AIBU to think an Edinburgh festival show about Meredith Kercher's murder should be stopped?

[VivienneDelacroix]

Aibu to think that this show at the Edinburgh Festival should be cancelled? It mocks the circumstances around the murder of Meredith Kercher and serves it up as entertainment.

Not only is it horribly disrespectful of Meredith's family, but it also belittles the issue of violence against girls and women.

Meredith's siblings are calling for it to be pulled from the festival. There is also a petition calling for it to be stopped.

c.org/WXGTGJfpRh

And you feel you can safely declare the show "sick" without actual awareness of the content?

Whilst her conviction for slandering Lumumba stands, it should be remembered that this statement was extracted from her in the early hours of the morning (1.45am and 5.45am) after 50 hours of questioning over 4 days during which she was beaten and had no lawyer present, no recording of the interviews and an incompetent interpreter who believed her role was to assist the police in extracting what they wanted from Knox rather than simply interpret. At the time, the police believed that Patrick Lumumba was involved in the murder and had arrested him along with Knox and her boyfriend. Just to be completely clear, he was arrested before they started questioning Knox.

We often find in miscarriages of justice that the person convicted has been pressured by the police into making false statements which coincided with the police theory at the time but were subsequently found to contain major factual errors.

So no, I don't believe she did make it happen to him. The fault lies with the police who tried to get three innocent people done for murder (Knox, her boyfriend and Lumumba) and who, perceiving Knox as the weakest, pushed her and beat her until they got the statement they wanted, implicating both Lumumba and herself.

Note, by the way, that she implicated herself as well as Lumumba, so this was not, as many seem to think, some attempt to get herself off by implicating Lumumba. It was what we used to see regularly in the UK before the police were made to record interviews - an attempt to make the police stop.

She did not make it happen to him. The Italian police did.

On the question of the show, none of us know the content but, as someone who believes in free speech, I do not think it should be stopped.

I understand the Kercher family being upset. They appear to still believe Knox and her boyfriend were guilty (as, it seems, do some on this thread), despite the fact that all the available evidence points to Guede having killed her on his own. So of course they don't want the woman they believe killed their daughter/sister talking about it and being paid for doing so. But I do not believe that is a good enough reason to stop Knox's show.

There was not a shred of forensic evidence putting her at the scene.

It's like she's returning to the scene of the crime over and over again with absolutely no regard for Meredith's family. I think she needs therapy, not more monetisation of her notoriety.no

It's bizarre that Knox won't move on from the crime that destroyed her life. She has no regard for the feelings of the Kercher family. I think she's a narcissist. She doesn't even seem to worry about how dragging it all up again might affect her own family. What kind of person would go to the show? Also, like most narcissists, she is humourless.

One year less.

Nobody attempted to silence her when she wrote a book, or did interviews, or gave her imprimatur to documentaries.

Nobody.

She has crossed a line here with the comedy approach, and that is why she is being criticized.

Those accusing the critical public of continuing the misogyny of the investigation and the trial circus and the gutter press 'reportage' have conveniently forgotten all the years in which Amanda Knox has had her say on the airwaves and in print, with little or no murmuring against her.

The accusation of 'silencing' is itself an attempt to silence.

The accusation of 'silencing' is itself an attempt to silence.
Nonsense. Criticizing is not the same as petitioning to cancel.

As to "we've let her have her say, now enough's enough" - what on Earth gives you the right to determine that?

Incidentally, here's a comment from Denise Huskins (a woman who was abducted and sexually assaulted, then accused by the police of staging a hoax, before finally being vindicated) who Knox's invited to see her show in the US last week:

"Last week we had the honor of watching Amanda Knox’s comedy show Cartwheel at the The Rabbit Box in Seattle as she prepares for her show at #edinburghfringe.

I just saw that there is a petition to cancel her set at the festival, and it deeply disturbs me that people continue to vilify someone who has overcome so much and who has been proven innocent over and over again.

Her show is a beautiful representation of comedy meeting tragedy; displaying a philosophical and intellectual real-life description of how trauma follows us despite our determination to create a purpose and meaning with our lives beyond it. It may never fully leave us, and we have to find a way to live side by side with it, including with our parenting.

I knew I’d laugh and be moved during her set, but I didn’t expect at moments to sob.

