Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Italian Appeals Court Orders Retrial For Amanda Knox

The world was kind of shocked when an Italian Appeals Court ordered that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito be retried for murdering Meredith Kercher. Most people were not expecting that result and this just really screws everything up. She was convicted and then after four years in prison has that overturned and she is freed and comes back home to the US. Now Italy is going to want her back when the trial starts next year. The US is not going to give her back which means she will probably be tried in absentia and won't be able to ever leave the US. Amanda says she was disappointed by the ruling. Could probably guess that.


79 comments:

  1. I take it Italy doesn't have double jeopardy, unlike the US? Why does that not surprise me? Great country in many ways but a political system still stuck in the 15th century.

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  2. Her attorney stated the following as clarification as to what it means:

    “From what I understand, [Court of Cassation judges] have sent [the case] back for revision and reconsideration. They will review it. They may simply affirm that there was a ‘not guilty’ before and it should remain the same. They may seek to take some further evidence, but nothing has really changed.”

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  3. There's no way I would go back for another trial. I still don't think this girl killed the other girl.

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  4. Nope, no double jeopardy there.

    That's an interesting clarification, @Agent**It. Thanks. Still suspect the Italian courts are as shady as f*ck (given things I've read & my Italian friend has told me).

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  5. Interesting. I'm with Sherry on this.

    Canada will not extradite people when there's a death penalty charge on the table, because the death penalty was outlawed decades ago.

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  6. They should put the investigators on trial for their colossal screw up.

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  7. Locked up they wont let her out!

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  8. I wonder what they will decide. I only somewhat followed this case, but they did convict somebody of the sexual assault & murder. I thought it was proven he did not know Knox or her boyfriend. Do they think these two came home to find him doing this & then they decided to join in? It seems like there were so many issues with evidence. It seems to me like they are trying to save face by overturning her release.

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  9. I really didn't keep up with all the details of this, but I thought there was evidence of DNA bodily fluids on Meredith that matched the guy behind bars. While I'm not sure of Amanda's total innocence that would very well stem from the publicized statements of the prosecution, the Satanization and the utter witch hunt. I plan on reading Monster in Florence - I believe it is directly related to the prosecutor.

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  10. It's probably internal politics. I would be happy to cover the events for CDaN if Enty will send me. I'll wear my I (heart) Enty shirt:)

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  11. I'm not surprised the courts ordered a retrial. I'm pretty sure they caved to the country's pressure of the injustice they think this case was. I personally don't think she did it and the sole killer is behind bars. I agree with @msgirl that the prosecutor is on a witch hunt.

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  12. I think she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she really is innocent I feel bad this keeps haunting her.

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  13. Here's an article from our paper. She plans on fighting: http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2020635564_apeuitalyknox.html

    (sorry for non-clicky, long link!)

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  14. And didn't it come out during the trial that the prosecutor was either under investigation for some wrongdoings or had actually been charged in the past?

    They're trying to draw blood from a stone.

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  15. They can virtually hold hands with Polanski :D He can't travel to any place that would extradiute him to the US, she wont be able to travelk to any place that would extradite her to Italy. :P
    I, for one, am glad she's never coming back to Europe. Feeling safer already :P

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  16. Mag - you are in EUrope, yes? I find it fascinating that the feelings there are different than the US and I'm sure it has to do with how the media portrayed it. Not at all commenting on your belief, there's plenty here that believe she had something to do with it.

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  17. @msgirl - I think the overriding sentiment here in Europe is sadly that Meredith has been somewhat forgotten in all this.

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  18. I do think she is innocent and that the killer IS behind bars. Rudy Guede. I think Amanda was portrayed very poorly in the Italian press.

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  19. I agree Ic. I think she's an odd ball and friends and family have said that she wasn't always good at recognizing social cues. As far as her stretching in the polic station she practiced yoga daily and it was completely common for her to do this type of thing. I think Italians took the wrong way. i think she was trying calm herself (again she was not good at recognizing social ques, hence her inability to recognize that some may view this as innapropriate). they harassed her and even told her she was falsely HIV+ in order for her to write down every person she slept with. I think you had an incredibly botched crime scene in conjuction with a very corrupt legal system who pounced on a strange, pretty American girl who barely understood or spoke Italian. An absolute recipe for disaster. Rudy did it. Her raped and murdered Meredith (his DNA was found on and inside of Meredith as well as at the crime scene) but for some reason everyone focused on Amanda. Her story changed due to a lack of mastery of language, the lack of a lawyer being present and pressure and harrasemeny from law enforcement. I can't understand how people think she killed Meredith. Blows the mind.

