On January 30, following the guilty verdict in the retrial in Florence of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, this statement was released by the authors of The Forgotten Killer: Rudy Guede and the Murder of Meredith Kercher – John Douglas, Michael Heavy, Jim Lovering, Steve Moore, Mark Olshaker, Douglas Preston and Thomas Wright:
Statement on the Verdict
in the Amanda Knox-Raffaele Sollecito Re-Trial
We were shocked, saddened and angered to hear that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of murder by an Italian court in yet another trial in the endless judicial proceedings in this case. They are the victims of no less than judicial persecution.
This verdict is not about justice. It is not about evidence or truth. This is about the saving of face, about protecting the careers of powerful people, and about the appeasement of Italian public opinion. It is about protecting a false assumption and accusation and a coerced false confession made before evidence was processed and anyone understood the dynamics of what had really happened. There never was any evidence against Amanda and Raffaele—and compelling evidence they had absolutely nothing to do with the violent and heinous murder of Meredith Kercher.
We, the undersigned, have been involved in this case for many years. We came together several months ago to write a book analyzing this case in detail. We wanted to tell the story of exactly what did happen the night of the murder of Meredith Kercher, based strictly on the evidence and responsible investigative practices. That was our sole aim. Our analysis is presented in THE FORGOTTEN KILLER: RUDY GUEDE AND THE MURDER OF MEREDITH KERCHER. This book conclusively shows that the evidence against Guede was overwhelming from the beginning. That he committed the crime alone, without help, we also demonstrate is beyond question. THE FORGOTTEN KILLER identifies the killer, why he killed, how, and why Italian police and prosecutors erroneously focused on Amanda and Raffaele.
The authors have undertaken this project completely pro bono, solely in the interests of truth.
What is happening to Amanda and Raffaele can happen to anyone. When a law enforcement and court system puts its pride and self-interest ahead of truth, it endangers the public. It cannot salvage its credibility by denying its error. Two innocent people are being railroaded. Meanwhile, Rudy Guede, the genuinely dangerous criminal who murdered Meredith Kercher, is largely ignored. He has slipped through the system and may be back on the street as early as this year.
We will speak out against this disgraceful verdict and travesty of justice in every public arena, and at every possible opportunity. The sooner the Italian court system comes to its senses, the better for it and the public it is supposed to serve.
Signed:
John Douglas, former FBI special agent and chief, Investigative Support Unit
Michael Heavey, former judge, King County Superior Court
Jim Lovering, retired businessman, archivist for and expert on the case
Steve Moore, former FBI special agent and violent crime investigator
Mark Olshaker, author, filmmaker, journalist, co-author of Law & Disorder
Douglas Preston, journalist author of The Monster of Florence and Trial By Fury
Thomas Lee Wright, writer, filmmaker, co-founder, Friends of Amanda
