With the murder conviction of Amanda Knox reinstated, lengthening her sentence from 26 years to 28-1/2 for an additional slander conviction, a long extradition fight is likely. Can Italy get her back?
Will Knox Be Extradited?
The verdict is not final yet for Amanda Knox; in Italy, verdicts are not considered final until they are confirmed, usually by the supreme Court of Cassation. The fact that Italy allowed Knox to come back to the U.S. before her initial acquittal was finalized may be a clue that they won’t attempt to extradite her, at least before her guilty verdict is finalized by the higher court.
Should that happen, Italy would have to ask the U.S. to extradite her. Whether the U.S. would hand her over could be less about law and more about politics and foreign policy.
The final decision of whether to hand Knox over to Italy would rest with the U.S. State Department. While the U.S. has an extradition treaty with Italy, the State Department can enforce it or not; they technically should, but they may not for political reasons — and really, the Secretary of State doesn’t have to give any reason to withhold Amanda Knox. The U.S. hoped Hong Kong would hand Edward Snowden over when he fled there, but Hong Kong was able to dodge the request.
Many speculate that the U.S. would ignore an extradition request based on a general positive public opinion of Knox and the questionable handling of her case in Italy.
Could Knox Be Trapped in the U.S.?
Obviously there is a great deal of controversy over whether Knox is a victim of double jeopardy, since she was retried after an acquittal, which is illegal in the U.S. Some downplay this issue because Knox’s acquittal was not finalized by Italy’s highest court. This could be grounds enough for the U.S. to decide to ignore an extradition request. Many believe the U.S. would likely comply, however.
If an extradition request is made, and Knox is able to avoid being sent back, she will be trapped in the U.S. when Interpol puts a warrant out for her arrest. If Knox were to travel outside the United States, she would be arrested and immediately turned over to Italian authorities.
Italian Justice System
There is a 90-day waiting period before the jury’s reasoning in the Knox case will be released; however, a Florence judge prematurely told the press that he agreed with the verdict, suggesting a bias that would be inappropriate going forward. Making such statements indeed suggests partiality and breaks several Italian legal codes, perhaps giving the U.S. a few more reasons to ignore extradition requests by the Italian justice system.
