14 DAY TRIAL // Prosecutors want Amanda Knox’s murder acquittal overturned. Italy’s Supreme Court is now revisiting the case and will decide by tonight whether it will go back to trial or will be deemed closed for good, it has emerged.
Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were accused of the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher from the UK, who had traveled to Italy on a scholarship and was their roommate.
The two were initially found guilty of murder, but the verdict was overturned in late 2011 and they were subsequently released.
Their attorneys argued that evidence at the scene had been contaminated.
Now, prosecutors want the court to have another look at the case and, if need be, have a retrial, Sky News reports.
“Today's hearing will be behind closed doors with neither of them in attendance, and only their lawyers representing them,” the publication reports.
“A panel of judges will rule whether the Italian legal code was applied correctly and fairly in both trials, and if they find grounds they can order a retrial – as prosecutors in Perugia have demanded – or they can close the case completely,” Sky News says.
“The case will be decided purely on paperwork and legal documents with no new witnesses giving evidence. A decision is expected by late this evening,” adds the same media outlet.
As rumors swirl that both Knox and Sollecito are anxious about the decision, Kercher’s family says in a statement that they only want to know for a fact that justice has been served.
They stress that nothing will bring Meredith back but the thought that the real killer is behind bars would be comforting.
A drifter is now serving a 16-year sentence after being found guilty of Meredith’s brutal murder. The initial sentence was for 30 years but it was cut in half on appeal.
In April, ABC will air the first interview with Amanda Knox since the arrest on murder charges: it will air at the end of the month and will precede the launch of her first book documenting the years she spent behind bars in Italy.