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Understanding the Amanda Knox Verdict

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Steve Moore outside the court building in Perugia, Italy.

Today’s guest post is by Steve Moore, retired FBI agent and Melibee’s safety and emergency consultant. Steve has spent the past year working with the Knox family to support Amanda Knox’s release from an Italian prison. (Amanda Knox was a study abroad student convicted and the found not guilty of the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, who was also studying abroad.) Steve was in the courtroom as part of the Knox support team.  He explains the verdict and reflects on why, in his opinion, this case was so unjust. (Steve is available to consult/present to organizations; Click here for more information.)

I met Amanda Knox for the first time a few weeks ago, following her release from an Italian prison after serving four years for a crime she did not commit.  I am grateful that I had not met Amanda before I got involved in the case.

Not meeting Amanda prior to my involvement in the case probably saved me from prison time myself.  Had I known her personally, I do not know if I could have waited for the agonizingly slow wheels of Italian justice to free her. Amanda, you see, turns out to be a truly spectacular person; even more intelligent than I had expected, even more empathetic than she had been described, and even more gentle than I had anticipated. More and more, the fact that she, of all people, was targeted by a malicious, psychologically-challenged rogue prosecutor raises the level of irony to almost absurd levels.  So at a time when I should have been feeling only relief and gratitude, I had to fight a seething vicarious anger at four years taken from a good person. Amanda herself seems to bear no malice, and wonders only how anybody could believe she did what prosecutor Giuliano Mignini charged her with.

The events of the month have washed over me like a tidal wave, and I have not caught up with the emotion, the reality or the impact of what took place. I do not feel that I am ready to write at length about the events in Perugia yet, but I wanted to communicate a few thoughts in the meantime.

The most beautiful part of the “Not Guilty” verdict for Amanda and Raffaele came in the way Italian law demands that a verdict be couched. In Italy, a person can be found not guilty for two reasons (and I paraphrase the language):

1.       Not guilty due to insufficient evidence. (Not guilty)
2.       Not guilty due to the fact that the person did not commit the crime. (Innocent)

The first option is a passive statement, but the second is a positive declaration of innocence, not simply lack of guilt. It says not that the prosecutors failed to meet their burden, but that the evidence proves that person charged did not commit the crime. It is not simply release, it is full exoneration. That is the verdict Amanda and Raffaele received: Not guilty because the evidence proved that they did not commit the crime.

In a recent piece in the International Herald Tribune,  New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Timothy Egan wrote, “There was no way, based on forensic evidence that was a joke by international standards and a nonexistent motive that played into medieval superstitions, to find Knox and Sollecito guilty….” The claim of the prosecutors that there was a trace of the victim’s DNA on the blade of a knife used by Amanda to cut bread was, “….nearly laughed out of court by an independent panel of [DNA] experts.” The independent experts did find something on the blade, though: Bread Starch. (Rye).  Out of nowhere.

It must be pointed out that Amanda’s exoneration did not come from an American court. The U.S. State Department (God knows) didn’t do anything to help her. The U.S. government abandoned her in a despicable, cowardly way, frankly. No, the exoneration of Amanda and Raffaele occurred in an Italian court. A court in the same Italian city in which they were first convicted by a judge who, if he is not corrupt, has not even a basic understanding of evidence and the rule of law. The kids were exonerated in the same courtroom in which the first trial was held. By a jury of Italians, not Americans. Jurors who wore sashes in the colors of the Italian flag. They were once again prosecuted by the same prosecutor (who is still appealing his own prison sentence for corruption). Only the judge was different.  And this judge demanded evidence. And this judge demanded justice. Judge Pratillo Hellmann made Italy justifiably proud.  I have been in more Federal Courtrooms in the United States than I can count. The controlled, careful and fair manner in which Judge Hellmann conducted this trial was, if anything, superior to what I have come to expect even in a U.S. federal court.