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    1. Anonymous5:42 PM

      Merediths family clearly think she has some answering to do. Her Italian is perfect and she understood it pretty well during the trial. I doubt very much that's why her story changed. Oddball? It's more than odd to go buying sexy underwear immediately after your flat mates been brutally murdered. That's more than not understanding social norms....that's not having normal human emotions

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  20. I don't think she's guilty either. But it wouldn't surprise me if the Italian courts give a guilty verdict.

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  21. I do think she's guilty. Her and her former bf.

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  22. I do think she's guilty. Her and her former bf.

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  23. What about Rafael? Isn't he Italian? Where does he live now? I hope not in Italy. Will they retry him?

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  24. Have you guys read her the analysis of both her statement and an email she sent to friends and family? I always thought she was innocent until I read these. Now I'm convinced both her and her ex-boyfriend did it. You can read the statement analysis here: http://statement-analysis.blogspot.ca/2012/11/amanda-knox-statement-analysis-repost.html and the email analysis here: http://statement-analysis.blogspot.ca/2012/11/amanda-knox-email-analyzed.html

    If offers a lot of insight as to what may have happened and her thought process through all of it.

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    1. I'll check it out em!

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    2. Eh. Read it. Not convinced she did it. At all.

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    3. I read it too. They point out how she says "roommate" rather than her name, but then in the next few, paragraphs, she only uses her name. She was recounting what happened that night, so of course she brought up showering, yet they question why she mentions it. Honestly, the whole thing read like complete BS.

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  25. That blog also followed the Casey Anthony case and is currently doing analysis of Jodi Arias. All 3 women seem to be sociopaths who mastered the art of lying with confidence.

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  26. Even tho I think she is guilty, I think this total BS. If I were her I would not go back to Italy voluntarily. I guess she needs to go to Canada. I certainly would..

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  27. Guilty or not, the fact that she is profiting from Merediths murder with her upcoming book is tacky as hell.

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  28. I wouldn't take that statement analysis thing as confirmation of her guilt. It's basically condemning her to being guilty based on linguistics and grammar.

    Wasn't her statement given under duress and wasn't she witheld proper representation? Plus taking into account the language barriers + lack of sleep, and shock at what happened, is not possible that she would be confused about what happened and when?

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  29. I think Amanda has a questionable character and I probably wouldn't like her if I met her, but that does not make her guilty of murder. Unfortunately, for Meredith's family, they will probably never know what truly transpired.

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  30. Did any of y guys watch the movie about this case starring Hayden p? I thought it was pretty good. Supposed to be fairly accurate... And it wasn't yoga she was doing, it was cartwheels.

    Idk, I thi she was there but was totally drugged ut of her mind. I think they all were.

    I think telling her she was HIV positive was a cheap shot, but it is a well known detective tactic.

    Personally I think she did it( while extremely intoxicated) or was in the very least, she was there. Their whole behavior when the cops showed up was not a person of innocene.

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    1. Anonymous5:45 PM

      Exactly this. Agreed

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  31. They're butthurt that they lost, and are still out for blood. It's their own fault, they royally fucked up the investigation. I believe the murderer is currently behind bars, where he should be.

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  32. You can't base your opinion on a Lifetime movie. She smoked a bunch of weed, that doesn't typically turn people to violence.

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  33. I'll give you that it sounds far fetched, but after reading a bunch and realising this (statement analysis) is real and used by law enforcement and the likes, it convinced me. It's ok if you don't agree though, I'm not saying I'm right, but it did change my mind about her (though I didn't only read those, I read all her statement analysis, including when she was in court and saw many themes being repeated through out, not just the washing part lol) Also during the email to family and friends, she was not under duress. But I also want to read the book that was mentionned earlier about the prosecutor being involved somehow which is an interesting theory.

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  34. @misslaura - I don't think she's profiting off Meredith's death; I think it's more a case of telling, and getting her side of the story out.

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    1. Anonymous5:48 PM

      But she's making money from the event which is her murder.
      Give a free interview.
      Whatever she's been through, if you believe her story, which I don't she still has her life

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  35. Oh, no problem with differing opinions, I'm sure we will never learn who is actually right or wrong in terms of her guilt. I think being jailed would put someone under duress, despite the conditions. Especially when being tried for murder. I do think Knox is an odd woman, and her actions and words did her no favors.

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  36. I seem to recall this woman was blaming everyone under the sun. Her boss was arrested and charged too, wasn't he; based on her testimony.

    Between the pair, they couldn't come up with a decent alibi. They had a long time to come up with one alibi and couldn't. Sorry, I think she's guilty as do I believe her ex-boyfriend is guilty too. I live in the states, and surprisingly... in Seattle.

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  37. I don't think Amanda physically used her hands to take Meredith's life, but I sure as hell believe that she was there, she played a part in her death, and she is as guilty as the others. Just because you aren't the one extinguishing the life, doesn't mean that you are innocent. Just goes to show that you really can get away with murder.

