Amanda Knox's Parents Face Italy Slander Trial

American college student Amanda Knox is serving a 26-year prison sentence for murder in Italy. It's a crime she continues to deny committing. Now, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips, she and her parents are facing another potential court battle.

For obvious reasons, Knox's parents are not huge fans of the Italian justice system. Their latest encounter is unlikely to improve their opinion. Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, who divorced when Amanda was a young child, now face charges of their own.

When Amanda Knox was in court facing the murder charge, she insisted that she had been beaten - hit on the head - by Italian police during her interrogation. The police have always denied the allegation.

Amanda was interrogated for nine straight hours in one session, and finally signed an incriminating statement at 5:45 in the morning.

"I was very very scared, because they were treating me so badly and I didn't understand why," she said in court.

In an interview two years ago with the London Times newspaper, Amanda's parents were quoted repeating the beating allegation.

"Amanda was abused physically and verbally," her parents told the paper. "She told us she was hit in the back of the head by a police officer with an open hand, at least twice. The police told her, 'If you ask for a lawyer, things will get worse for you.'"

Now the police in Perugia, where the murder of British student Meredith Kercher took place, have started legal proceedings against Amanda and her parents, who live in Seattle - accusing them of slander.

"In Amanda's circumstance, she was merely telling what she experienced, not intending to slander people, but to explain why she was in the circumstances that she is in," says Curt Knox.

Amanda appeared in court last month at the beginning of her own slander case.

"She was just stating what she experienced during that overnight interrogation and she was just defending herself," says the father. "With respect to Edda's and my slander charges, I believe those will get thrown out and this is nothing more than a harassment."

However, CBS News legal analyst Jack Ford says the Italian justice system -- which has come under constant and relentless attack from the Knox family and their lawyers -- may just be pushing back against the pressure.

The slander charges may seem "a bit like overkill from our perspective, but from their perspective, they're saying if she's saying stuff about them that's a lie, 'we want our day in court.'"

Tuesday's court session was just a pre-trial hearing. The case against Mr. Knox and Mellas is set to resume in mid-October, the same month Amanda Knox's appeal against her murder conviction is due to start.

Ford tells CBS' "The Early Show" that, if Amanda is convicted of defamation, it could add as long as six years to her prison sentence in Italy. If her appeal on the murder charges is successful, she could even end up in prison in spite of her exoneration in the killing, based on the new police lawsuit.

[edumaz]

I POSTED A RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE, TRUTHWORTHY COMMENT COMPLYING WITH ALL RULES THAT IS NOT TO THE LIKING OF CBS AND WAS CENSORED BECAUSE OF MEDIA HERE WANTING TO COVER UP NEWS READILY AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD. MAYBE THIS ONE WILL BE CENSORED TOO, BUT EVEN IF IT ISN'T, THOSE DEFENDING THIS WOMAN AND HER RICH BULLYING PARENTS WILL NOT GET THE FACTS THROUGH CBS.

[jc_court]

God bless Meredith Kercher and her Family, for this irreparable, Tragic loss ... Our prayers goes to you!

Hi There Everyone! Enough is Enough! this Farce has been going on for far too long,Amanda Knox is Totally innocent of this Horrendous crime.

The Italian Prosecutor in this case, Giuliano Mignini has already been convicted for abusing his Power in another case.

The Perugian authorities, under his leadership, have masterfully use the media for 3 years now, to denigrate, and to "Frame" this Italy loving young lady, with stories of perverse, sexual, satanist, drug induced, (pot mind you) ritual killing I am tired of it already, Utter Nonsense, Backed by no credible evidence that such event ever Happened.

Mignini's Malicious manipulations of the media in this case, should be investigated from day one, he is now using Slander charges against anyone, and everyone, to silence them.

This case is a Blight to Justice all over the World. Join us to Fight this Injustice! Join us if you Love your Daughters!

HOW? The first thing to do, is to give Generously to: the Amanda knox defense fund [www.amandadefensefund.org]

Remember: Amanda could have been your Innocent Daughter!

No DNA at the Crime Scene= no case, I Repeat, No dna at the Crime Scene= No Case.

Amici Italiani join us to fight this Injustice, Investigate Mignini now!

Disclaimer: we do not know, have never met,and have never been in touch with the Knox or Mellas family, we are merely very concerned with this Ignominy.