In Italian law, after a not guilty verdict, a defendant already incarcerated in prison obtains their release several hours later at the prison. Only very rarely will a judge order that a defendant be “released immediately.” On those rare occasions that this occurs, according to Italian attorneys I spoke to, it is considered a ‘slap’ at the prosecutor(s).  Judge Hellmann ordered that Amanda and Raffaele be “released immediately.” The immediate release was an obvious signal of the judge’s extreme dissatisfaction the prosecution.

Following the verdict, a crowd of over 1,000 Italians formed around the courthouse, and a cheer went up when Amanda’s sister Deanna spoke of her release. Many times in Perugia, I experienced an indication of the overwhelming Italian sentiment of Amanda’s innocence. Italians would learn that I was involved in the case, and I would find that my drinks had been paid for, unrequested desserts came to the table, and strangers came to encourage or to hug me. The Italian public had figured this one out. At the end, the Italian (legitimate) press was vociferously in Amanda’s corner. Immediately following the verdict, I looked over at two of my new found friends in the Italian television media, and tears were rolling down their smiling cheeks. The prosecutor Mignini tried to couch this trial as racism (the actual murderer was black), and then as nationalism (big, bad America trying to step on poor little Italy). But in doing so, he only managed to prove the truth of Dr. Samuel Johnson’s immortal 1775 quote: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” With insight, the judge, the jury and the Italian public chose to disregard his attempts at jury nullification and decided this case on fact rather than jingoism and prejudice.

Sadly, the vindictiveness of a corrupt local system is not easily escaped.  About half an hour after the initially popular verdict, a “spontaneous” anti-Knox demonstration began outside the court. In a striking bit of serendipity, the “spontaneous demonstrators” just happened to have megaphone with them that night, and all knew what they would chant. Though in jeans and polo shirts, the demonstrators (all men between their middle-20s and late 40s) bore startling, almost eerie individual resemblances to the dozens of policemen who had originally signed the warrants against Amanda and Raffaele, and who had been in court that night in a “show of solidarity.” Many of those officers are the same ones suing Amanda for claiming that she had been slapped in her interrogation. (The required tape of the interrogation of prisoners in Italy is inexplicably absent. Go figure.)

After the ‘impromptu’ demonstration, the men began individual fist-fights with Italian Amanda supporters, (I counted at least five such fights) and generally shamed the town of Perugia at a moment when the city deserved to be basking in the glory of the world spotlight. I want to point out here that the people of Perugia are good, honorable people, by and large. The Carabinieri (military) police in the town are honorable and professional. But the local police and the local prosecutor ruthlessly run the town. As an example, while we were in Perugia, five people were arrested—in the courtroom—by the local police. All for criticizing the prosecutor in some way or another. My wife was one of those arrested, and awaits a decision as to whether she will be charged with “contempt” which carries with it a possible three-year prison sentence.

The relief I feel at Amanda and Raffaele’s release is indescribable. I also feel additional relief that on-line Amanda-haters are by and large a thing of my past. We had dealt with them until now only to counter their hateful propaganda in front of an uninformed public.  Now, it’s not even important to answer them because truly, nobody cares about what they say anymore.

They and others who refuse to accept this Italian court verdict (while arbitrarily accepting the first court’s verdict) are already receding into insignificance, and even the echoes of their hateful diatribes and death threats are fading into the ether. I do not think that they will ever be convinced of Amanda’s obvious innocence, nor do I think they are done spewing propaganda. Frustration produces anger, and like an infant who throws a tantrum when put down for a nap, I assume they will make a lot of indiscriminate noise that does nothing but irritate those around them. But they can now be grouped by society with those who claim to have been kidnapped by UFO’s, doubters in the moon landings and 9/11 conspiracy theorists. As one of my favorite philosophers, Stan Marsh of “South Park,” once said to Eric Cartman about such conspiracy mongers: “25% of society is crazy.”  This is truth, and it is truth that the anti-Amanda crazies will continue to validate. But now they have been refuted by the same justice system they touted for years, and eventually, like the child put down for a nap, will become distracted and move on to other things. They will soon be looking for new things and people to hate. (Though those of them who crossed the lines of civil and criminal behavior will soon find that they have not been forgotten and that legal redress waited only for Amanda’s repatriation.)

