Horror in the Courtroom
When we needed to analyze something, like the bruises on her chin, or the semen stain, all the rest of her body was covered.
Her own lawyer Francesco Maresca as well had, of course, the same respect.
Whenever was the case of showing some pictures in court (last friday, for instance) he asked and obtained the hearing to continue behind closed doors. When a TV network aired her wounds (just for the Puglia audience and for a few seconds) he immediately went after them (and a trial is on for that).
Today her lawyer needed to show her body. Just like nothing, he asked the room to be obscured and he showed a bunch of bloody pictures with all details of her butchered body. Immediately the audience was horrified—–someone was crying, someone couldn’t watch..
.
Hellmann and Zanetti didn’t really look at the pictures, and preferred focusing on Maresca’s slow speech.
Jurors as well didn’t really appreciate the images; some were looking elsewhere, two of them appeared sick of it.
How do you think they would comment on the move, after the hearing? “Damn, now I understood that Amanda killed Meredith!”, or “Is this guy being sensationalist?”, or… you guess.
“Disgusting”
In general the showing of the pictures aroused a common protest among the bystanders.
Amanda’s mom had one only word: “Disgusting!”.
David Anderson, a retired London scientist who moved to Perugia to follow the case closely, was literally furious for the exposure of the body oh her compatriot, and defined it “an act of necrophilia”.
Bob Owen, an American follower of the case who came express from Kentucky, spoke of “pornography”.
During the break Michelle Moore, wife of former FBI agent Steve Moore who came to follow the end of the trial, came across Mignini and told him something like he was “evil “and had “no conscience” (for allowing Maresca to show the pictures, she probably meant, or maybe also for something else).
Mignini immediately reported it to the Carabinieri, who stopped and identified Michelle, and he is now apparently considering a charge for something, some crime that he will find in her action. Good idea, we need another trial… (She’s been lucky, actually, that there were the Carabinieri and not the ones out of control… She would now be in the police station for sure….).
DESTINY: ICON OF THE CASE
Is it surprising that people consider Mignini responsible for everything that happens? Others may do a mistake, like in this case, but people only blame him. He is the icon of the case!
He chose to accuse Amanda and Raffaele because some cops told him she had confessed, or that there was bleach smell, or that the pair called the 112 after the police arrived…. He chose to believe, instead of Amanda, a couple of cops; instead of all the wise people who have been reasoning at the case, Toto; instead of logic, a DNA test…
So, the glory is all for him, when there’s glory. And when there’s shame he pays for everybody.
In truth, what are the differences between him and the other prosecutors? Not too many, technically. We have seen Comodi, Maresca, Pacelli, becoming his perfect alter ego; we have seen the Prosecutor General (we thought he was a serious person) getting involved in the noble purpose of the destruction of a girl and a boy up to the point of having the President of the Court of Appeals on the stand, in support of the prosecution; or to ask life in jail with no proof; or to bring in court evidence which was already cleared.
The truth is that prosecuting is a pleasure, condemning the others, judging the others, accusing the others, looking at the speck in other people’s eye, is a pleasure. A pleasure to which the moral person shouldn’t cede. But every one makes his own choice.
MULTIPLY ATTACKERS
Maresca said he needed to show the pictures to show the many wounds, and the impossibility for a single assailant to make them without provoking defense wounds on the victim.
The assailants could even be two, or, in the accusers hopes, three. The problem of the accusers is that they don’t have to prove the number of the assailants, they have to prove their identities.
And the identities “Amanda Knox” and “Raffaele Sollecito”, as we know, are not in that room. The previous judges liked to see them anyway. They pretended to have proof against them.
The actual ones will probably be not that gullible…
We should speak sometimes of the possibility of more than one attacker. Just for us, because the trial contemplates only two possibilities, Rudi alone or the three together.
By the way, Maresca then, before asking the conviction of Amanda and Raffaele apologized with the court and with Meredith’s family, and explained that he forgot asking the press to be sent out. (Yes, he didn’t say “the audience”, he said “the press”, interesting…) .
So, Meredith’s lawyer forgot to preserve her privacy, he also forgot to ask to test the semen stain (the signature of her murderer). There will be a valid reason.
We, by the way, try not to forget.
THE TORQUEMADA OF THE POOR WITH HIS TIRED REPERTOIRE
He-Devil at it Again…
Laughing at she-devilness and similar nonsense
You’ve heard of the return of the great inquisitor, Patrick’s lawyer, who asked the jurors to remove from Amanda’s face the mask of good girl, who defined her she-devil, and stuff like that.
Everything the same as in the previous trial.
He started to recite again the via crucis of all Amanda’s sins: when she said “What the fuck do you think”, when she said “Ask me I know everything”, when she had to cry but she wasn’t crying, when she didn’t have to cry but she was crying, when she turned crazy, when she turned genius…
Filthy junk already sold; it impressed a couple of peasants once, but the game doesn’t even work for those ones anymore, let alone for intelligent people.
