To feel very sorry for Raffaele Sollecito?

[MarmaladeTwatkins]

He was interviewed on that turgid telly programme Daybreak this morning. He has a re-trial hanging over his head and says he doesn't know how much longer he can go on.

I'm in the 'they weren't involved' camp, but even if I wasn't, he was acquitted of the crime he was accused of. Surely it isn't right to dangle this over his head forever. Imagine living with that. Must be awful.

I remarked that I felt sorry for him to another parent this morning who was discussing it and she said "Well your sympathy is misplaced." I don't think that I am being U in feeling sympathy for him, or Amanda Knox.

This case really interests me too. I didn't know them personally, nor met either, but I spent my Erasmus in Perugia at the same time as Meredith and Amanda, and of course the case was everywhere in the city and I do still feel a connection to it.

I do feel, although I like to think I wouldn't, that I would have also ended up naming Lumumba, after 14 hours of non stop questioning. It was only a couple of months into the year and the general standard of Italian was not good there, and arguing and defending yourself is one of the most difficult things to do in a second language. You also hear a lot from your Italian friends about how corrupt the police and govt are (not debating whether that's true or not, but it would almost certainly have been something AK had in the back of her mind when being grilled) and having no lawyer she was completely alone. She has also already done her time for the crime of the innocent accusation.

I still don't know what I think about who killed Meredith, I don't think it was Amanda and Raffaele, but I'm not 100% confinced. I don't know why Rudy Guee's sentence was reduced so much, anyone?

If you have money to donate to a legal cause being fought with limited means, look around a bit more before choosing this one.

Rudy Guede got a reduced sentence for opting for fast-track trial. Routine in Italy.

Thanks for the advice, Winterwood, but as a 33 year old woman with all of her faculties in tact, I'll deem myself able to choose where I donate my money, thanks.

Winterwood - I'm not talking loads of money, probably only about a fiver, but as with Marmalade I do understand I can donate money elsewhere, but if I choose this cause, then that's up to me, and I certainly won't feel bad about my choice.

I donated a tenner, for the record. It's not much but hopefully many other people will feel sympathetic like I did and donate. The pounds will turn into thousands, hopefully.

YANBU in feeling sorry for Sollecito and Knox. I'm convinced of their innocence, and I was relieved when they were acquitted. I was astonished they were even convicted on the evidence they were convicted on.

Of course I feel sympathy for the Kercher family too, but I don't really understand the sense of injustice they seem to have. Someone is in jail for their daughter's murder. Ruining the lives of two other people isn't going to bring their daughter back.

matchpoint - while I agree with you on the first point, I do sort of disagree on the second.

Although I am also baffled that they are still convinced of the guilt of AK and RS, I do understand why they may be and their sense of injustice at their acquittal.

In the initial court case they were presented with a lot of evidence that seemed compelling to them at the time and the UK press tore AK to shreds. They probably felt a great sense of relief when all three were convicted, and although it couldn't possibly bring their daughter back, it must have given them a sense of closure.

Then when the retrial quashed the conviction of Amanda and Raffale, they must have been incredibly confused. The family believe without doubt that Rudy couldn't have done it alone because Meredith knew martial arts. They believe she would have fought him off. They are right though - all evidence suggests there was a huge struggle. But I really don't know how any young girl could fully fend off a guy with a knife, even with knowledge of martial arts.

It's all incredibly sad. And so much more sad that two more people have also lost their bright futures - even if they get found completely innocent there will always be people who doubt they really are innocent. They will have to live with that anxiety, which is incredibly unfair.

'Of course I feel sympathy for the Kercher family too, but I don't really understand the sense of injustice they seem to have. Someone is in jail for their daughter's murder. Ruining the lives of two other people isn't going to bring their daughter back.'

Blame the Italian police and courts for that. The whole investigation has been such an absolute farce it's no wonder the Kerchers aren't convinced they have received justice for their daughter.

YANBU. I just think that someone in the Italian police force had a hard on over the idea of two attractive women and a Satanic orgy gone wrong, and won't accept the plain ol' boring truth.

I know next to nothing of this case, as I was really put off by the tabloid "Foxy Knoxy" crap, so I didn't really read up much about it. Clearly I should have.

I will have a look online for some unbiased information

I'd love to know what winterwood apparently knows. It seems so odd that these two were involved in the investigation from the beginning, and now that they have an open and shut case against guede it seems even weirder.

YANBU.