What remains is to ensure that this does not happen again. As Egan said, “Perhaps the tide from Perugia will lift other boats.” For this to happen, though, pompous prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, forensic perjurer Patrizia Stefanoni, and mind-reading detective Edgardo Giobbi (and others), must be prosecuted for their corruption. The judge who rubber-stamped the lies in the first trial, Massei, must also be called to the bar of justice—or back to law school. That is what will occupy some of my time for the next few years, I’m sure. But for right now, I am in the mood to bathe in the warmth of the freedom of Amanda Knox. The sunshine of the justice she obtained should warm the entire world.

At this moment, I find that the word “elation” is woefully inadequate to describe my emotions.  Euphoria might be a closer word, but euphoria eventually fades. As long as I live, I will remember that late night in the courtroom when two innocents were rescued from a cabal of evil men.




The Knox/Sollecito Verdict, October 2011

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The verdict is in.  One family is devastated.  One family is elated.  Two lives have been at stake for months, the third is a young soul who has been desperately trying to rest in peace. I’ve written about it over the years because I work in study abroad.  As I was not in Perugia, in that house on that night, I did not feel that I could speak about the “truth” of what happened there. I write about study abroad. It is my passion and it was clearly important to both Amanda and Meredith.  So, I lived my life but kept one eye on the news too.

I heard of this case in Fall 2007. The press reported that Amanda Knox, a study abroad student, had viciously murdered her housemate, Meredith Kercher.  They showed and spoke of damning evidence. She confessed. She blamed a black man.  She retracted and shifted her story.  We saw images of her staring into a camera, deer in headlights.  She smoked pot that night.  She was a “party girl.”  Her boyfriend was entranced.  He liked knives.  She liked sex.  Photos indicated they kissed outside the house after the body was found.  There was a manipulated photo indicating that Amanda went home and took a shower in a blood filled bathroom. They were “bad” kids.

A co-worker randomly quipped to me one day, within a few months of the murder, “I wouldn’t send my kid to Italy.  They can keep you in prison without charges.”  I paused, took a breath and told him that it was very rare that an American student in Italy would be imprisoned. This was not a common situation in my experience as a study abroad professional.  Then again, most students who go abroad are not close to crimes such as this.

Those “bad kids” sat in jail.  The “good kid” was buried in her home country.  People mourned.  She was a “good kid.”  She studied hard, had lots of friends, called her mum daily. She was beautiful, vibrant.  She was murdered on her study abroad program.  Why do these things have to happen?

I caught the news here and there.  Life marched on.

I watched the news reporting all sorts of tales of macabre, wickedness, lying, horror.  Amanda and Rafaelle were eventually convicted.  I will never forget the look on her father’s face when he pushed away the cameras that night in the streets of Perugia.  He was expecting her to come home.  The ticket was already purchased.

One day I caught the news of an ex-FBI agent stating that Amanda Knox was innocent.  I wondered, who is this guy and why is he involved in this? He boldly announced that if Amanda needed a roommate, his daughter was available.  Seemed shocking.  How could he be so sure?

I started reading more about the case.  More and more and more – from both sides, both perspectives.  And then I had the opportunity to discuss it with that FBI guy, Steve Moore.  I asked some questions. He wasn’t pushy about the information – just shared what he had researched and explained some of those hard to understand technical forensic issues to me (amounts of blood, typical crime scene evidence, contamination prevention, luminol, bleach, etc.)  I pondered it all. I read more.  I asked more questions.

I started working with Steve on safety and emergency planning in study abroad as part of the work I already do at Melibee.  He has a solid background for this type of consulting and there is a desperate need for sharing information about how to prepare students, faculty and administrators in times of crisis.  That was a separate discussion from the “Knox stuff.”

I’ve never asked Steve, nor did he request, to talk about his feelings about Amanda’s case on my blog.  It was not part of my work except that I felt it was important to cite the case as an example of why students and schools need to be have sound and practiced safety processes and standards.

Today, with Amanda being permitted to go home, it is time for me to share my opinion on the case.  I have had people email me and comment on the blog, implying that I’m a closet Amanda supporter and that I am disrespectful to Meredith’s memory because I work with Steve Moore.

