Wednesday, April 08, 2015

In Big Complication For Cassation Guede Demands New Trial To Prove He Was Not “Accomplice Of Myself”

Posted by Peter Quennell



Above: Rudy Guede’s smart lead lawyer Walter Biscotti on another high profile case


The Fifth Chambers of the Supreme Court was the one that allowed Knox and Sollecito to walk free.

Sooner or later they must explain. Initial statements of their reasons has many Italian justice officials in strong disbelief.

If there were evidence problems (and we know of next to none and hundreds of evidence points suggesting guilt) the Florence appeal court was the correct court to put them to bed.  Cassation has no legal mandate for that.

It gets worse. Somehow the Fifth Chambers has to explain why the First Chambers ruled the other way on some very key points in 2010 and 2013 and why it confirmed Knox’s sentence for the felony of calunnia with no further possibility of appeal.

It gets worse. The five judges would seem to have to come down for either the highly discredited Lone Wolf Theory or for two other “missing killers” (for which there is zero evidence) to have attacked Meredith. 

From 2007 to 2015 two defense teams tried very hard but without conviction or success to do both of those things - even though Guede and his defense had no way to answer back as they were not even in court.

Those same two teams tiptoed away from much of the pesky evidence against all three which they were simply powerless to explain.

So Guede’s demand for a new trial reported today could not be timed worse from the Fifth Chambers judges’ point of view.

Chances are that this request will be ruled on by another Chambers of Cassation. It might take some time but they might have no compunction (especially if they are the First Chambers) about hanging the increasingly embattled Fifth Chambers out to dry.

No way Guede’s conviction ever gets reversed. He knows that. We all know that. The evidence is way too strong. But Guede could really rub it in that he was not the initiator of the 15-minute attack and could certainly not have done it alone. That he had no motive at all. That he was not a drug dealer or a burglar - no evidence for either exists.

That he was not the one who had a reason to clean up the house as his own trial ruled. And that he did not wield the final blow.

*****

Added to the top post on Thursday, and amended Friday.

It looked briefly like his lawyers contradicted Guede. But legally Guede is the one with much at stake and gets to call the final shots.

And Biscotti merely added that while he didn’t know exactly what Rudy said, his words should not be considered as a public statement, he did not intend for them to go public.

Of course, Biscotti would want to keep their powder dry, and keep Guede out of harms way, and keep all possible options open in Cassation.

Smart legal, safety and financial tactics.

Comments

Very bold move. Guede’s tendency over the years is to rehabilitate himself with apologies and study and good behavior, and to become more and more bold, not less.

And he consults with his lawyers all the time. For sure they okayed this.

With Bongiorno still entangled in the Aviello fiasco (remember that?) and with the Sollecitos still on trial for political moves to lean on the Massei court (remember that?) chances that they are trying to bribe or spook Guede are extremely slim.

Sooner or later a publisher is going to offer Guede a ton of money and we will get a lot closer to the truth.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 04/08/15 at 03:10 PM | #

I have always thought that Guede holds the key to the nearest thing to the truth that we are ever likely to hear. Therefore this news is very encouraging. Had justice prevailed and Meredith’s two other murderers been jailed, I’d be fairly certain that one of them would have cracked and told their story. As it is, we can’t place any great faith in anything that any of them say, particularly the two who got away with it.

Guede I reckon is utterly ashamed of what he did, particularly the sexual assault and restraining of Meredith, and his coyness about going into it in any great detail, is rooted in him trying to minimise his part in it. I don’t believe he will be able to move on with his own life properly however until he comes clean fully. A further trial for him would be the ideal platform to spill the beans and start his own healing process in earnest.

Alas, the other two will likely never face jail time but having spent an inordinate amount of time watching everything that features them in online video, I console myself with the obvious (to me at least, hopefully I’m not imagining it) fact that they both look and sound haunted. They may not serve a murder sentence in a state prison but they are both in what is in many ways a worse prison. A prison of the mind entirely of their own making. Living with the knowledge of what they have done every single day and knowing how they are viewed by the vast majority of decent people must be absolute torture. Good. They deserve no less. I can but wish them bad health and no luck for the future.