Even Hellmann had to tell him to rush, but the Torquemada of the poor wouldn’t listen to that wise suggestion. Someone should explain to him that the modern world wants to see evidence, doesn’t believe in devils, doesn’t care about who cries or who doesn’t cry.
After ten minutes of talking, most of the press went away, better a cappuccino than the tired and tested repertoire of the old actor struggling with his lost magnetism.
They left him alone in his middle ages.
Comments (or no comments) here (or elsewhere), thank you
Maresca was, is and always will be a slease, a friend of Mignini, a liar and a money-hungry A-hole. And that’s just for starters. Thanks again for a good write-up of the stupidity happening in that courtroom. Are the prosecutors done now?
I hope the defense is ready to address every single point that was presented. And point out that none of it was evidence in the first place. Remind them to pause if any juror is not paying attention or falls asleep.
One more time, there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that Amanda or Raffaello were involved in this crime. What evidence that used to exist was a pipe dream of the prosecutor who planted it, paid witnesses, badgered roommates or created convoluted explanations for what he saw in the apartment, etc. etc. etc.
Your write-up is much better than the stupid news items I’ve been hearing and seeing today. BTW has any publication printed any of Maresca’s pictures? Have the Kerchers had anything to say about his behavior? Have they fired him yet?
If the prosecution appeals the ruling of this court will it mean another 2 years of stalling and utterly destroying the lives of two innocent kids who have had to grow up in an Italian jails?
Why is it that any time Amanda looks at anyone in the courtroom she is charaterized as flirting? when she smiles it’s because she’s guilty, she’s losing hair because she killed Meredith and she looks like she hasn’t slept because her conscience is keeping her up? I’m Italian but I won’t be visiting there any time soon. My dad wanted me to go but I wouldn’t go until Amanda was released. Dad has since died and Amanda’s still in jail.
Thanks again Frank…great commentary! You are such a terrific writer…come to the US and write for us…we won’t arrest you for telling the truth…or anything else. I’m just surprised that Maresca didn’t ask to have Amanda burned at the stake in the the main town square! The Inquisition rides again.
Hey Frank,
a question about Hellmann, after all this theater of the last days
…is he standing still or is he tottering?
What’s your opinion, please?
by the way, a small but respectful applause for your work in the last days.
Thanks, you’re a cool Dude
I’m a little fuzzy on Patrick’s lawyer’s strategy of “Shock and Awe” character assassination. Is the money requested in his complaint out of proportion with what you would expect he would be awarded solely on Amanda’s statement to police?
It seems like he has a straightforward argument and doesn’t need to do this. Does he need to make her look as bad as possible to try to get a much higher (and maybe unreasonable) award?
To an outsider, it seems like a risky strategy (especially if the jurors are already leaning towards not-guilty). Any chance this could backfire on him?
I think that they know that the next thing that will happen, or should happen, is that the police should be charged with what happened to Patrick, rather than Amanda. They are the ones that targeted her sms to Patrick and they are the ones who made her think that he had done something. If Amanda and Raffaele are acquitted then charges should be made against the police for coercion and false imprisonment. Plus, Patrick stinks to high heaven because he knows how brutal the police were and how much they harassed him when they picked him up. He should have been filing charges against the police, not Amanda. They are the ones that went and picked him up with no evidence. They had already decided that Amanda was guilty and that he was guilty by association. They made her crack, and they wanted Lumumba.
“the police should be charged with what happened to Patrick, rather than Amanda.”
Agreed, but I’m still unclear how it will unfold and who will drive it…assuming (and expecting) a not guilty verdict.
Patrick had a choice: Take the easy way and pile on Amanda or take the hard way and fight the police for what they did to him (and Amanda). He chose the easy way. I don’t think many people respect that choice and his lawyer hasn’t help the situation.
As far my comments above, is the feeling that Patrick’s lawyer (Carlo Pacelli) feels he could (or will) lose and is making a desperate plea… or is it that he is almost guaranteed a minimum award and it just attempting to up the award? Another reason? Based on his performance, maybe he feels he could lose.
Amanda will have justice. I can’t believe what a circus that trial has become. Before this case, I thought Italy was a modern society. I’m disgusted.
Ditto
As a Forensic Nurse, I have followed this case closely. Long before Ms. Knox was convicted, I had many questions about the “evidence”. So many things made no sense and were all but impossible to have occurred in the way the prosecutors suggested. When I saw the first evidence of “Knox’s foot prints in luminol” (not blood), I all but laughed out loud. For those of you who are unaware of this, luminol is reactive to bleach, so much so, we use it to train with since we can’t trot over to the blood bank and ask for another pint! I would expect to find her (and anyone else who took a shower there for instance) footprints in luminol. The key was blood and there was none on “her” footprints.
As I watched the initial trial unfold and the “evidence” presented, I was frankly astonished that the judge didn’t just stand up and laugh them out of court. I was equally shocked when a jury convicted them.
How a jury could come to the conclusion that Knox and Sollicito had killed Ms. Kercher in a violent confrontation, then cleaned so well that ONLY Guede’s DNA, footprints and fingerprint was left behind, that not ONE skin cell, hair, fingerprint or other biological evidence of theirs is left behind was frankly stupefying. That they cleaned up so well that not one drop of her blood, hair, fiber, ect was found on them or their clothing.