So here it is – in my own words:

I thought Amanda and Rafaelle were guilty based on the news and extreme claims of bleach clean ups, DNA evidence and questionable behavior.

Then I learned about how some of these issues were being countered.  I wasn’t 100% sure of what to think, as the only people who are 100% sure are those who were there.  I was not there.

I thought a lot about it. I have worked with American students going abroad for nearly 20 years.  I have met many types of students.  Some go wild when they’re abroad – it is their first experience with freedom.  Others hang in the “American ghetto,”  spending time with only Americans.  Most explore and play more than they may at home simply because everything is new, adventurous and exciting.  And the ones who are usually very serious students and generally very “good kids” are the ones who want an immersion experience.  Spend time with locals to learn the language, go to cultural events without prompting, meet the culture and language head on.  They are not the ones who typically get in trouble. In fact, I am not aware of another case of an American study abroad student being accused of murder abroad.

And when I thought about it more, a girl going to Italy and smoking a little pot, kissing a cute Italian boy and sleep at his home, well, that frankly is not very unusual for a twenty-something American student to do.

But I didn’t share this with anyone.  I wrote about how important it is for schools to have a plan for their students and to advise them, even if they travel independently, because of the extreme example of what happened to Amanda Knox and Meredith Kercher.

Eventually, when the DNA evidence was reviewed by outside specialists and came back with so many issues, I firmly planted both feet in the not guilty arena.  I do believe that it is truly impossible for two people to walk into a crime scene and not leave a drop of evidence. No sweat? No spit? No hair? No blood? No footprint? No lint from their clothes?  No saliva? It didn’t add up.

And all of that “evidence” about witnesses, a woman hearing a scream, bleach and such, specific motive…it all seemed to disappear.

I don’t know Amanda or Raffaele first hand, nor did I know Meredith.  But I do know that two young people were put into jail before anyone bothered to test the evidence in full at the crime scene.  And that should concern all of us.

That is my position on the matter.  I hope that the Knox and Sollecito families will be able to move on with their lives.  I hope that the Kerchers can find peace in their loss and in this painful process they’d had to experience.

And meanwhile, I will continue writing about how we, in academia, have an obligation to prepare students for what to do to protect themselves abroad.

 

 

 

 

 

 




The Amanda Knox/Rafaelle Sollecito Appeal

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Kercher/Sollecito/Knox

We are within hours of knowing whether study abroad student, Amanda Knox, and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito will win their appeal of the conviction of the murder of Meredith Kercher, a British study abroad student.

As many of you have asked me directly and/or assumed you knew my position, please know that I will be writing a post after the verdict to share my beliefs.  I have tried to write about the case in terms of how it impacts study abroad and will honor that until there is a verdict.

I’d like to ask each of you to take a moment to remember Meredith Kercher.  From all reports, she was a delightful, joyful and bright young woman.  What happened to her is unimaginable.  Her family has been through hell and they stood together again today with such grace, despite the pressure and pain.

Watching the families of the Knox and Sollecito has been gut wrenching also.  They believe their children are innocent and have dedicated their lives to supporting the search for freedom.  They too have exhibited extraordinary strength.

I look forward to seeing the outcome of this difficult situation.

 




Reflections on the Amanda Knox/Meredith Kercher Case (February 2011)

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Amanda Knox, Original artwork by Hiroshi Mizuno

Tonight, I watched Lifetime Channel’s version of the Amanda Knox conviction. As an international educator, I felt I needed to watch this movie. As a journalist, I have tried to keep my opinion out of my writing.  I have tried to instead focus on what this case has meant for study abroad.

For study abroad, I believe this case should have meant a huge wake up call.  I am repeatedly surprised by how few of my colleagues agree. I have been told on more than one occasion that our role is simply to inform students that local laws preside. But should our job also include giving them a sense of what the local laws could mean in their lives abroad by providing more specific detail?  Is it our responsibility, morally and ethically, to spend quality time explaining the local laws and illustrating the gaps between local laws and that of the home country? Should we also be communicating with parents/guardians about how we would need to work together with clear action steps during times of crises?