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  38. Agree with Ashlea and surfer (RE: the book, especially).

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  39. Emma, that email she sent to friends and family has always been the thing keeping me from thinking she was completely innocent. It just reads like the kind of over-explaining someone does when they are covering.

    For me the two most likely possibilities are 1) She was present and somehow complicit when Rudy killed Meredith without being the one who actually physically killed her or 2) She's innocent but has Asperger's which might explain her at times unusual/guilty seeming actions and statements after the death. Not being able to pick up on social cues or what a normal emotional response "looks like" would go a long way to explain the email among other things.

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    1. Anonymous5:56 PM

      Agree with you, although if she had aspergers don't you think defence, her family etc would have said by now to explain all the weird behaviour. It's why I think it's not that. I mean you'd get her assessed if not diagnosed and use that.

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  40. Anyway you look at it, there isnt enough evidence to convict her. Shes certainly not going to italy, and neither would i!!!!

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  41. The black guy dd it. As an expat Yank, I am highly aware that there is a strong element of animosity towards the US from even our closest allies. This case is far more about simmering resentment than facts.

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    1. more than likely they came to that conclusion after hanging out with you

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  42. One other thing regarding her character, absolutely none of us could look good with an agenda based press. Sunday school teacher and regular church attendee = possible pedohile and/or religious fanatic. Don't go to church well then possible satanic worship or god-forsaken heathen.

    The Italian press and prosecutor worked hand in hand to assassinate her character. Sad how many of you fell for it.

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  43. I hate when people talk about how someone 'should' act. There is no right or wrong way. Linda Chamberlain was convicted in Australia because she was stoic & a Seventh Day Adventist. I write this as an atheist.

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  44. Where is Raffaele Sollecito? I honestly believe he and Amanda were off drinking and smoking and having sex and came back to a nightmare and probably freaked out.

    I am confused about reports that they purchased cleaning supplies; does anyone know anything about that?

    If Sollecito isn't in Canada he should be.

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  45. I can't believe I'm doing this, but this is the second day in a row that someone has said "the Black guy did it". His name is Rudy Guede

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    1. Sunny, I noticed that too. I'm not sure if the same person said it yesterday.

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  46. If the whole forensic case hadn't been botched up from the start by the keystone cops, I mean Italian police, Amanda Knox would be behind bars still OR she would have been free. She not not 'held against her will' for 14 hours, she was being held because a girl she roomed with died in a horrible way and they wanted to question her.

    If it had happened in US and she was found guilty, you all KNOW she'd be locked away for 25 years minimum.

    I still think she knows something about the death she's not letting on (the fact that she lied and tried to implicate someone totally innocent too - at 19, you KNOW what you're up to when you do something like that) and I'm not surprised they are going for a retrial, even though she will not leave the States. Who knows, the retrial may actually bring out information that WILL acquit her properly.


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  47. Would you all feel the same if she was not white US citizen???

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  48. Would you all feel the same if she was not white US citizen???

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  49. My sister lives in Italy. Based on what she has seen there, she thinks Amanda Knox is completely guilty.

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  50. Vicki, I think a huge reason this got so much coverage, is because she is a pretty white woman. It seems to be the way things are nowadays, unfortunately.

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  51. I was living in England during the trial and came away pretty well convinced of her guilt. Returning to the US I was shocked how many people thought otherwise. I'm still convinced that woman got away with murder. Call it a hunch

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  52. I once again would recommend reading Douglas Preston's "Monster of Florence". This is not the first time this prosecutor and these police tried to railroad an innocent person in the pursuit of "justice".

    I dare anyone to read it and believe that they didn't railroad Amanda Knox and her boyfriend.

    And for those of you who think she must be guilty because she is "profiting" from Meredith's death...her parents lost virtually EVERYTHING paying for her defense. She lost 4 years of her life. Assume for one second that maybe, just maybe, she's innocent. Do you really not believe tat she has a right to pay back the very people who came to her aid at their own detriment? (Not to mention that Meredith's family seem to be okay with making money off of her death.)

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  53. And I would add that I hope to God some of you never serve on a jury. She "looks" guilty? She didn't act "apropriately"? You have a "hunch"? SMDH.

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  54. Emmadison, out of curiousity I looked at that statement analysis blog. If you give that bunch of idioitic one bit of creedence you are a complete and utter moron. Wholly, completely, entirely, unqualifiedly, dumbshit. Please don't have kids, please don't vote.

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  55. I knew they would do this. The US media was terrible to them. They had no choice but to overturn the acquittal. Apart from that, I think they did the right thing. I firmly believe she had a role in this (along with her boyfriend) and should pay for this crime. I never thought she was innocent.

