After avoiding the country of her incarceration, Amanda Knox returned to Italy to attend a conference and to speak out against the media that spread lies and innuendo surrounding her arrest and conviction for murder and her eventual exoneration. The local paparazzi could not stay away as she landed at Linate airport on her way to Modena. The 31-year old walked with confidence as she was followed by the very same throngs that attended her every move from the time of her arrest to her imprisonment as a 20-year old college student attending university in Perugia.
While many Americans might question the wisdom of returning to the source of so much personal grief in her life, others suggest this removes a constant burden that has hung over her life ever since. Using the conference as platform, she pointed the finger of abuse at the nation's media. I would suggest that her focus be elsewhere, namely, the country's archaic judicial system and its prosecutors of same. The name most relevant to this charge remains Giuliano Mignini, the corrupt prosecutor responsible not only for the outrageous descriptions of the crime, but for the leaking of inaccurate details that fed a voracious appetite among reporters hungry for lurid details that add to their salacious stories.
While Mr. Magnini's recent history is not well known, his despicable reputation continues to live on. This small, small man, desirous of a larger career and reputation, easily made it known in Firenze that he would not stop at lies and falsehoods to stir up the populous and to make him seem as the legal beagle he isn't. The career of this hapless little man has taken many turns, most of which would cause observers to take a moment to assess his abilities and motives. After being indicted in Firenze for professional misconduct, this phony advocate was allowed to preside over a case which he saw as a pathway to a new, cleaner reputation. But, alas, all it did was to sully an already tarnished legal
reputation. Ms. Knox, displaying a streak of humanity and character missing from Mr. Mignini, mentioned that she would be available to meet him again face-to-face, to demonstrate her strength and resolve to continue a life interrupted by 4 years in jail for a crime she did not commit.
As an adjunct to her plight, the entire judicial system of Italy has been exposed to the world as a system in desperate need of change and complete overhaul. The pathetic economy of Italy, one of the worst in the EU, shows little signs of improving anytime soon. Many economists focus on labor laws; others on banking; still others on corruption and union power. In reality, the problem is much deeper, much more ingrained. It is the country's legal system. In a nutshell: the problem is the Rule of Law. How can an economy function without the rule of law? The simple answer is: it cannot. Businesses need a foundation of law, a system that is not only encoded by agreement and statute, but also by implementation. In other words, a plaintiff must have a belief that the courts will offer redress to pleadings " in a timely manner", not in the present system that cannot reach a decision on anything in a timely manner. The current system rewards only lawyers and their support staff. The system is a disgrace. Without change, Italy will continue its role as the main drag on the EU and the citizens of the once proud nation.
Thank you, Amanda, for your efforts.
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