Althouse: "So, why has [Amanda] Knox been jailed for two years?"

December 3, 2009

"So, why has [Amanda] Knox been jailed for two years?"

"As near as I can tell, she is on trial for inappropriate behavior. A widely shown video showed her kissing her boyfriend and cuddling just days after the murder. An athlete, she did cartwheels — cartwheels! — while in the midst of a long interrogation. This was evidence of her “contempt” of authorities, prosecutors said. And she wore t-shirts with Beatles lyrics to court...."

30 comments:

Anonymous said...: When in Rome... the saying goes.

I'm afraid they'll convict, on principle.; 12/3/09, 7:10 AM
MadisonMan said...: Why? Because they can.; 12/3/09, 7:31 AM
joewxman said...: whe offered pasta, if she would have asked for RAGU i would keep her in jail for life.; 12/3/09, 8:28 AM
Fred4Pres said...: It is a nightmare to be railroaded for a crime.; 12/3/09, 8:36 AM
paul a'barge said...: Wow. She's innocent.

The next time someone wants to tell me that everywhere else is just as good as the USA, I'm going to make them read that article.; 12/3/09, 9:15 AM
sonicfrog said...: Hmmm. When I was 25, I got thrown in the drunk tank in San Diego. To prove I wasn't drunk, I was doing hand stands and walking on my hands. They threatened to put me in the real jail if I didn't stop. Glad I wasn't in Italy.; 12/3/09, 10:24 AM
Penny said...: "Wow. She's innocent."

Who knows? The problem is that the Italian police screwed up the investigation so badly, that no one can really say yay or nay with any degree of certainty.

It would be safe to say that she would be found "not guilty" in an American court because of this. That would still not speak to her actual innocence or guilt.; 12/3/09, 11:13 AM
vbspurs said...: I have an Italian email buddy who has tried to explain the case to me. Basically, I think it boils down to her being American, and since Americans are violent, she's guilty.

Seriously.; 12/3/09, 11:25 AM
Gabriel Hanna said...: A New York Times editorial does not fairly lay out both sides of the case for you. That's not what editorials do. Courtrooms do that.

If it makes you angry when Europeans call Mumia a "political prisoner" and name streets after him, maybe you ought to cut an Italian court some slack. They have far more facts available to them than you have.; 12/3/09, 11:39 AM
Irene said...: vbspurs said, "I think it boils down to her being American."

Exactly. I lived in Italy for a while. I was in my mid-twenties. The first thing my landlady told me: if I wanted to stay out of trouble, then I should avoid doing anything that would identify me as an American.

This, of course, meant that I also needed a new wardrobe. :)

wv: "scema." Close to Italian for "idiot."; 12/3/09, 11:44 AM
vbspurs said...: then I should avoid doing anything that would identify me as an American.

Basically, Irene, that means do not put on Tommy Hilfiger-type clothes with the American flag, or such. The Italians I know (didn't live there, but have been there innumerable times) love Americans, just not the geopolitical policies or attitudes they cop. The anti-Americanism is worse in the North, which is more leftist, of course. Bologna is not a good place for American backpackers, I've been told.

As an example of what you experienced, Irene, when I was in Italy once, they mentioned the "scandalo" when an American marine pilot cut a skilift gondola cable in two with his plane, killing loads of people (like 20). This, of course, feeds into their idea that Americans are arrogant, reckless, and uncaring about the world. It was a big deal during the time I was visiting, but the next time I was there, people didn't harp on the topic.

(To show you how bogus the claims lefties have that the world started hating us after we invaded Iraq, it took place in the mid-90s); 12/3/09, 12:02 PM
Irene said...: Yes, Victoria, I was in the north. There was a lot of cultural love, but Reagan was not a popular figure.; 12/3/09, 12:09 PM
Peter Hoh said...: If someone wants to read some background on the case from a reporter who admits to becoming obsessed with the story, go here.; 12/3/09, 12:31 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: That cable-car thing was REALLY bad. They were hot-dogging and screwed up BIG, then destroyed tapes that showed it.; 12/3/09, 1:19 PM
Lyle said...: Fucking stupid Europeans.; 12/3/09, 1:36 PM
Alex said...: I thought Europeans had superior justice to us Cowboy Americans.; 12/3/09, 1:52 PM
Big Mike said...: Different country, different laws, different legal systems, different culture.

When you go somewhere else, even just across the border into Canada, things change.; 12/3/09, 3:02 PM
Tarzan said...: No matter how well you think you know the language, if you're accused of a crime in a foreign country speak English only and demand a lawyer.; 12/3/09, 3:10 PM
JohnAnnArbor said...: Different country, different laws, different legal systems, different culture.

When you go somewhere else, even just across the border into Canada, things change.

Yep. Knox may or may not have committed a crime (sounds like not), but she was not a careful person at all. Being a drug-using skank shouldn't necessarily be criminal, but it sure isn't smart, and triple so overseas.; 12/3/09, 3:14 PM
Penny said...: Peter, I liked the story that you linked, mostly because I liked the writing style, but it shed very little light on an extremely convoluted murder investigation and trial.

There's no doubt in my mind that someone, or even many, writers out there have a book written, just waiting to write the final chapter before publishing.

For those who like murder mysteries, you won't want to pass this one up. Unfortunately, this isn't fiction, just stranger than. There is a real person who was brutally murdered, and we aren't likely to know all those responsible for her senseless death.; 12/3/09, 3:55 PM
Methadras said...: Big Mike said...

Different country, different laws, different legal systems, different culture.

When you go somewhere else, even just across the border into Canada, things change.

You should get to experience the horror show that is Mexico.; 12/3/09, 4:19 PM
Big Mike said...: @Methadras, I've been to El Paso, and that's close enough.; 12/3/09, 4:29 PM
vbspurs said...: Peter, thanks for the link! I was going to search later today, for more info on the case. My interest is piqued.

The verdict could come down any moment. It reminds me of the case of the "shaken baby nanny" Louise Woodward.; 12/3/09, 9:17 PM
Beth said...: peter, that Mudade guy is a godawful writer. My whole screen turned purple under the onslaught of that prose. He likes lists. "And then I met a Libyan. My first! And an Angolan!" My favorite part was his visit to the laundromat: "The Tunisian woman, who had the manner of a mother—but a mother who had not entirely abandoned the instincts of her youth—helps me start the confusing machine." What the hell does that even mean?

I had to give up after the how many ways the people in the house might have been fucking paragraph. It was like an SAT question: let's see, four people, one of them stabbed maybe before, maybe after, maybe during. Okay. Now, who's fucking whom, and where? From the front? Back? Back and front? Only they know and they're not saying.; 12/3/09, 10:32 PM
Anthony said...: The British press has been showing a different story. There is physical evidence to connect the two to the crime. They also have noted that Ms. Knox has changed here story several times.; 12/4/09, 2:34 AM
Unknown said...: So the tabloid press brainwashed the Italians into believing she's a murderer.

It's similar to the right-wing institutions (blogs, Althouse, right-wing newspapers, oil companies), brainwashing their followers into thinking that global warming is a fraud.; 12/4/09, 4:04 AM
AllenS said...: I believe that Larry killed Meredith Kercher, while wearing an Obama mask and an Algore fat suit.; 12/4/09, 6:01 AM
lee63 said...: Guilty as charged. As everyone in Europe knew months ago.; 12/4/09, 5:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Despite the objections raised by her family about the Italian justice system, etc., it is strange that this Knox trial has attracted so much international attention; 12/6/09, 6:01 PM
Wong Junti said...: Thanks for this information. See you again. amanda knox; 12/9/09, 1:13 PM