Posted by davidmulhern on 04/08/15 at 04:01 PM | #

This is really great news! Thank you Pete. As you predicted before, this has now become a major issue. Do they now:

1) Let another convicted murderer go because they let two other previously convicted murderers go?

2) Retry a convicted murderer by himself even though he himself admits to having accomplices?

3) Retry a convicted murderer with his suspected accomplices?

4) Overturn the recent acquittal for Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito and reopen the case?

I think the answer is obvious.

And now that Rudy Guede has broken the ice, there will be many more reporters seeking further comments from him. I’m sure that they are right there waiting in Viterbo prison right now. And they will all have too much money for him to stay quiet. This statement from him didn’t take very long so for sure there will be more very soon.

Also, as noted here in the well-known “jeans are too tight” rape case, the Supreme Court has the power to reopen cases or order retrials:

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/16/world/ruling-on-tight-jeans-and-rape-sets-off-anger-in-italy.html

Clearly, this is all far from being over and will go on for years and years to come.

Posted by Johnny Yen on 04/08/15 at 04:09 PM | #

We can only hope the Cassation judges are beginning to realise how foolish they look - but somehow I doubt they are.

They knew how perverse the verdict was but they went ahead anyway because they likely had other, murkier considerations. And the brass nerve not to care how it would look.

Posted by Odysseus on 04/08/15 at 04:50 PM | #

Five immoral judges not fit to hold such a position have sent out an appalling message to the world; if you have enough money to employ the services of a PR machine you can get away with murder. 

Unfortunately for them, 2 plus 2 will NEVER equal 5. 

I am interested to know what, if any, system is in place so that the judges decision can be questioned?  Hellman was rightly over-turned, can this unimaginably bent decision be examined and also over-turned?

Posted by MHILL4 on 04/08/15 at 05:53 PM | #

Peter: Thanks for keeping things going.  This is a ray of hope following 11 very dark days.  The SC ruling combined with people giving up on PMF has really gotten me down.  I hope the noise level here increases so that it finally starts to be heard in Seattle, where it is needed most.  Maybe now a major U.S. newspaper will muster up the courage to do the right thing and expose the truth for the idiotic masses in Seattle who have been PR’ed by the Knox cash cow.  If we can show Seattle the truth, justice might just be possible.

Posted by whatswisdom on 04/08/15 at 05:58 PM | #

I have always believed that the key to unravelling the truth of who was actually involved and the extent of that involvement rests with Rude Guede. Many commentators state that he has zero credibility and of course he has. That doesn’t take anything away from the fact that his story will emerge in time much I believe to the worry and fear of the other participants.

Posted by james99 on 04/08/15 at 06:09 PM | #

“No way Guede’s conviction ever gets reversed. He knows that. We all know that. The evidence is way too strong. But Guede could really rub it in that he was not the initiator of the 15-minute attack and could certainly not have done it alone. That he had no motive at all. That he was not a drug dealer or a burglar - no evidence for either exists”

Contrast: RG is poor and black; the accused are rich, powerful and white. And the victim is a middle class serious student struggling to climb the ladder of success reserved for others…

For every evidence you can quote against RG, there is one for the smart kids…

I do not know all the facts but I believe that he is not the master architect and he is the only one who has expressed some sort of regret. We all know the master puppeteer…

I do not know the deal the smart kids made with him but it certainly involves a decent package. But then it now appears that is not really enough…

His lawyer too knows that he is a criminal and part of the gang; but why he must take all the blame just to save the two?

Posted by chami on 04/08/15 at 06:34 PM | #

@MHILL4

“Five immoral judges not fit to hold such a position have sent out an appalling message to the world; if you have enough money to employ the services of a PR machine you can get away with murder”

I am surprised that you find this surprising!