[TonydelBalzo]

Not another person saying "She is lucky she didn't do this in America because...(yawn)

The truth is, If Amanda Knox were in America, she would be free now because:
1) In the USA, she would not have gone into a trial under a presumption of guilt.
2) The state's attorney would not have been allowed to prosecute a case after being convicted of judicial misconduct and having received a 16-month suspended sentence.
3) The non-blood DNA evidence on the suspected murder knife would not have been admitted because it is low count DNA and the international standards for the testing of low count DNA were violated by the Italian crime lab.
4) The non-blood DNA from the suspected knife would not be admitted because the all-important chain of custody related to the knife was lost. No one knows who handled the knife.
5) The bra clasp, which lay under a rug in a pile of dust for 47 days, would not have been admitted and the five- (5) people's DNA that was found on the clasp would have been identified.
6) The crime lab used by the Italian police would have been certified; the Italian labs were not.
7) The scientist in charge of testing for DNA (Dr. Patrizia Stefanoni) would have been trained in advanced DNA collection techniques, which she was not.
8) Amanda Knox would not have been held in prison for a full without being charged with any crime. She would have been released on bail, as a non-threatening individual.
9) Amanda Knox would have been provided a lawyer before she was questioned.
10) The jury would not have been allowed to read news accounts of the crime and would have been impartial.
11) A civil trial and a criminal trial would have never occurred at the same time.
12) A professional translator would have been provided before Knox was asked to sign a confession.
13) Luminal stains in the apartment would have been tested from blood, which they were not.
14) The trial would not have been held in secret. It would have been open to honest observation, like the Lohan hearing.
15) You can be convicted with only 5 of 8 votes in Italy. In the USA, all 12 jurors have to agree, which is a much harder standard.
16) Trials do not just stop for two months during he summer. It's more serious in the USA.
17) In Italy, defendants are NOT sworn in, so no one believes them when they speak.
18) In Italy, there is no void dire process. You could get the family of the defendant on the jury.
19) The prosecution can not ask for 9 months of solitary confinement as a form of barbaric punishment. REALLY!!
20) In the USA, the prison officials do not provide the personal diaries of prisoners to the British tabloids.
21) In Italy, Knox is limited to two lawyers at trial.
22) In the USA, a reasonable doubt exists if the knife does not match the wound, if eyewitnesses are discredited and if no motive can be identified.
23) The dried DNA (sperm) found in Meredith's bed would not have been dismissed by the CSI as being too old. It would not have been discarded because it may have been from a love making secession days earlier with a boyfriend who had an alibi.

Again, the long and the short of it is, Amanda Know would never have gone to trial on such questionable evidence. In addition, she would not have had to prove her innocence. She was treated as guilty until proven guilty.

Certainly, she would never have faced the death penalty in Texas, Alabama or anywhere.

[PhanuelB]

NOW HEAR THIS CBS... YOU ARE SYSTEMATICALLY DELETING RESPONSIBLE POSTS FROM ONE POINT OF VIEW. THE POST BELOW WAS DELETED AND DOES NOT VIOLATE ANY RULES.

The article states: "CBS News legal analyst Jack Ford says the Italian justice system -- which has come under constant and relentless attack from the Knox family and their lawyers -- may just be pushing back against the pressure. "

This is not accurate. The Knox family and their lawyers have not criticized the Italian justice system in part because as parties to legal proceedings they are not free to do so. The criticism has come from commentators, including several from CBS, who are condemning the tribunal in unprecedented language. Some examples:

Paul Ciolino (private investigator retained by CBS)
"This is a lynching ... this is a lynching that is happening in modern day Europe right now and it's happening to an American girl who has no business being charged with anything."

Doug Preston (Author and commentator for CBS )
"This is a case based on lies, superstition, and crazy conspiracy theories and that's it"

Peter Van Sant (CBS News Correspondent)
?She?s an innocent woman. And I would stake my reputation as a journalist [on that] and I have been in this business for a quarter century.?

Judy Bachrach (Contributing Editor for Vanity Fair on LKL 5-Dec-09)
?I have always felt that Amanda was going to go to a kangaroo court and unfortunately I?ve been proven correct.?

Tim Egan (NY Times correspondent)
"Preposterous, made-up sexual motives were ascribed to her...What century is this? Didn?t Joan of Arc, the Inquisition and our own American Salem witch trials teach civilized nations a thing or two about contrived sexual hysteria with a devil twist?"

