Currently viewing the tag: "Guiliano Mignini"

Amanda Knox Slander Trial Delayed Until October 2010

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Amanda Knox, June 2010

Ms. Knox appeared in court today in Perugia, sporting a very short haircut and a rather unemotional expression.  The slander case against her has been postponed, as her defense attorney raised concerns about the bias of the presiding judge, Claudia Matteini, who had been a pre-trial judge in the original murder case.

Ms. Knox is said to be suffering from bouts of depression while in prison.  I would imagine that the thought of adding another six years to her sentence is more than one can take if one believes she is innocent.  Additionally, the pain of knowing that her situation has resulted in a legal accusation against Ms. Knox’s parents must be overwhelming. They will be in court in July for repeating the “slander,” based on their daughter’s account that she was hit in the back of the head by police during questioning. All charges have been brought forward by Giuliano Mignini, prosecutor in the murder trial.

In a recent letter read by Ms. Knox’s parents on Italian television, she states:  “I am very sad and pained. I would never wish hurt, death or violence on anyone.”

There has been no news in the press today about the family of Meredith Kercher, the British study abroad student who was murdered in a house that she shared with Ms. Knox and two other housemates.




Amanda Knox in Court for Slander Case

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Amanda Knox is expected to be in court on Tuesday, June 1st, regarding her accusation of abuse by Perugia police.  Ms. Knox has claimed that she was struck in the back of the head during questioning and this resulted in cries of slander by Prosecutor Guiliano Mignini.

Amanda Knox

While scouring the news this morning, I came across a post by the Barbie Latza Nadeau, a journalist for the DailyBeast.com. She is also the author of the book “Angel Face”, the first book about the case written by a bi-lingual journalist who attended the trial (she is fluent in English and Italian). Ms. Nadeau poses 10 questions to Amanda Knox in today’s blog on the DailyBeast.com. The questions are of the variety that are meant to provoke the Knox camp – and they have responded en force.

I am a study abroad administrator and not an attorney or juror. I again will state that it is not my role to form an opinion on whether Ms. Knox is guilty.  What I will say is that the 10 questions and comments under Ms. Nadeau’s post are full of strong opinion, passion and rage in support of both sides.

As a study abroad administrator, this case again reinforces for me how necessary it is to have frank dialogue with students about the serious consequences of being accused of committing a crime abroad. While pre-departure orientation tends to focus on the academic processes, travel logistics, cultural adaptation and such, it tends to gloss over the challenges of how being treated under local laws in a foreign country can land you in a different cultural pot of hot water.  As I do not know the details of the pre-departure study abroad orientations at Ms. Knox and Ms. Kercher’s home schools in the US and England, I will refrain from commenting about the specifics of what “should” have been covered in the pre-departure orientations.

Most US based schools review policy about the use of alcohol and drugs in pre-departure orientation materials and/or group meetings.  However, the focus is often of the institutional policy position related to the home school’s student code of conduct and often speaks to representation of the home school, home country, etc.  The Knox case adds a whole new layer to the seriousness of engaging in ‘recreational’ use of illegal drugs. It is clear that Ms. Knox’s confession of smoking marijuana the night of the murder has certainly diminished the credibility of her recollection during the trial.

Let me again remind you that I am an international educator with no firm answer as to “whodunnit.”  It isn’t my role to argue a position and it would be irresponsible of me to form an opinion based on press reports, tabloid media, and pressure to do so. But what I can express, with a heavy heart, is that two young women who left their home countries to embark on an exciting academic and personal experience in Perugia, lost their lives the night that one was murdered in Perugia.




Amanda Knox interview rumor “inaccurate”

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Amanda Knox sits in court in Italy.

The West Seattle Herald (US) reported yesterday that news out of the UK of an TV interview with Amanda Knox is inaccurate.  (What hasn’t changed, however, is news that Ms. Knox will be in court for a preliminary hearing of the slander charges on June 1st.)

As you can see from yesterday’s post, there are very heated opinions in the comments section about whether Ms. Knox should be in prison at all.

Here is the West Seattle Herald article that clarifies the alleged inaccuracies of the Guardian online article:

UPDATE: Article on Amanda Knox’s TV interview inaccurate

By Steve Shay
May 16, 2010

An article appearing in the British Newspaper Telegraph’s online edition that Amanda Knox will appear on a TV interview is inaccurate, according to Amanda Knox’s stepfather, Chris Mellas, reached in Perugia, Italy by the West Seattle Herald. Such an interview would be of great interest as it would be the first time Knox would have spoken to the public since her murder conviction of her college roommate, Meredith Kercher. Knox is currently serving 26 years in prison for the murder. She is appealing that verdict.

The Telegraph’s reporter, Nick Pisa, writes that Knox will appear on TV, and that one of Knox’s lawyers is against it. She is scheduled to make her first public appearance June 1 when she goes on trial in the slander case, brought based on her accusation that the police hit her during questioning.