Why do you think that they are immoral? They are just being practical- they are just down-to-earth wholesome real men and women!

getting away with murder? I quote

Abraham drew near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? ... What if ten are found there?” He [The Lord] said, “I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.”

Why annoy the powerful when the victim has been essentially forgotten?

I often think that much of the violence we see in our daily life within the society we live is caused by some injustice. Poverty is also considered a form of social injustice by many. Much of the terrorism cases we read on a daily basis are due to social injustice (in some oblique form perhaps).

Correcting the system can be rather painful.

Posted by chami on 04/08/15 at 08:55 PM | #

Perhaps ‘unprincipled’ could be used, rather than ‘immoral’?
It would appear action has been taken that is expedient rather than principled - where the principle of justice for the true victim is absolute.
Glad to hear Guede has stirred…

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 04/08/15 at 10:56 PM | #

Violence is caused by some injustice?  Terrorism is due to social injustice?  That is sarcasm right? because from the context it does not seem clear to me.

Posted by Mark on 04/08/15 at 11:24 PM | #

Pete, the story about Guede is picking up steam:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/amanda-knox-meredith-kerchers-killer-5480808

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11522333/Rudy-Guede-calls-for-retrial-after-Amanda-Knox-acquitted-of-Meredith-Kercher-murder.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3030441/The-man-convicted-murder-Meredith-Kercher-says-seek-retrial-Amanda-Knox-cleared.html

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/569154/Amanda-Knox-Meredith-Kercher-retrial

So ... what happens now?  Does another Cassation panel review it?  New trial?  Return to the appellate level?

Pete, I disagree about no more dirty defence tricks.  People are far too vested to let things just take its course. 

I realize that Italy’s court system is very pro-defendant, but watching what goes on makes it look (to an outsider), somewhat dysfunctional.

Posted by Chimera on 04/09/15 at 03:58 AM | #

I hope Guede has sufficient protection, especially while still in prison. I don’t like to think of him being beaten again, to silence him.

Posted by SeekingUnderstanding on 04/09/15 at 09:22 AM | #

@Chami, I must be naive, I like to believe people follow careers in law for justice.  Guede has more guts than these judges.

Posted by MHILL4 on 04/09/15 at 01:15 PM | #

Added to the top post on Thursday, and amended Friday.

It looked briefly like his lawyers contradicted Guede. But legally Guede is the one with much at stake and gets to call the final shots.

And Biscotti merely added that while he didn’t know exactly what Rudy said, his words should not be considered as a public statement, he did not intend for them to go public.

Of course, Biscotti would want to keep their powder dry, and keep Guede out of harms way, and keep all possible options open in Cassation.

Smart legal, safety and financial tactics.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 04/09/15 at 02:07 PM | #

@Mark

Violence and terrorism, if you see them as a form of protest, has certainly some roots in social injustice. They are nothing but collective anger personified. When people see no way out from their current state of misery and sufferings, they resort to violence. Please note that a silent majority do understand these conditions and passively support them.

Isolated cases of individual terrorists are often seen but we can safely ignore them: they have no popular base or support. With some public support, it becomes real scary. We need to worry and step back and think. They are one of us and we need to ponder the bigger question: what went wrong?

The law is for those who can afford it. Guede’s lawyer must have been provided by the state. Is it really so difficult to see the whole picture?

Posted by chami on 04/09/15 at 02:57 PM | #

Hi Chami and Mark

I’ve seen militancy wind both down and up. Political and cultural and religious factors were without exception driven by poor incomes and assets and prospects.

This is in part because certain economies and certain big owners and investors tend to keep everything resulting from growth for themselves. But even for them growth is not really wonderful.

Plus economies wit natural assets like oil have their value equation very messed up. Growth in most Moslem nations is almost non-existant (average 1% or less). 

