Defense Confident In Amanda Knox Verdict As In Absentia Decision Looms

Amanda Knox anxiously awaits the verdict in her case in Italy, the third in a set of trials for her and former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito regarding the 2007 murder of roommate Meredith Kercher.

Knox defense lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said in court Thursday that he is “serene” about the verdict because the only conclusion from the evidence presented is “the innocence of Amanda Knox,” according to Fox News.

Originally convicted of the crime, Knox and Sollecito were exonerated by Italian justice ministers in their first appeal trial in 2011. But Amanda’s innocence was struck down by the Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest court, who granted a prosecutorial appeal. The court, which rules on questions of procedure and not the merits of a case or the presumption of guilt or innocence, granted a new trial, the verdict of which is expected Thursday.

Amanda Knox is understandably nervous in anticipation of the latest decision.

“I’m afraid,” Amanda said in a December email to the court, via the Associated Press. “I didn’t kill. I didn’t rape. I didn’t rob. I didn’t plot. I didn’t instigate.”

“I didn’t kill Meredith.”

According to the AP story, presiding Judge Alessandro Nencini read the email, written in Italian, into the court record, adding that it was not a normal procedure and would not carry the same weight as if Knox had appeared in court to make the declaration personally.

“Who wants to speak at a trial, comes to the trial,” Nencini said, adding that he had to take the word of her lawyers that the email originated with Knox. “I never saw her. I don’t know her.”

Amanda is currently awaiting the court’s ruling at her family home in Seattle. While it was previously reported that she “vowed to become a fugitive,” Knox clarified that she was simply illustrating her understanding that she will be considered a fugitive in the event a guilty verdict is rendered.

“legally I’ll be defined a ‘fugitive,’ but I will continue to fight for my innocence,” Amanda Knox said in a statement. “I will not willingly submit myself to injustice.”

Some experts believe Knox is unlikely to face extradition, should she be found guilty in absentia. While the United States and Italy have a standing extradition agreement, a conviction in the latest verdict would constitute double jeopardy.

“Under U.S. law, she was once put in jeopardy and later acquitted,” attorney Sean Casey, a former prosecutor, told CNN. “Under the treaty, extradition should not be granted.”

What do you think of Amanda Knox’s protracted legal situation?

(Image via Ida Mae Astute/ABC)