Apparently the evidence meant little to the jury and only a conviction of the “wicked American” would do.
I can only hope that the judge and jury in this appeal see the truth that is so apparent you do not need any forensic training to realize.
My opinion of Italy based on this trial and the Scazzi case is that the average Italian is not all that smart. Or at least it seems that way judging by the reaction and direction of these two cases. It seems to me Italians live in world that closely follows tabloid news and they use that as their bible. Where are the serious thinkers? Professor Noveli goes on the stand and embarrasses himself by describing as perfect that which should be called shoddy. Why does a so called scientist stake his reputation on such sloppy unprofessional work? It seems he is more about emotion than science.
I’m disappointed Frank that you failed to mention Amanda being called a witch yesterday. I have seen several translations and it appears clear that Lumumbas lawyer called her a witch. And so in Italy you are having the first witch trial in 600 hundred years. What a proud country.
Michelle Moore is right and brave to approach Mignini and call him what he is… EVIL! You wish to excuse him here in this article but that attempt is in vain. Mignini is the head of the snake here. He directs the police in this case. And to kill the snake you must chop off the head. Michelle is brave and honest and correct. Mignini is a coward and a liar. If he represents the court of Italy then Italy should be ashamed. Peasants indeed.
Its clear that the Mafioso style has invaded every aspect of Italian society…even the police and courts. I would never visit Italy even though I know there are good people there… I see it in the warm smile of Marori and in your words Frank…but your peasants seem gullible and ready to excite their life by causing pain to clearly innocent persons. So I will never step in the homeland of my grandfather. And that is fine by me.
The people in charge directed the whole case and the media fed off their medieval theories and declarations like sharks on fish. There is no one to blame here except for all the people in charge and the journalists who forgot that they are supposed to stand for the truth. The sensationalist headlines all from the beginning came from the cops and MIgnini and the prosecutors. They were their words and they have continued to use them from the beginning to the end. They declared it was a witch trial and they were right! Because they made it one due to their sick medieval minds in which irrational fears of witches and magic replace facts and evidence. The blame rests with Comodi, Mignini, Maresca, Stefanoni, Costagliola, Pacelli and Massei.
Don’t forget the cop in charge of the investigation. What was his name again?
I got it now! His name is Giobbi, and he claims to be a reader of minds:
http://www.injusticeinperugia.org/photofile.html
He should be on trial too! Notice the shifty eyes in his photo… couldn’t be a better representation anywhere!
Wow the prosocution is really desperate i know what they are doing they are trying to shock the
jury into convicting them but hopefully when the smoke screen clears they will not be buying into this delusion.
Thanks Frank for all the great updates. I am assuming everything or anything goes in court. It sounds like Maresca’s tone was not like previous court room appearances then he hits the court with his photographs to get his point across. On so many levels it was a bad move on his part and the family should be outraged. To me it just proved that with so much blood and violence there had to be some proof of Amanda and Raffaelle in that room, there is none.
I feel so bad for the Kerchers! They are trying so hard to get everyone to see beyond this circus act and remember what happened to their beautiful little girl, that their lawyer has now resorted to this. It’s so sad! They too are victims in this. Blinded by grief, they have faith in the police and prosecutors and believed what they were told. I can’t imagine the torture this family is going through right now. The irresponsible and unlawful actions of the police and prosecutors are preventing the Kerchers from being able to properly grieve for their daughter. This is absolutely criminal from every angle you look at it.
I hope charges are brought against Michelle Moore and the press has a field day with it. The more this “abuse of office” is brought to light, the better!
Personally, I blame Mignini for two reasons: 1. He is in charge of all these people and 2. He has a history abusing his office. I may be wrong, but as I understand it, Mignini as the prosecutor is also lead detective in this case. He is in charge of what all these police officers are doing. If what was said in “The Monster of Florence” is true, we know that in another case he directed police to search a suspect’s house until they could find some piece of evidence to convict him. He “knew” the man was guilty and told the police not to stop until they had something. That sounds awfully familiar to the Nov. 16th search that produced the bra clasp. The man has history using drug addicts and homeless people as witnesses. The man has history leaking false information to the press. The man has history linking crimes to satanic cults and rituals. The man has history pressing charges and even jailing reporters that disagree with him. The man has history force fitting ridiculous theories on suspects. The man has history with crazy interrogations.
For all these reasons, I blame Mignini.
I’m sure there’s a special room in hell for him too
Frank,
That last sentence (They left him alone in his middle ages) is pure poetry! Brilliant, beautiful, says it all.
And while we are at it, why not put all the interrogating officers on trial as well?
I’ve not read anything about the Kerchers being upset about Maresca’s display.
I can only assume that he had their permission.
How do you suppose that conversation went?
Did he convince them that the pictures were somehow necessary proof of AKRS guilt?
Did he tell them he was going to let the press stay?
Did they know how long the pictures would be displayed?
just wondering