Left wing billionaires want to grow the entire pie more but are stuck for the knowhow.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 04/09/15 at 04:33 PM | #

Thanks Peter, you have hit the nail right on the head. As the American famously said: Its the economy, Stupid!

Posted by chami on 04/09/15 at 08:47 PM | #

This might turn out to be more important than it seems and I wonder if there might be some support for Guede’s undertaking inside the system.

I don’t know the role of precedents in Italian law, and perhaps Yummi or someone else could clarify, but I think the Marasca verdict needs to be questioned for two main reasons: one - its devastating injustice to Meredith Kercher, and two - the potentially dangerous precedents it might set for future cases. Due to the second reason, I would expect it to be scrutinized by people unaffiliated with Meredith’s case, since it might impact the way current and future trials are decided.

Guede’s request for retrial, if it results in a Supreme Court decision which strongly disagrees with Marasca’s findings, might spark some discussion about conflicting decisions and perhaps lead to a review.

However, I think he should wait until the motivation report is published so Biscotti and others representing him can better understand the panel’s reasoning or lack thereof.

Posted by Vivianna on 04/10/15 at 12:19 PM | #

Well, well. Rudy Guede is outraged that two innocent people don’t share his prison time. Two people he sheared off from at the very beginning trial, afraid they’d put the crime on him. Two people who barely knew him. He barely knows these people yet he is outraged they are free. Why should he care what happens to them, they had no part in his actions, he hardly knew them. Someone has awakened the sleeping tiger.

@Mark, how’s the Willie Nelson music? his Uncloudy Day has kept up a refrain in my head for days.

I am sad about Attorney Maresca’s hard fought battle for common sense all these years. He keeps the big issues front and center for the Kerchers.

I feel like I can’t focus on this case with the intensity of former years, but I can’t seem to stop checking this website and PMF.net for news. Also thrilled PMF.net is continuing its campaign as TJMK does to keep facts about Meredith’s life and death in neon lights among media fog.

I think everyone should be very careful to respect Knox’s legal status at this time which is innocent, if we expect others to do the same in future should the courts rule otherwise. Not everything that is felt or believed should be stated, but we can observe developing news about the former defendants.

Posted by Hopeful on 04/10/15 at 04:48 PM | #

Hi Hopeful, thanks for the mention.  I could use a few more songs to cheer me up.  I have a lot of songs in my collection but I think I will get out a hymnal and play for a while.

Posted by Mark on 04/11/15 at 05:32 AM | #

OT but reading that updated BBC documentary on Amanda Knox will be at Cannes. :(

Posted by mojo on 04/11/15 at 12:05 PM | #

It seems that Knox is back to playing the ‘‘I’m broke and have PTSD’’ line.  This is from her ‘‘biographer’‘, Doug Preston.  I guess $3.8 million doesn’t go as far as it used to.

At this rate she’ll have to kill again by the age of 30 to get another book deal.

http://nypost.com/2015/04/14/amanda-knoxs-family-penniless-after-eight-year-legal-ordeal/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3038886/Penniless-broken-Amanda-Knox-spent-cent-4m-book-advance-clearing-left-suffering-PTSD-eight-year-legal-ordeal-claims-biographer.html

http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2015/04/amanda-knox-suffers-stress-money-problems-after-trial/

http://www.vcpost.com/articles/57787/20150414/amanda-knox-trial-updates-foxy-knoxy-help-wrongfully-convicted-people.htm

Carlo Dalla Vedova (Knox’s lawyer), and Raffaele’s dad are still talking about demanding compensation.

It would be interesting if something became of Guede’s request.  In the past, Knox and Sollecito could demonise him, without any way of fighting back.  The shoe would be on the other foot, with Biscotti hanging AK and RS out to dry, without any way for them to fight back.

Exhibit #1: False accusation of Lumumba
Exhibit #2: False accusation of Rita Ficarra
Exhibit #3: False alibis
etc….

Posted by Chimera on 04/15/15 at 04:59 AM | #

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