Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito lose Meredith Kercher murder appeal [View all]

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito have lost their appeal against convictions for the murder of the British student Meredith Kercher, a dramatic development in the long-running legal saga which paves the way for a possible extradition tussle between Italy and the United States.

Delivering its ruling at the end of the defendants' four-month-long second appeal, the Florence court of appeal upheld the guilty verdicts for both the 26-year-old American student and her Italian ex-boyfriend, who have protested their innocence for years.

The court sentenced Knox to 28 years and six months in jail, while Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years. Sollecito was deemed to be a flight risk and is to have his passport confiscated.

Though it is bound to come as a huge psychological blow for Seattle-based Knox, the verdict is not likely to have any immediate logistical impact on her as it will only become definitive if confirmed by Italy's top appeals court, and only then would Rome be in a position to request her extradition.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/30/amanda-knox-raffaele-sollecito-lose-meredith-kercher-murder-appeal

---

Uh oh. Italy could use the extradition of Knox as a bargaining chip for trade agreements or other foreign relations. I hope Eric Holder and whoever succeeds him at DOJ stand up for Knox.

And I wonder if I'll ever set foot in Italy in my lifetime because of this.