Amanda Knox Not Guilty of Murder, Ordered Released

The verdict was just delivered and I watched it live on Fox News.  Amanda Knox was found not guilty on almost all counts, including murder, but her conviction of "defamation" of Patrick Lumumba was upheld.  This latter was probably to shield Perugian officials from any lawsuits by Knox.  Knox was therefore sentenced to three years, time already served, and ordered to pay 22,000 Euros to Lumumba.  She was then ordered to be released immediately.

This is not the most just verdict, since prosecutors used psychological torture to pressure Knox into making the false statements implicating Lumumba.  The prosecutors believed him to be guilty and pressed Knox into giving them what they wanted, enough of an excuse to arrest him.  She was interrogated intensively for 14 hours without an attorney present, and the interrogation was not recorded as required by Italian law and international standards.  The interrogation was illegal.  If I were Knox, I'd get myself back to Seattle as soon as possible and I wouldn't pay Lumumba a damn dime.

Raffaele Sollecito was found not guilty also and ordered released.

So I still say that Italy is a banana republic and I still say we should boycott Italy.