I want to say something about Raffaele Sollecito, the young man who

[pnwmom]

with Amanda Knox, was today found innocent of the charges of the murder of Meredith Kercher.

I'm convinced that Raffaele could have gotten off with reduced charges and a very light sentence if he had broken down and agreed to provide testimony against Amanda, the "witch" -- testimony which would have been false, of course, but would have justified her being imprisoned for life. Rudy Guede, the real killer, was able to get his sentence cut dramatically by changing his story to implicate the students. I'm certain that Raffaele could have gotten even a better deal -- since the prosecutor was desperate not to get his convictions overturned.

But Raffaele, a computer student trapped in a men's prison for these long four years, showed his strength and his character. I salute him and wish him all the best in the life that has been returned to him.

[aquart]

1. Good point.

[KT2000]

2. I think you're right

He even mentioned Amanda Knox and plead her innocence in his statement to the court - Amanda mentioned him too.

[MADem]

3. Giusto!!!

(translation--right, just).

[Suich]

4. You could be right...I hadn't thought of that.

Even though the prosecutor (and I use that term loosely!) accused both Raffaele and Amanda of the crimes, all the focus was on Knox. Maybe it was just the slant the US media gave it...might have been different in Europe.

I'm so glad this is over. A lot of people seem to forget that someone has already been convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher and is serving time.

[pnwmom]

8. Isn't it funny how so many news reports almost act like it's still a mystery

who killed Meredith Kercher? When the killer is sitting in prison . . . on a reduced sentence. That was a travesty -- him getting his sentence sharply reduced for providing false testimony against Amanda and Raffaele.

[DCKit]

11. +++++++++++

Seriously, WTF????

[truedelphi]

5. And from the little I have heard about him - spending time in an

Italian men's prison is much tougher than the women's prison.

I am so glad both of them are free.

[SoDesuKa]

6. And Congratulations to You Too, Pnwmom

You've been steadfast in your support of Amanda Knox, gamely putting up with gibes and criticism on this board. I am happy for you today as well as for Amanda and Raffaele. It is a great day for justice.

[pnwmom]

7. Thank you, SoDesuKa. Of course, the little I've put up with

is a tiny tiny tiny thing compared to what the families and the two students have lived through. I'm so glad this is over for them!

[renate]

9. I think he's paid for Amanda's pointing at Patrick Lumumba

I had doubts for years (no more) about her guilt simply because it was SO WRONG of her to try to blame somebody else who was as innocent as she was.

If that had anything to do with her original conviction, Raffaele paid the price for her decision.

Edited to add that I hadn't really thought of what it cost him to do the right thing, when Amanda was really the "star" of this farce and it would have been easy, and beneficial to him, to turn on her. I certainly do wish him the best. He has suffered so unfairly.

[pnwmom]

10. She didn't exactly "try" to blame Patrick.

The police were tag teaming her in an overnight interrogation, with no attorney or translator present -- and no transcriptions or videotapes made (though the law requires them to do so -- so the Supreme Court threw those statements out). The police had Amanda's cell phone with her text to Patrick, where she says "see you later"; and they were convinced that meant she was plotting to meet with Patrick that night for the murder. So Amanda finally broke down and envisioned the scenario they insisted was true. She said she "confusedly remembered" being in the kitchen with her ears covered while Patrick was in the bedroom with Meredith. A few hours later, she wrote another statement saying that memory didn't feel real, and her first memory, of being with Raffaele, felt more real.

Having said all that, yes, I think Raffaele was the right boyfriend at the wrong time -- poor kid. As he said in his statement yesterday, he was just a few days from defending his PhD thesis; he had met a beautiful, shiny, sweet girl; and he was looking forward to finishing his PhD work and celebrating with a weekend in the country. And then both their worlds fell apart. And he withstood everything, even the pressures of being in a men's prison, and never betrayed her.

[Liquorice]

12. Also, a lawyer on CNN today said that the crazed prosecutor routinely asks

suspects to imagine different scenarios that could happened regarding a crime. He leads them to talk about imagining these different scenarios and different people having committed the crime, and then uses these imaginations as confessions. The lawyer on CNN said that the prosecutor did this with Amanda, and that was why she said those things. I don't doubt it at all.

I'm just SO GLAD Amanda and Raffaele are free. This case has bothered me deeply for years because they were both so clearly innocent.

I am also happy Raffaele maintained his and Amanda's innocence under what must have been extreme pressure to turn on her. But he probably would have had to admit to some part in the crime, and that would be incredibly difficult for an innocent person, even if they were going to let him out of jail for "admitting" it. I'm just relieved it's finally over and they can both go on with their lives.

I do think Rudy Guede should have gotten a much longer sentence. 15 years is not nearly enough for the horror he inflicted on Meredith.

[pnwmom]

13. And he will probably be out much sooner. I understand

that he could get time off for good behavior.

[SoDesuKa]

14. Good Behavior

He lied his ass off.

[Merlot]

15. They actually created a 3D movie showing the prosecutors version

of the crime which they showed the jury.

That prosecutor - migneli - is one sick guy.

[Ikonoklast]

16. That happens in this country, too. All the time.

"Hypothetically, if *you* were going to stab (someone) to death, how would you have done it?"

And then, in court, the nice police detective who did the investigation tells the court how the accused confessed to the crime....he just leaves out certain parts of the questioning process he doesn't want anyone else to know about.