Or do we say “not my job.”

Please let me be clear here:  I am not pointing fingers at anyone in this particular case.  I haven’t contacted Ms. Knox’s home school to ask them what they did/didn’t do.  That isn’t the point. Instead, I am here to raise questions about how we, as professionals, might operate in our field and to encourage discussion.

And this case, in my opinion, deserves a lot more discussion.

What happened to Ms. Knox in Italy is something we should ALL be concerned about.  It should have raised a serious discussion about pre-departure information and emergency planning in study abroad.

Let’s face it – At the end of the day, do you want to be sitting in front of the TV and see Hayden Pannetiere playing one of YOUR study abroad students on Lifetime’s Monday night movie?

I sure don’t.

At this juncture, I can’t share my opinion about what I think happened.  Perhaps in the future, but not at this time. Those who know me as a friend and close colleague do know my feelings about the case and will vouch for me when I do eventually write about it.

For now, I can share this: I strongly believe that our field should be talking about what prevents us from talking with our students, in much more detail, about the realities of what can happen in a different legal system.

So, I’ll ask again: How has your campus changed its policies/processes related to emergency and safety planning as a result of the Amanda Knox case? If the answer is “my campus hasn’t,” what would you like to see your campus do differently?

For those of you who want to answer but are afraid of being “identified,” I will simply say that you can comment on this blog anonymously.  Your name will not appear on my website and I will not know who you are, nor will any of our readers.

I invite your feedback.  In fact, I crave a hearty discussion about this case.  I challenge you to have one with me.

(NOTE:  I am referring to the question above – How has your campus changed its policies/processes related to emergency and safety planning as a result of the Amanda Knox case? If the answer is “my campus hasn’t,” what would you like to see your campus do differently? I am NOT asking you to have a hearty discussion about whether or not Amanda Knox killed Meredith Kercher.  She was convicted of doing so and the case is under appeal.  If you want to debate her guilt or innocence, this is NOT the site to do so at – there are plenty of other sites for that, so please visit them instead.)

In closing, I wish peace to all of those involved in this horrific case.  Needless to say, may Meredith Kercher, a reportedly delightful young woman from England who was studying abroad in Italy and brutally murdered, rest in peace.




Amanda Knox movie on Lifetime

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Amanda Knox and the actress who plays her in the film.

Lifetime channel in the US will be airing the Amanda Knox movie on February 21st.  Needless to say, her parents, as well as the parents of the young British woman who was murdered, Meredith Kercher, are quite upset about this film being released.

I have written about this case as both young women were in Perugia, Italy to study abroad.

Here is the trailer:

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Interview with Steve Moore: Safety and Emergency Planning in Study Abroad

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Steve Moore

I had the opportunity to interview with Steve Moore, retired FBI agent and past Deputy Director of Public Safety at Pepperdine University. (This interview was done via skype – thank goodness for technology!)

Some of you may have been introduced to Mr. Moore through his advocacy work on the Amanda Knox “Injustice in Perugia” website. I interviewed Mr. Moore because he has a unique perspective about public safety planning for international programs.  My interview with Mr. Moore focuses on his training in the FBI and how that type of work translated into best practices at a university which has a large student population abroad.  I hope you will recognize that this is not an “Amanda Knox who dunnit” interview.  He and I discuss Ms. Knox’s case in the context of study abroad program safety and emergency planning.

After watching the interview, please scroll down to read Mr. Moore’s impressive bio below. Steve is available for consulting and presentations.  Click here for more information.

Steve Moore’s Bio: In an FBI career that spanned 25 years, Special Agent Steve Moore rose to supervise the Los Angeles Al Qaeda squad, and later, the LA FBI Extra-Territorial Investigations squad which was charged with the investigation of acts of terrorism against U.S. persons or interests for all of Asia and parts of Pakistan. He was the case agent on many high-profile FBI cases including the bombing of the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan; the bombing of the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia; the white supremacist shooting/murder spree at the Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles in 1998; as well as the Los Angeles component of the attacks of 9/11, after which he testified before the congressional 9/11 Commission.

