Amanda Knox Judge Criticized For Comments

Amanda Knox Judge Criticized For Comments

Judge Alessandro Nencini broke protocol and commented that the former boyfriend of Amanda Knox would have escaped guilt if he blamed the murder on Knox. The comment was made by the judge over the weekend in front of Italian reporters.

He said the Raffaelle Sollecito would have escaped jail time if he laid the blame of Knox due to the strength of the case against the American. Sollecito was given twenty-five years for murder. Knox and Sollecito continue to claim that the charges against them were false. They said they were not present in the apartment when Meredith Kercher was murdered.

The verdicts will be appealed by both respondents. The appeal will become the fourth trial linked to the Amanda Knox case, which started in 2009. The attorney of Sollecito, Luca Maroni, said the convictions show the bias of the judges against the two defendants. Maroni indicated that they will evaluate the comments of the judge and decide whether they can ask the verdict to be overturned.

However, the comments may not affect the result of the case, according to Jessica Bali. The Rome-based lawyer said the comments may result to sanctions against the judge instead of a change in the verdict.

Florence appeals court chair, Fabio Massimo Drago, revealed the developments did not go beyond the limitations of propriety. However, a number of Italians have expressed embarrassment in the handling of the case.

Knox and Sollecito were charged for the murder of Kercher in 2007. Kercher was found inside the home with a number of stab wounds. Knox and Kercher were exchange students who shared the same home. The case was initially thrown out after it was discovered that a good amount of the DNA evidence were mishandled.

Amanda Knox failed to attend the latest trial even as no extradition was requested by the Italian government so that Knox will serve her sentence.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday February 05 2014, 2:51 AM EST. Ref: USA Today. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0