I have a feeling that this retrial is more about the justice system "saving face", then what actually happened. The idea that they were involved in Meredith's murder seems to stem most from the bizarre fantasies of the prosecution ( the "she-devil comments anyone?), then actual fact.

The fact that there are always people on these threads who aren't even aware that someone has already confessed to the crime and been convicted and yet still insist RS and AK must be guilty, speaks volumes.

No - three people soverylucky - Rudy Guede knows as well. And he's in prison having been convicted of the murder on very strong evidence, but everyone forgets about him and says that 'the mystery will never be solved'. It's been solved, someone has been convicted of it.

It's impossible for the rest of us to know whether Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollicito were involved, but it is possible to see that the evidence that they were convicted on was full of holes. Innocent until proven guilty, and they weren't proven guilty - as the appeal showed.

I cannot understand the need for another trial.

I thought the man who was convicted named them as accomplices? or did I make that up in my own head?

How on EARTH can anyone on MN actually have an opinion on what really happened?

No one actually knows except for the people who were there (or not there).

I can't understand firstly how people can say, on here, 'of course they didn't do it' when it's such a contentious matter even between those involved. (thus all the retrials/appeals etc)

secondly why this sort of vehement speculation is even allowed - won't it prejudice a trial?

and if we're going to go hell for leather about things we've nothing to do with - let's have threads about the 9/11 attacks (for example) or the Mc Cann case, and pour forth our superior knowledge on those topics too.

It's not a great idea is it?

Even if you ignore the DNA evidence totally there is a lot of circumstantial evidence:

truejustice.org/ee/index.php

How on EARTH can anyone on MN actually have an opinion on what really happened?
No one actually knows except for the people who were there (or not there)

Sorry, but this is a ridiculous thing to say. The prosecutors, police & jury weren't there either - so how on EARTH can they have an opinion?

I don't know whether AK & RS were involved, but I think given the evidence it is extremely unlikely....and that's the point. There is simply no evidence at all implicating these two, and they should never have been tried, let alone convicted.

The man who did murder (RG) Meredith has been caught and convicted. Her bedroom was covered in both his and Meredith's DNA -none at all from either AK or RS. None. There was one tiny, tiny amount on a bra strap from RS which was shown to have been a contamination when a forensics officer used dirty gloves.

Given that it is impossible to even walk into a room without leaving some DNA - how is it remotely possible for these two to have held down Meredith & murdered her without leaving any trace of themselves? Basically, it's not.

The police used a divide & conquer technique when questioning RS & AK - both were told the other had done it & that there was evidence for this. No one expects the police to lie to them (maybe we should), so huge confusion followed. And I don't believe AK specifically accused the bar owner - she agreed with the police who were accusing him, and also implicated herself by doing so.

Think about that. If AK was ready to "confess" why do so with a completely made up story? We know the bar owner wasn't involved, so AS's "confession" was entirely bogus. It smacks of pressure & intimidation to me.

Marmalade I agree with you entirely. And if I wasn't quite so skint, I'd send a fiver too.

Im always baffled that some people ignore the fact that Rudy Guede is in jail for Merediths murder.

Part of the trouble is that Guede's sentence has already been reduced from 30 to 16 years.

If he still had the original 30 year sentence, pressure could plausibly have been put on him to spill the beans.

Not now though.

Right at the beginning Rudy stated that neither Amanda nor Raffael were present and he and Meredith had consensual sex before someone broke in and killed her. He then claimed that he saw a man who looked like Raffael. His cell mate claimed that Rudy admitted that neither were there.

I believe they are both innocent as it seems pretty far fetched that a young woman who speaks basic Italian would premeditate to kill her friend of one month with her boyfriend of two weeks with a man she barely knows. Rudy was a friend of Merediths boyfriend not a friend of Amanda.

All the "foxy knoxy" slander is rubbish, their flatmate admitted that it was Amanda who suggested to Meredith that she should use protection when having multiple one night stands. Nothing wrong with having consensual adult fun but the way it has been used to turn Amanda from a fun loving young party girl into a sex crazed witch is frankly disgusting.

I am interested now in all of this. Oh, and once I have read up I WILL have an opinion.

After all, opinion is not stating as fact

A lot of people are stating it as fact. That's the problem I have got with it. Having an opinion wasn't the right way to phrase it - sorry. Sating our opinions as fact, when they are based on what? seems foolisha nd wrong.

Of course the jury and prosecutors and so on were not there but they certainly know an awful lot more about it (from both sides) than any of us here.