mail by the end of June. Packages are NOT allowed into the prison. Get a card and put $.98 postage on it.

Mail it to:

Amanda Knox
c/o Casa Circondariale di Perugia
Strada Pievaiola
I-06 132 Capanne (PG)
Italy

Of course, you may send greetings and encouragement at any time.
Bless you!

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. "in his capacity as a private citizen"

Yeesh.

:eyes:

[pnwmom]

5. He needs to say that because he was disciplined before for not saying that.

Are you suggesting he doesn't have a right to speak out at all?

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. I'm suggesting the headline should more properly read

"Dude Seeks Probe of State Dep't in Amanda Knox Case"

Dude. The fact that he happens to be a judge rather than a copy guy at Fed Ex Office is immaterial.

[harmonicon]

12. poor little murderer

I think it's quite funny that someone would suggest an injustice has been done in this case, considering that if she'd carried out the same crimes in the US she could be executed (and people would be calling for blood if she weren't).

[harvey007]

15. That's good news

Something stinks about this case. Thousands of alleged murderers are brought to trial every year. When there is extreme media frenzy around one or two of them, while others are ignored, you have to ask why.

[struggle4progress]

17. Different cultures are different, so here are some tips for Americans abroad:

(1) When the police ask you questions about a murder, try to report where you were accurately the first time; in Italy, for example, the authorities may become suspicious if you change your story

(2) Don't tell the police you saw Mr So-and-so commit the murder, if you didn't witness that; in Italy, for example, the authorities may become suspicious when Mr So-and-so turns out to be innocent and you have to explain that you were lying about that

(3) When your roommate has been murdered, and there's blood all over your apartment, don't turn cartwheels in the police station; in Italy, for example, the authorities may become suspicious that you're a cold-blooded sociopath, especially if you tell them little fibs about other things

[Nihil]

19. Thanks for that! (n/t)

:toast: