The Murder of Meredith Kercher (16 page)

When word had reached Secretary of State Clinton about Cantwell’s concerns relating to the verdict, Clinton was more than happy to get involved and offer her two-cents’ worth by agreeing to meet with the senator from Washington.

‘Of course I’ll meet with Senator Cantwell or anyone who has a concern,’ Clinton had said. ‘But I can’t offer any opinion about that at this time.’

There was even the suggestion at one point that such a
travesty of justice
would not have occurred had Amanda Knox been tried in the U.S. or Britain. The Italians, including Amanda’s defence lawyers as well as Prosecutor Mignini, were not at all happy that the government of the U.S. was making such suggestions about the Italian judicial system.

‘That’s all we need, Hillary Clinton involved,’ Luciano Ghirga said. ‘I have the same political sympathies as Hillary but this sort of thing does not help us in any way.’

‘This senator [Cantwell] should not interfere in something she has no idea about,’ Mignini had said. ‘I am happy with how the trial went.’

Newspapers printed angry words about the perceived interference or intention to interfere with the Italian justice system by another country, and at least one front-page editorial said that Italy would not ‘take lessons from
America
.’ Another editorial stated, ‘Here we have rule number one for an American accused of a crime abroad – it doesn’t matter if they are innocent or guilty. All that counts is their passport.’ Another said, ‘This same [U.S.] administration can’t close Guantanamo, but it can find the time to attack the sentence in Perugia.’ Yet another read, ‘If there is any ground upon which our country will not be taught lessons on civility and respect from anyone, the United States included, then it is the penal process.’

Meredith’s family was not buying the
anti-Americanism
charges, and said that they believed the defendants had received a fair trial.

‘It’s ludicrous,’ John Kercher said of the
anti-Americanism
claims. ‘I believe the verdict was based entirely on the evidence.’

Despite the support from home, Amanda believes she received a fair trial.

‘I have faith in the Italian justice system,’ she said after her sentencing. ‘I have heard about the reaction in America, and from a human point of view it’s appreciated. But it doesn’t help me…I’m just waiting for my appeal and I know I will get out sooner or later. I am thinking of Meredith all the time, but I had nothing to do with her murder. I will now have to spend another Christmas in jail away from my family, but hopefully it will be the last one and I will be freed at my appeal. I was able to defend myself in my trial, and my rights were respected.’

The Italian justice system is certainly not a law unto itself, as some articles in the press may have implied. Nobody is ‘untouchable’ and, in fact, Mignini, the chief prosecutor in the Kercher case, is himself the subject of an inquiry regarding his role as prosecutor in the ‘Monster of Florence’ court case. Like the murder of Meredith Kercher, this was a very high profile case. So much so that the author of
The Silence of the Lambs
, Thomas Harris, attended and subsequently set much of his book
Hannibal
in Florence. The decision in Mignini’s case is due in January 2010.

In the meantime, many people on both sides of the Atlantic are wondering what will become of Amanda Knox. Her father, Curt Knox, recently tried to shed some light on the question.

‘She is not going to be left in a foreign prison 6,000 miles away for something she didn’t do,’ he said. ‘It is
so crystal clear to me that there is such a huge mistake…and it has to be fixed…soon.’

‘None of us will be the same,’ chimed in Edda Mellas, ‘and Amanda most of all. It’s been hard.’

She also offered some words for the Kercher family.

‘They lost their child,’ Mellas continued. ‘There’s nothing that compares to that. I can’t imagine the pain they are going through for the loss of their child. But we would also tell them that we know absolutely that Amanda had nothing to do with this. Meredith was her friend. And there’s a couple of new victims in this whole mess, and that’s Amanda and Raffaele.’

Mellas also said that she believes Amanda would be free today if she had left Italy to stay with relatives right after the murder. It would have been incumbent upon prosecutors in Italy to show that there was enough evidence against her to justify extraditing her back to Italy.

‘I kick myself everyday that I didn’t make her leave the country, and so does my cousin in Germany,’ she added. ‘Because, had she left, none of this would’ve happened. She wouldn’t be where she’s at. But, you know, we can’t go back and fix that – we just need to go forward…they’ll get it right in appeals, she will get out of there. They will not…put away this innocent young girl for a crime she didn’t commit. Her lawyers have told her to have courage.’

In the meantime, the Kerchers know that nothing will bring Meredith back to them. Arline Kercher said
that she has kept Meredith’s room precisely the way it was when she was still alive.

‘It’s still Mez’s room,’ Arline Kercher said. ‘It has barely been touched, but it is a constant reminder of her. When I am walking past with a pile of washing in my hand I get a feeling of sadness. It is almost as if she has gone out for a while and she will be back – but she won’t.’

She also said that family members have ruled out moving away from the family home.

‘That’s my way of handling it,’ she said. ‘If we moved she wouldn’t know where I am. It’s silly, really. We will carry Meredith around with us all the time…we are the ones who have been given a life sentence. We have been living a nightmare for two years. People say that time heals, but it doesn’t.’