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British Airways Amanda Knox

Amanda Knox: How BA cheap flights helped out her mum

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

October 4, 2011 | 2 min read

The Seattle Times reported from Amanda Knox's home city that since she was locked up four years ago, " members of her immediate family and circle of close friends have been in Perugia almost continuously, to assure she saw a friendly face during visiting hours."

Thanks to a supporter who worked for British Airways, her mother, Edda Mellas, took cheap standby flights to Rome.

Amanda's parents who have divorced and remarried, have taken out second mortgages, run up credit-card debt and drained their retirement funds. Knox's grandmother took out a $250,000 mortgage to help pay legal bills that far exceed $1 million. The family eventually rented a small farm house outside Perugia and bought a second-hand car.

The New York Daily News had a go after the verdict at The Prosecutor of Perugia who, the paper said, was a balding, portly Italian "who has a thing for conspiracy theories involving Satanic sects." Giuliano Mignini, the 60-year-old magistrate, said the paper, had put forth "wild and bizarre hypotheses" about the murder of Meredith. His actions, according to many observers, not only laid the groundwork for Knox's acquittal "but were outright unprofessional and bordering on the criminal. He was even censored last year for abusing his office." Author Mario Spezi once asked on CBS News, "Why are people afraid to stop him? Why was he allowed to work on the Amanda Knox case and present his crazy ideas?"

The Los Angeles Times said the the acquittals were unlikely to quell public debate, "especially among Italians who feel their judicial system has been smeared by the American media and others who accuse the authorities in Perugia of railroading Knox in a staggering miscarriage of justice."

Washington Post writer Fahima Haque said , "Cases like these garner worldwide attention if only because they speak to our humanity, our ability to want to rally behind the wrongfully accused. "The Italian police subjected Knox to unfair practices and mistreated her by manipulating “suspect behavior” into a full-fledged case. "Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? For many, the case of Troy Davis (executed last week in Georgia) quickly comes to mind. A man who maintained his innocence for 20 years, but whose pleas were ultimately ignored. "Knox’s pleas were not, and she’s going free."

British Airways Amanda Knox

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