In conjunction with the United States Attorney’s Office, in 1999, he obtained the first conviction of a threatened Anthrax attack in United States History. Steve was awarded the 2001 ‘Outstanding Counterterrorism Investigation’ award by the Los Angeles FBI office, and nominated for the FBI’s national ‘Outstanding Terrorism Investigation’ award the same year. Three years in a row he was presented with the United States Attorney’s award for excellence in investigation. As an FBI undercover Agent, Steve conducted covert surveillance of white supremacist organizations and conducted classified foreign intelligence-related undercover operations.   As a member of the FBI’s Rapid Deployment Team, he was assigned as lead investigator on the FBI’s terrorism response team at the Athens Olympics in 2004. He has served as (term) Assistant Legal Attaché, and has lectured on investigative techniques and terrorism at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as the Pacific Training Institute in the Philippines. Additionally, he has taught and organized counter-terrorism training and investigation conferences around the world.

Following his retirement from the FBI in 2008, Steve was selected as the Deputy Director of Public Safety for Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and served there for two and a half years.  Steve was responsible for security on the Malibu campus, all U.S. campuses, and the safety of the students at Pepperdine’s six overseas campuses in Europe, South America and Asia.  He developed programs to monitor international situations of concern, and served on university threat assessment teams.  He worked closely with the International Programs department at Pepperdine, and worked to create innovative security and safety programs.

Steve is currently a private investigator, and is on the board of advisers for the “Special Investigative University”, SIU.  He is also involved in pro-bono advocacy for innocent persons accused of crimes in U.S. and foreign courts.  He has recently appeared on the “Today” show, “Good Morning America”, and “Anderson Cooper 360”.

Steve is the son of a United Airlines executive and by the age of 18 had traveled through most of the world, seeing it through the eyes of a teenager.




How Has the Amanda Knox Case Impacted Study Abroad?

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Amanda Knox behind bars

In the US, we are preparing for the Thanksgiving holiday. We’ll be hunkering down in the kitchen, chopping, mixing and baking away.  In Italy, Amanda Knox and her attorneys are preparing for her appeal scheduled for Wednesday.

With Ms. Knox’s appeal quickly approaching, I again began to think about the implications of her arrest and conviction on study abroad program administration.  I recently posed the following question to colleagues in the field: “How many of your institutions (US, non-US) made policy or process changes as a result of the Knox case?”

Let me again state that my role is not to comment on whether or not I think Ms. Knox is innocent or guilty in the murder of Meredith Kercher, a British study abroad student. It is also not to challenge how the evidence was reviewed in a legal system that is different than that of my own country. However, it is important to ask the question so that we may better understand how, as university administrators, we can best prepare our students for an experience abroad and to understand what implications, if any, there are as a result of this rare case.

I had several responses to the question above.  I believe all replies were from the US, although one was from an American who has lived in Italy for 20 years. The majority of respondents confirmed that their institutions have not changed their processes dramatically. Most stated that they continue to provide information about what the embassy ‘can and cannot do’ to assist in the event of an emergency or crime. Some now specifically cite the Knox case as an example of how visitors in a foreign country are subject to local laws.

Interestingly, several commented specifically on the lack of institutional liability in a case like this.  Most agree that we are to simply obligated to share information about the realities of other legal systems and then it is up to the student to choose to make wise or poor choices while abroad.

One person referenced how the behavior of “hordes of drunken American students” abroad can fuel the fire when one is faced with local legal action. We know that the primary issue for our students abroad is their lack of discipline when drinking alcohol. Did visiting American students partying into all hours of the night in Perugia impact the public’s perception of Ms. Knox? No one can say for sure.

There are those who simply say that this case isn’t anything more than common sense – if you commit a crime, expect to suffer the consequences, even if you don’t fully understand them in a different legal system (or your own for that matter.)

The only other recent commentary that I’ve read in the media about this subject – and it may translate well to a young generation who respond to slick and hip blog sites – is this tongue in cheek post called “How Not to Get Arrested When You’re Abroad:  A Foxy Knoxy Inspired Guide” on New York’s Gawker.com.

