In the aftermath of the acquittals, prosecutors and Kercher family lawyers appealed to Italy’s high court. In Italy, interested parties, such as Kercher’s family, can file an appeal. On March 26, the court ruled, overturning the Italian appellate court’s acquittals of Knox and Sollecito, even though the case against them was based mostly on circumstantial evidence.Â
In a statement to the media, Knox said, “No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity.â€
But Knox, who is a student at the University of Washington, may not have to return for a retrial in an Italian court and would instead be tried in abstentia if U.S. officials reject a request that Knox return.
But that’s a big “if.â€
Were the U.S. to opine about the case, it would be because the Italian ruling violates the U.S. legal principle that a criminal defendant cannot be tried twice for the same crime, according to Joey Jackson, a contributor for HLN’s “In Session.†In America, when defendants are acquitted, they cannot be tried for the crime again. It’s considered double jeopardy. Italy’s law, on the other hand, allows authorities to retry a criminal defendant who has been acquitted of a charge.
“We have principles that are well-founded within our Constitution, one of which is double jeopardy,†Jackson said on HLN. “So, as a result of that, I think it would be highly objectionable for the United States to surrender someone to another country for which justice has already been administered and meted out. So I don’t think or anticipate that that would happen.â€
It could land U.S. courts in uncharted territory if Knox is convicted and extradited for punishment in Italy and U.S. courts are forced to render a decision, according to legal experts. University of Nevada Las Vegas law professor Christopher Blakesley agreed with Jackson, telling Reuters that retrying Knox after she’s been acquitted would violate her U.S. Constitutional rights. “If Knox is found guilty, there’s still a whole lot of room for battle before she would ever be extradited,†said Blakesley, who specializes in international criminal law.
Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz has commented on the case as well, saying that any decision on the part of U.S. authorities depends on whether the case was reversed and still open for further appeal. “It’s very complicated, and there’s no clear answer,†Dershowitz told Reuters. It’s in the range of unpredictable.â€
Knox’s account of the Italian saga is scheduled for released this spring in the book Waiting to be Heard based in part on the journals she kept in Italy.
Meanwhile, time and space may be on Amanda Knox’s side as she continues in college as a junior majoring in creative writing, getting on with her life, while the case winds its way through the Italian system.
