[Elsewhere in Slate: Amanda Knox Will Never Be Extradited to Italy]
Here we go again, via USA Today:
An Italian court Thursday reinstated the murder conviction of Seattle native Amanda Knox for the stabbing death of Knox’s roommate, the latest twist in a dramatic, long-running case that is likely to be appealed again.
Knox, who was in Seattle while the court verdict was reached Thursday night in Florence, was sentenced to 28 1/2 years, while ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, also charged in the case, received 25 years.
For those of you keeping score at home: That’s now two convictions (or, technically, one conviction and one reinstatement of a conviction) to one acquittal for the pair, who have been on trial for a half decade and counting. Knox and Sollecito were originally convicted in December 2009 of sexually assaulting and murdering Kercher, who was stabbed to death in her bedroom in the Perugia apartment she shared with Knox and two other women in 2007. An Italian appeals court would go on to overturn those convictions in October 2011, freeing Knox from jail and allowing her to return to the United States after spending four years in police custody.
Despite that acquittal, the case wasn’t over. Italy’s highest court ordered a new trial for the pair last March. And despite today’s ruling, the case still isn’t over: Knox and Sollecito can—and likely will—appeal, meaning we still don’t know how this tabloid-ready story ends, despite the fact that it has already been documented in more than a dozen books—including one penned by Knox herself—and one made-for-TV movie.
Knox, now 26, opted to remain in Seattle for this trial. Italy could in theory seek her extradition after today’s conviction, but will more likely wait until the next appeal is sorted out—if they ask at all. The U.S. government hasn’t said whether they’d comply with such a request if it comes, although several legal experts have suggested the odds are that it wouldn’t given American double-jeopardy laws. (Or, as my colleague Justin Peters put it more bluntly last year: “Amanda Knox will never be extradited to Italy.”)
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