The reality is that we do have an obligation to notify students about the potential consequences of their behavior abroad. Perhaps that means spelling out for them what can happen in a worse case scenario, using examples like Ms. Knox’s situation.  It may also mean that we need to create a specific process about what to do if you are a witness to a crime scene – such as carrying an emergency card with you at all times, calling your embassy for advice and refusing to speak with anyone until you have legal representation so that you understand the possible implications of your voice and actions.  (Sadly, this also applies to Steve Moore, the ex-FBI and ex-Pepperdine University employee who was fired for allegedly refusing to stop voicing his opinion about the Knox case.)

Wednesday will prove to be a day where the media is humming with news on this case.  It will be fascinating to see what transpires next.




Amanda Knox Update: Slander, Art, Moore Firing and Scholarship

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Amanda Knox Meredith Kercher

Amanda Knox/Meredith Kercher

Amanda Knox, the American student convicted of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy, continues to be a lightening rod for the news wire.

Today, Ms. Knox was indicted for slander as a result of her claims that the Italian police hit her on the back of the head during questioning. In court she broke into tears, stating that she simply thought she was describing what had happened as part of her right to defend herself. She will now go to trial for this new charge in May 2011. Ms. Knox’s appeal of the murder conviction is scheduled to begin on November 24th, 2010.

The Knox family recently allowed the release of some images of Amanda’s prison artwork. British tabloids have claimed that her art indicates a “dark side” to Ms. Knox, prompting a swift response from her family’s PR team.  Here is a report:

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I recently wrote about Steve Moore, the ex-FBI agent who was interviewed by several media outlets about his insistence that Ms. Knox is innocent.  Mr. Moore was recently fired by his employer, Pepperdine University, allegedly for refusing to sign a document agreeing to not speak publicly about the Knox/Kercher case. I understand that Mr. Moore is pursuing legal action.

Finally, let us not forget Meredith Kercher.  She was a study abroad student (as well as daughter, sister) from Leeds University in England who came to Italy to study Italian language.  The city of Perugia and the University for Foreigners announced this past week that a scholarship will be set up in her name. Mayor Wladimiro Boccali announced that ”Meredith Kercher was here, our guest, to study and we want to remember her as a young student.  I think Meredith should be considered one of us and, as such, she should find a place in the city’s shared memory, with a thought also for her devastated family. Perugia wants a tangible sign to remain from her coming here,” he added in announcing the new scholarship.

I will repeat again that it is not my position as an international educator, to share my personal opinion about whether or not Ms. Knox is guilty or not.  I report on this case because both Ms. Knox and Ms. Kercher were study abroad students.




Amanda Knox Movie Planned

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It was bound to happen:  A film about the Amanda Knox/Meredith Kercher case is in the works.   The “big news” is that Hayden Panetierre will play Amanda Knox in this new film.

One only can wonder how Ms. Knox and Ms. Kercher’s family and friends feel about this announcement.

Rather than news about a film, I’m much more interested in hearing about her upcoming appeal, scheduled for November 2010.  As a study abroad adviser, I’m much more curious about how this case was handled and how the outcome of the appeal will impact students’ decisions to study abroad.

Nevertheless, here is a news clip about the upcoming film.

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Former FBI Agent Claims Amanda Knox is Innocent

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Amanda Knox, study abroad student

Former FBI agent, Steve Moore, was interviewed in the press in the United States this morning, firmly communicating his belief that Amanda Knox is innocent.

Moore claims to have looked through hours of crime scene videos and reviewed the detailed report of “evidence.”  He states that her evidence is absolutely coerced. His belief is that the evidence cannot support a conviction.

He also claims that he is not receiving any financial incentive to comment on her case.  He states that he only got involved in commenting on this case as a result of a discussion with his wife, who had seen a television show about the case that raised questions about Ms. Knox’s conviction.

Amanda Knox, an American student studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, was convicted of the murder of British student, Meredith Kercher. Her appeal is set for November 2010.

Here is an interview of Steve Moore by Ann Curry of NBC News in New York:

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