Knox should pay for crime, say lawyers

AMANDA KNOX killed her British roommate “for no reason” and the American student and her former boyfriend should face the maximum penalty for their crime, her appeals trial was told yesterday.

Prosecutors urged the court to uphold Knox’s sentence for murder and said the 24-year-old would flee Italy if freed.

Knox, jailed for 26 years, and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, are fighting their convictions for the murder of Briton Meredith Kercher in 2007. A verdict is due this weekend.

Knox and Sollecito should be kept behind bars for life, prosecutors said, and they reminded the jury of the gruesome nature of the crime. Kercher’s body was found with more than 40 wounds and her throat slit.

“They were young but they killed for no reason,” said prosecutor Manuela Comodi, “... and for this they should be given the maximum sentence, which luckily in Italy is not the death sentence.”

Speculation has been rife that Knox would be whisked home to the United States if she is freed from the Umbrian prison where she has been held for nearly four years.

Any subsequent appeal by prosecutors or any re-trial might therefore take place in Knox’s absence.

“We know that if the verdict is overturned, there will be an immediate escape overseas,” prosecutor Giuliano Mignini told the court in rebuttals after closing arguments.

“As a result, even if this is the second of a three-step legal process in Italy, it is up to you to ensure justice.”

Kercher’s mother and sister are expected to attend the court session when the verdict is announced. They have kept a low profile since the murder, in stark contrast to the Knox family which has waged a tireless media campaign to free her.

Kercher was on a year-long exchange programme in Perugia, a cobble-stoned town popular with foreigners studying Italian, when she was murdered.

Her family’s lawyer, Francesco Maresca, has described her as a sunny young woman “full of life” who was killed during a brutal assault during which the 21-year-old was held down by her assailants.

Knox and Sollecito, who was jailed for 25 years, deny any role in the murder and say they spent the night of the crime in the Italian’s apartment watching a movie, smoking pot and having sex.