Defense Lawyer Calls Amanda Knox "Naive"

(CBS/AP)  A lawyer for the former boyfriend of Amanda Knox painted the U.S. coed as naive, spontaneous and imprudent as she argued Monday that both Knox and her lover were innocent in the slaying of the American's British roommate.

Giulia Bongiorno, who is defending Knox's ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito of Italy, compared Knox to the film character Amelie in the 2001 French movie of the same title. That is the film Knox and Sollecito claim they were watching on video the night that Meredith Kercher was fatally stabbed in the throat in 2007, Bongiorno reminded the court in final arguments.

"Amanda, just like Amelie, has a lot of energy. She is naive ... (and) candid" like the French film character, Bongiorno told the court. "The approach of Amanda toward life is exactly the same of Amelie, spontaneous, immediate and imprudent."

Bongiorno, who won fame as a criminal lawyer when she successfully defended former Italian Premier Giulio Andreotti on charges of Mafia association a few years ago, argued that Sollecito, an Italian, wound up being wrongly accused of Kercher's murder because of a bloody footprint in the bedroom where the woman was slain.

Sollecito, 25, and Knox, 22, are accused of murder and sexual violence in the death of Kercher, who was found in her bedroom in the rented house she shared with the American from Seattle. Both defendants insist they are innocent.

Kercher was a 21-year-old university exchange student from Leeds. All three were students in Perugia, a university town in Umbria, in central Italy.

Knox's lawyer will get his chance Tuesday but the case against Sollecito is virtually identical to that against Knox, CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports from Perugia.

Among the arguments presented by Sollecito's lawyer is that police transcriptions of wiretaps included derogatory comments about Knox, Pizzey reports.

Knox's defense summation will also refute claims made by the prosecution in summation that Knox and Kercher were enemies rather than friends, Pizzey adds. Her parents say recovered text messages between the two will prove that.

"And one of the key things that is at the end of those text messages is a little plus sign and in that world of texting that means a kiss," her father Curt Knox said. "And so how they could have come up with a hatred scenario with them texting back and forth that way is beyond me."

A verdict in the long-running trial is expected toward the end of this week. Prosecutors have argued for conviction and life imprisonment - Italy's stiffest penalty - for Knox and Sollecito.

"Raffaele was about to graduate, and was cultivating his dreams, but a footprint took those dreams away from him," Bongiorno said. She contended that analyses indicate that the print was made by a shoe of a different kind and size than the ones Sollecito wore.

Prosecutors have argued that the Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sex game involving Knox, Sollecito and a third defendant, Rudy Hermann Guede of the Ivory Coast.

Guede, 22, was convicted of the same charges in a fast-track trial last year and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is appealing his conviction.

Her parents have already bought her a ticket back to Seattle but if the verdict is guilty, Pizzey reports that Amanda Knox will stay in jail during an appeal process that could take longer than the court case.

[overlawed-overtaxed]

doesnt one of the judges have pending crimes of bribery?
and the procecuter is being investigated for making up stories?
maybe they all will meetup in jail lol

[overlawed-overtaxed]

i think the prosecuter killed her too.
and the witnesses and all the russians

[alexlyrics]

This girl clearly looks guilty. This is a classic case of good girl away from home goes bad.

I don't see why there is so much fuss over a white girl gone bad. Its a common story here in America. There are privileged white youth in America who get away with crimes all the time.

Mom and dad put up the house tr write a check for a lawyer, and their records are expunged by 18.

The minorities and poor people in this country's children are the ones who suffer they are forced to plead guilty, treated as adults, and get time. These children are used as bait for tax dollars in the prison system.

So I say good, who cares about this girl? Clearly she was there, so she is just as guilty as if she did slice the girls throat.

We need to step back and look at ourselves as a civilization in the US. We are so arrogant bias, and stupid in our ways of thinking.

Who are we to question or put down an entire countries judicial system, just because we don't like the outcome?

If it were our daughter or citizen with her throat slashed we would be demanding someones head on a platter.

I give the Italians much credit, at least they had the balls to say no she is guilty and no matter what put her tail in jail where she belongs.

This is a classic good girl gone bad, and two parents who refuse to believe it.

You gotta love the Italians. Great work

[Coda51187]

get the inside scoop on the trial at CrimeNewsVideo.com

[commonsensecounts]

She was obviously railroaded by the Italians, who would have thought that a country known for their open sexuality that they would find her actions so offensive. Do not go to Italy!

[knoxguilty]

Her DNA on the knife..what's more to say?? She got what she deserves!

[rwsmith29456]

Is naive another word for goofball?

[deeplysad]

This is a good reason to not go to countries like this

[amazedd]

Amelie, yes. But Amelie Greenleaf or Amelie Sherwood, that is the question, Yorick.

[globewatcher]

There is other evidence which shows these 3 were involved in this murder. I believe it was a spontaneous act not a pre-meditated one, perhaps a crime of passion but still a promising young woman lost her life so they did the crime they should have to do the time. Not sure a life sentence is appropraite since the situation is murky but a long sentance should be imposed because this is afterall murder.

[bann65]

Oh BULL! She's not a killer. You're as paranoid as those friggin Italians.

[voxpopulus]

Plenty of DNA, including in the bedroom in which the "break-in" was faked. Someone cleaned up and rearranged that crime scene, attempting to remove all the DNA except Rudy Guede's. Who else do you think it could be? Why did Solecitto claim Meredith's blood was on the knife because they'd cooked together in his apartment, which they never had? And if the DNA was cross contaminated, how come there was no DNA from ANY investigating officer who had handled the evidence, and only from Solecitto who had allegedly never been near it?