The moment that hit me the hardest:
she gave an example of her daughter saying something along the lines of “mommy, why does your face look like that?” 😭

Being a momma living with chronic PTSD, I’ve experienced these questions in many different ways:
“mommy, why did you breathe like that?” (After taking a deep sigh)
“Mommy, are you overstimulated? Stressed? Why do you look sad?” (While I’m riding the wave of depression or anxiety)
Although I try desperately to hide these moments, children are intuitive and deeply connected to us.

We try so hard to protect them from the hurt, at the same time preparing them for the realities of the world. It’s complex. It’s challenging. And it’s a beautiful gift.

Thank you Amanda Knox for being vulnerable in sharing this with the world..."

Do you think there might be just a chance that this actually isnt sick, offensive filth that must be banned, and that maybe some victimized women might benefit from being able to speak, and hear others speak, of their experiences in a way that includes some degree of humor?

Yeah cross border law enforcement doesn't work like that. Anyway back to Knox, maybe not the entire point but I have never seen or heard anyway from her that suggests she could be funny. She has been booked for her notoriety. All this stuff about giving a voice to new talent - come on!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7noWcRRqQSNA2QSyfisKp9?si=TNFVkwV6RDC5aZ0aP373HA&utm_source=copy-link&sci=spotify%3Acard-config%3A1lZxQlA9q55lbsW7vIAXLP

This multi-part podcast helped me understand why and how Merideth is innocent.

The tragic murder of Meredith Kercher and her family need to be treated respectfully her murder and the aftermath is not entertainment

I feel sympathy from Amanda Knox in how she was treated but that certain areas of the media are willing to continue supporting her desire to keep in the public eye I find very troublesome

AK has told her story a number of times it is one that does not need to be heard again but the organisers know this will create media attention, regardless of the hurt caused is really disappointing

Genuine question but did the judge / jury actually use the words “innocent” or “not guilty” @YoQuieroVino

As I said, less. Interestingly you've completely ignored the misogyny part again. Weird that.

Sorry just to be clear, are you saying it isn't possible to sign a settlement agreement binding in more than one jurisdiction?

I wonder how many people who are wailing on here, listen to True Crime podcast, watch the Netflix documentaries, or watch the (many) True Crime documentaries on terrestrial TV? All of those are made for profit, prime examples of people profiting from murder - often ones much closer to now than a murder 20 years ago.

The only reason that this particular crime has stayed in the consciousness for so long, is due the miscarriage of justice that surrounds it.

… how can people can sign a petition to ban a show they haven’t seen, and have no intention of seeing? It’s the kind of mob mentality that got her locked up in the first place

From Wiki

Rather than merely declaring that there were errors in the earlier court cases or that there was not enough evidence to convict, the court ruled that Knox and Sollecito were innocent of involvement in the murder

The source is the economist, but you need to sign up to read it

https://www.economist.com/europe/2015/03/28/innocente

She is innocent.

Yeah cross border law enforcement doesn't work like that.
It does if you enter into a settlement agreement - a binding contract - that is specifically drafted to be binding in multiple jurisdictions.

You're confusing criminal law for civil.

What people seem to be missing is that this isn't just one little event that happened to Amanda Knox many years ago - it was completely life-defining, and life-changing. She was also 20 years old when the murder happened, and 24 when she was released from prison, so some of her most formative years as a young adult.
Not only that, the whole thing had made her globally infamous.

I suspect for her, the trauma is far from over, and that she lives it again and again day after day, every day of her life.

People are saying again on this thread how unlikeably she comes across - that's exactly the point. She came across like that to the police, too, and it cost her four years of her life.

This is why I love MN, I opened the thread largely agreeing with the OP but now I've gained a better perspective.

I appreciate you saying that, thank you.

I was curious about the exact wording the court used

Yes. Even now that she has been completely exonerated, that the courts acknowledged that there was no evidence at all that she was involved, that she was beaten while being questioned and forced into making untrue statements and that she spent 4 years of her life in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, there is still an undercurrent of ‘she’s weird and unlikeable so she deserved it’.

I lost my brother because of another's actions so my immediate reaction was from the POV of MK's family. Funnily enough though, I never believed AK was guilty for a second.

As I said, they declared her to be ‘innocent’. They are the words the court used. The judgement is easily available to find online.