    Oh, I also firmly believe that she is like OJ and will commit another crime. It may not be as heinous as this one but I'm certain she will do it. People like her believe they're invincible. OJ believed that he could do no wrong. The public supports him and believes in him almost as much as he does. So you can imagine how shocked he was to find himself behind bars. I believe this will happen to Amanda Knox too.

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    1. I'm glad you firmly believe that with your lack of evidence and all.

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    2. I'm glad you firmly believe that with your lack of evidence and all.

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  56. That "analysis" website is about the biggest crock of made up shit I think I've read in quite a while.

    There were so many passages that I wanted to copy, paste and mock but I narrowed it down to these (please excuse the length, it was just SO hard to quit rolling my eyes):

    "Please next
    note any inclusion of "shower" or "washing", "water" etc (in the email-- my addition)is an indication of sexual abuse."

    "Everyone who showers undresses. It is, therefore, needless to say one undressed, making it doubly important for the subject. Those with no knowledge of this case, only understanding Statement Analysis, will conclude sexual homicide."

    "Note the repetition of "shower": washing is very important to the subject. We find this in both victims and perpetrators' written statements involving sexual abuse."

    "this is the most extreme use of "water" signals I have encountered."

    One of the commentators:

    "I had never seen this email.. wow it is just full of lies and deceit. Practically every sentence screams guilty!

    The part that stood out to me was when she says, meredith got out of the shower and came and said "hi" to rafael.

    THIS is the part where I believe something sexual happened. its kind of like mentioning a greeting that took place, almost like a "goodbye" would be. then the "goodbye" where meredith leaves is after she dies.
    1)Amanda "begins" eating.. but doesn't finish..something interrupts the act of eating. Even Raffael comes over and "begins" to eat..but they are in the middle of the act of eating and are interruprted.

    2)Meredith gets out of the shower and comes and says "hi" and then goes to her room to get dressed. that would seem obvious (retreating to the room) but amanda dictates that part to us, and mentions that meredith comes and says "hi" specifically to rafaell

    and then amanda is so worried that something strange is going on that she leaves her asumed sleeping roommate at home, before checking in with her? totally unbelievable!"

    Another thinks Amanda's guilty because she had no reason to shower the day of Meredith's murder because, (wait for it) she had showered the day before and "there s no obvious need to repeat thoseactions."

    I could go on because there is so much to mock in this "analysis" but I will leave it there.

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  57. Lola, sounds like something "M" might have written:)

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  58. Agent! You and I are the night owls. Again. ;)

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  59. For the record, this is the only site I go by Lola. I only say that because I was reading Radar yesterday and there is a Lola on there who's whackadoodle. Not me.

    (I need to repeat this during normal business hours.)

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  60. It's late afternoon! Nite owls, sheesh. Lola, thanks for coming to the same opinion on that statement analysis blog.

    I can't say this enough, until you live out of the country you really have no idea of the level of antipathy towards the US and Americans. If I based my opinion of the US on what I hear in Oz then Yanks are all fat, stupid, homicidal maniacs. I just inwardly laugh now when first I have someone tell me a casual insult and then tell me how much they love Americans.

    Frankly though, reading some of the retarded posts here they might not be far off on a few observations...

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  61. @Upside...happy afternoon (and summer, we have frickin'snow)! Yes, we Americans have image problems abroad, mostly of our own (probably, more accurately, our government's) own making. You Aussies only have to contend with the world thinking you might all be just a bit crazy (after all, the Crocodile Hunter and Crocodile Dundee are the only Aussies many outside of Australia know). That and you live with some scary ass critters. ;)

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  62. This whole thing is meaningless the Italian justice system is a joke, one just has to look at Silvio Berlusconi on how many times he's been sentenced to jail and has yet to serve any jail time and he's still trying to become the prime minister again. With Italy having financial difficulty I'm surprised the courts are wasting taxpayer money on a murder trial where a foreigner was the victim. I doubt there will be a re-trial, it's pointless because they know the USA isn't going to send Amanda Knox back to Italy.

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  63. I couldn't be happier. I am so heartened that she will not completely get away with murder, even if she never goes back. Read www.truejustice.org. There is plenty of evidence, circumstantial and otherwise to convict her. The police found evidence of her presence at the murder scene after using luminol. She told things to the police she wouldn't have known unless she were involved. I was so upset that she was released. I wish for justice for Meredith and her family. RIP

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  64. Truejustice.org is about as biased a source of information as you're gong to find. A quote:

    "Disregard everything coming from ABC, CNN, and any Seattle TV station. They are highly biased for commercial reasons, they don’t know the case, and they have essentially been serial-lying to the American public."

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  65. @Upsidedown Under: Thank you so much for your comments about my intelligence. It's too late for the children, I already have 2, but I'll make sure not to vote from now on.

    Ridiculous.

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