Thoughts on the Knox case

Something that always fascinates me is how some stories become news, and once news, how stories become big news (1). The story I write about here is of the latter category – The murder of an English student abroad was always going to be a mid-broadcast page five type of news item. But is seems this story really took off and arrived on the front page when we learnt that the prime suspect was a beautiful woman with ‘so much to live for’.

I have no comment to make on the guilt or otherwise of Amanda Knox. I've only followed the case at a distance and have been no where near the courtroom, the appropriate place to make a judgement on such matters. My reaction to the trial’s conclusion must have an element of sexism but I doubt I'm alone in that. I do still have this instinct is still to write ‘if the judges are correct’ or ‘if she did really do it’. I'm aware there is an element of sexism/”lookism” in this – I seem to have a pre-conditioning to disbelief that an attractive woman could be capable of an evil act. I never felt the same uncertainty when I heard of the guilt of Rosemary West or just about any male killer.

One piece of evidence given in the reports I found slightly confusing. Knox wrote a short story in which a male character spoke of a ‘chicks desire to be hurt’. If all writers are responsible for the thoughts of their characters the supply of fiction could take a bit of a knock. I can only presume this was not the clinching argument in the case.

I also don’t quite see the need for compensation of €4.4. Its unlikely Knox has such funds. I read somewhere that her parents have to pay, but surely she is an independent adult now and there doesn’t seem to be any suggestions that they were ‘negligent parents’ and this was some kind of factor. On the other side, does £2 million plus ever compenstate for the lost of a beloved daughter anyway? I’d say not.



(1) Newsrooms certainly look for trends – Once one child has been attacked by the family’s pet, this seems to happen three of for times a month. Unless the canine community is able to orchestrate periodic attacks on us, one must conclude a certain amount of unoriginal thought must be at play with journalists