Amanda Knox Case Update: ‘Double Jeopardy’ Clause Won’t Prevent Extradition If Re-Conviction Of Murder Stands? [VIDEO]
Just because Amanda Knox is an American citizen doesn't mean she won't be extradited to Italy to serve her 28-year sentence for murder if she loses her appeals case.
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The 26-year-old, who was accused of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher in the Perugia, Italy home they shared back in 2007, has been fighting a re-conviction handed down by the Italian Court of Cassation in January. However, according to an April 10 article in The Pacific-Standard, if she loses her appeal, Knox could very well be extradited back to Italy and is not protected under the American law of Double Jeopardy.
It has been believed that Knox could be protected by Article VI of the U.S. Extradition treaty with Italy, which aims to prevent Double Jeopardy, or a defense which prevents Knox from being tried on the same charges twice after she is either legitimately aquitted or convicted. However, the U.S. is only relieved of its obligation to extradite Knox if she is charged with the same crime at home.
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Knox, who has maintained her innocence throughout, is unlikely to be brought up on charges for Kercher's death here in the U.S., meaning the U.S. could still fulfill its obligation to send her back to Italy.
The decision to extradite Knox falls to either a judge or the State Department, which has not commented on her case. If her reconviction is upheld, the U.S. can still keep her here, but they do not have a legal reason to do so.
Knox, her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and a third man named Rudy Guede were all arrested in connection to Kercher's death back in 2007. While Guede was convicted of murder and given a 16-year sentence, Knox and Sollecito both pleaded not guilty and served four years in an Italian prison before their convictions were overturned in 2011.
However, earlier this year, an Italian court reconvicted Knox and Sollecito in a retrial focused on DNA evidence. At this trial, Knox was sentenced to 28 years in an Italian prison, while Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years.
At the time of her reconviction, Knox said she would never willingly go back to Italy and serve her sentence.
"I'm not prepared. I will never willingly go back," she said at the time. "I'm going to fight this until the very end."
ABC US News
