Crime
Amanda Knox Verdict: Life Or Walk Free?
December 2, 2009 - 1:22 PM | by: Greg BurkeA year to study abroad, learn a new language and enjoy a bit of European culture has turned into more than two years in an Italian jail for Amanda Knox, a college student from Seattle.
And the foreign study experience could get transformed into a life sentence for Amanda, who’s charged with murdering and sexually assaulting her English roommate, Meredith Kercher. The jury is scheduled to begin deliberations on Friday.
The court has heard final statements from all the parties, but they really weren’t final. A couple of days are set aside for rebuttals.
On Wednesday, the prosecution laid out its case once again. In essence, it’s this:
–Amanda was in the middle of a drug-induced sexual assault.
–Meredith disliked Amanda, thinking she slept around too much and didn’t clean up after herself, and the hostility was mutual.
–The killers staged a clumsy burglary to make it look like someone had broken in the house to kill Meredith.
–Amanda accused a man of the murder who she knew to be innocent, Patrick Lumumba.
Amanda is being tried with her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. Amanda took the stand during the trial, but Raffaele did not.
Rudy Guede, a Ivory Coast native, opted for a speedy trial and was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The defense has argued that there’s no motive for murder, and that there’s no physical proof linking Amanda to the scene of the crime. Specifically, they say there’s no trace of Amanda’s footprints or fingerprints anywhere in the room in which Meredith was killed.
Defense lawyers have hotly contested scientific work showing DNA from Raffaele on Meredith’s bra clasp, and from Amanda on the knife that the prosecution believes to be the one used to kill Meredith.



























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