Amanda Knox Verdict: Perugia Streets in Uproar, Mobs Shouting 'Shame'
After the much-anticipated verdict in the Amanda Knox appeals case was announced Monday in Perugia, Italy, the streets of the small medieval city went into an uproar.
Hundreds of people waited outside the courtroom to hear the verdict Monday evening. Once it was announced that Knox was acquitted of murdering her former roommate Meredith Kercher – jeers were heard outside the courtroom.
Rage and disbelief erupted in the streets of Perugia by people who adamantly believed that Amanda Knox was responsible for Kercher’s death.
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Groups of onlookers began whistling and shouting “Vergogna! Vergogna!” or “Shame! Shame!”
The heated mob filled the streets, reportedly also shouted “Bastards!” and “Bought!”
An Italian crime author, Mario Spezzi, told the Daily Caller, “There is something wrong with Perugia today. Something wrong with this town.”
To most Italians, Knox is a criminal.
Recent polls in Italy found that a majority of Italians believed Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher.
Regardless, Italians are not the only ones to express concern over Knox’s innocence.
Amanda Platell, a reporter for the Daily Mail, wrote that throughout the process of both the original and appeals trial there has been something “unsettling” about Knox.
Platell added, “Her Oscar-winning performance in court yesterday felt just like that – an act.”
The Kercher family has also voiced their disappointment in the court’s decision to overturn the original verdict.
They said in a statement that although they respected the decision of the Italian court system they “do not understand how the decision of the first trial could be so radically overturned.”
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini told reporters that the prosecution plans on appealing the verdict. He added that he believed the appeals trial was done under “unacceptable media pressure.”
Knox, however, was pleased with the decision and thanked her supporters in a letter that she wrote to the Italy-U.S. Foundation, a group that supported Knox through much of her ordeal.
“I am forever grateful for their caring hospitality and their courageous efforts. Those who wrote to me, who defended me, who stayed close to me, who prayed for me. We are forever grateful,” Knox said.
The Secretary General of the foundation, Corrado Maria Daclon, told ABC news that Knox did not harbor any anger towards Italy or Italians and planned on returning to the country in the future.