Senator Maria Cantwell (Dem. Washington)
?The prosecution did not present enough evidence for an impartial jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Knox was guilty.?

[dudedudley]

The following is my opinion and in no was reflects the opinion of CBS.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely"
Due to the Mafia influencing government officials, the Italian government relinquished their authority over the judges, and now the people have no control over them, who are not elected by the people.

Judge/prosecutor Mignini was convicted of abuse of power in January 2010, and in April 2010 charges he brought against 20 people were dropped due to lack of evidence (falsely accused). Mignini receives a 16 month prison sentence which is currently suspended pending his appeal.

Mignini is still in his office and going after Amanda and her family like a rabid dog, although in my opinion he should have been fired immediately following his conviction.

Apparently Mignini was showboating when he charged 22 innocent people with crimes related to satanic cults and he is continuing his sinister act with his relentless pursuit of the Knox family.

Apparently Mignini thinks he descend from Heaven, tasked with being the sword of the Lord, and persecuting evil women. Although he is allowed to wear a costume that sets him apart from ordinary people, he is only an overly ambitious man that appears to be deranged/out of control, that can not be easily removed from his office, due to no checks and balances within the alliance of judges, who are apparently untouchable by justice.

No one is safe from Mignini. He has been known to use items such as doorstops, comic books and Halloween costumes as evidence to send innocent people off to prison for satanic cult related crimes.

The judges are not required to pay income tax, and anyone that speaks out is subject to 6 years in prison, which gives the judges absolute power and privacy which creates an environment for favors to be sold. This problem belongs to the people of Italy. My desire is for Amanda and Raffaele to be cleared of all charges, then the people of Italy can deal with their problems and we will deal with ours.

[may doveaston]

This is absolutely appalling. The continual persecution of Amanda Knox and her family is an outrage.

[InjusticeinPerugia]

The anger on these discussion boards is honestly disturbing. It seams like the focus is no longer on the facts of the case. Some posters have become for interested in winning the online battle.

The slander charges against Amanda's parents are an egregious abuse of power. This is an attempt to silence all opposition. Amanda's parents simply repeated Amanda's court testimony.

Please step back from all of the internet noise and look at the facts of this case. This is not a game played online. We are talking about real lives.

[moveon101]

"abuse of power" Knoxs parents lied! People in the US have been sued for much less. Amanda's mother saw her hours after she was arrested, if there was a beating her mother surely would have seen signs. Knox was never beaten & no sense person would believe that any police department in any country would interrogate a person for 40 hrs. Or even that an person would remain awake for 40 hours of questioning.

Her parent known that what they were saying was not the truth and now they must pay for it.

[moveon101]

One needs only to look at the crime scene photos to know that there was a cleanup. Rudy Guede did not rape & murder Meredith then go & mop the hall & clean the bathroom sink. Knox cleaned that apartment after the murder.

[issymor]

Please, tell us what the police found on the mop? Did they find blood and or bleach? What were the test results?

[dudedudley]

The mop, bucket and the washing machine were tested and there were no signs of blood. There was no indication of cleaning anywhere other than the lack of evidence that implicated Amanda or Raffaele was involved. The prosecution did not present any evidence in court that proved any cleaning took place. They chose to say they SUSPECTED the crime scene was cleaned with bleach however they knew it wasn't because Luminol will make a surface cleaned with bleach glow blue. There was no cleaning and no blood on Amanda or Raffaele. No blood on any of their clothing and none in their apartment. There was no credible evidence connecting Amanda or Raffaele to the crime.

[dudedudley]

CBS management. Please have retired FBI investigator Steve Moore on your news program. Google " injusticeinperugia, Steve Moore " to review his professional opinion.

[issymor]

Absolutely !! That would be a fantastic interview. He has such a depth of experience.

[larthia2]

Agreed. The mainstream media has an obligation to reveal the actual FACTS of this case from the perspective of a real expert.

[dawnwnott]

I cannot see what comparing what they would do in Texas or anywhere else come to that has to do with it. The crime happened in Italy and should be dealt with under Italian law, and we should respect that.

Whenever anything happens abroad, we start shouting that the accused is innocent, even if they are as guilty as sin, and then we start accusing the police of all sorts of things. Parents always shout that their offsprings are innocent and, of course, will believe anything they tell them. In my experience the Italian police are vary just and fair.

[hollyanna919]

please go to inunsticeinperugia website and you will see that this case is anything but just and fair!