“The (Telegraph) article is trying to create a controversy out of nothing,” Mellas told the West Seattle Herald by phone. “This is a non-issue because there was never a June 1 date set for an interview. There was a request for an interview, but it has been denied by the Ministry of Justice. They are in charge of making this decision, not a judge, because the case is sort of in limbo. There is currently no judge assigned. Otherwise it would be up to a judge whether Amanda would be permitted an interview.

“Pisa wrote that one of Amanda’s lawyers, Luciano Ghirga, was completely against the interview and that her family was pushing for it,” added Mellas.

“What really happened was that Amanda wanted to have the ability to speak for herself. As far as her family is concerned, whatever Amanda wants, big deal. Why not? We will support it. When we get a new judge, that judge will decide if an interview is permitted.

“if the judge allows it, we will not receive any money from it.”

The head prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, who prosecuted the murder trial of Ms. Kercher that landed Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito in prison, is scheduled to prosecute a new slander case against Knox. She accused police of hitting her in the head when they first questioned her for 15 hours at the police station. Mignini was in the room during the questioning. The defense is crying foul, and believes such a trial would be unfair as Mignini is trying to pile on more years to Knox’s 26-year sentence she received from his case during the verdict. He had stated publicly he wanted a life sentence for her.

Late edit

On June 1 a preliminary hearing takes place to decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial. All cases in Italy have this process.

“At that pretrial, Knox’s lawyers will ask that Mignini be removed along with (assistant prosecutor) Manuela Comodi, and also the Judge Claudia Matteini,” said Mellas. “They have all been involved in the case. Italian lay states that they cannot be involved in her cases anymore. Italian law states that you can deal with someone only one time, then it has to be a different judge and prosecutor.”




Amanda Knox Update: Facing Slander Trial Next

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Amanda Knox, convicted of murdering fellow study abroad student, Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy.

This is an update on the Amanda Knox case, courtesy of www.nwcn.com. It is dated May 13, 2010.  The Amanda Knox/Meredith Kercher case continues to be the most searched topic at Melibee Global.

PERUGIA, Italy – Amanda Knox, the University of Washington exchange student who is serving 26 years for murder in Italy, is about to go on trial on new charges that could extend her sentence.

Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted in December of killing Knox’s British roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007.

Even though prosecutor Giuliano Mignini successfully won the murder conviction, he’s not satisfied. He’s already appealing Knox’s sentence, saying she got off too easy and deserves life in prison.

On June 1, Mignini will again be leading the charge against Knox in the same courtroom, this time on slander charges. Mignini says Knox lied when she testified that police beat her during questioning at police headquarters the night of her arrest.

Knox’s defense team is crying foul because it was Mignini who oversaw the investigation and interrogation of Knox. They will ask for a new prosecutor.

They are also challenging the judge who ruled against Knox in the pre-trial hearings. They say the judge is biased.

If convicted of slander, Knox could face an additional six years in prison and a hefty fine.

Perugia is also abuzz about a possible new witness surfacing in the case. He’s a prisoner who claims to know who Kercher’s real killer is and where the murder weapon was hidden. A similar claim was made recently by a convicted child killer. He said Rude Guede, the Ivory Coast man convicted in Kercher’s slaying, confessed that he had acted alone and the Knox and Sollecito weren’t even there.

Click for a video report from nwcn.com news.




Prosecution Launches Appeal Against Amanda Knox

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Amanda Knox meets with Italian police outside of her housing, the day after the murder of Ms. Meredith Kercher

Several news agencies reported today that  Italian prosecutors will be requesting a life sentence for Amanda Knox, the American study abroad student sentenced for the murder of Meredith Kercher, a study abroad student from England.

Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini submitted a 13-page file requesting the increase in Ms. Knox’s stay in prison. He was reported to have said, “In their post-verdict report the judges said this was a murder for purely casual reasons, and if that is the case then this is a crime that calls for the maximum penalty of life.”

This is not the first time that Mignini has requested a life sentence for Ms. Knox.  The Italian court decided, at her original sentencing, to give Ms. Knox and Mr. Sollecito (her boyfriend at the time) a lower term  – due to their young ages and lack of prior arrest.

Reports have also surfaced accusing the Italian forensic police department of bias toward Ms. Knox.  This is based on a photograph (above) of Ms. Knox talking with investigators from the Italian forensic police department the day after the murder, while outside of the house where she and Ms. Kercher resided.  This photograph was supposedly hung on their office wall, alongside renowned murderers, 3 months after she was arrested.  Italian law, like US law, is supposed to assume that a person is innocent until proven guilty. It is also noted that the 2 men charged with the murder (Mr. Sollecito and Mr. Rudy Guede) did not have photographs on the “wall of fame”, implying bias against Ms. Knox.

My previous postings indicate that this is a very difficult  and complex case with two very firm camps – The Knox camp, claiming her innocence and finding it impossible that she could be found guilty with no DNA or physical evidence appearing in the room where the murder took place, and the Kercher Camp, mourning the young victim, Meredith Kercher, whose throat was slashed while she was left to die.

Ms. Knox’s attorneys are preparing her appeal, expected to be filed soon.