The judges have retired to consider their ruling. When will they come back?
No one can tell. But the presiding judge, Claudio Pratillo Hellmann, told the court it would not be before 8pm local time.
Who takes the decision?
Hellmann has two votes. The other professional judge has one. Then there are six lay judges: ordinary citizens drawn by ballot from among the residents of Umbria, the region of which Perugia is the capital. They have one vote each.
So the lay judges could outvote the professionals?
In theory, yes. In practice, they are heavily influenced by the so-called "giudici togati" (robed judges).
What do they have to decide?
More than you might imagine. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were jointly convicted on five charges: murder; unlicensed possession of a lethal weapon; sexual assault; theft (of the €300 and two mobiles stolen from the flat Knox shared with Meredith Kercher and two Italian women); and, finally, trying to cover up the crimes by simulating a robbery (the break-in by way of a smashed window, which the defence says was genuine and perpetrated by Rudy Guede).
In addition, Knox was convicted of criminal slander (identifying her employer, Diya "Patrick" Lumumba as the killer in a statement she later withdrew). The appeal is against all six convictions. The judges will probably look at each in turn.
So the appellants could be acquitted of some charges and not others?
Absolutely. One possible outcome is that Knox and Sollecito are cleared of murder, while Knox's appeal against the slander charges is turned down. She was given a one-year sentence for that, and has served almost four times that amount of time in jail, so she would walk free.
A much stranger outcome, but one that cannot be discounted, would be if they were acquitted of murder, but had their appeals against the cover-up charge rejected. That would leave a big cloud hanging over them.
Any other variations?
Plenty. Under Italian law, there is more than one kind of acquittal. Two do not apply to this case. The others are full acquittal and acquittal for lack of proof, the latter being similar to the so-called "third verdict" of "not proven" available under Scottish law: the court is not saying the accused is innocent, but that there is insufficient evidence to the contrary.
This could offer a way out that would save the face of the Italian police and prosecutors, by implying they were quite right to bring charges, while releasing two young people against whom the evidence is no longer as strong as it once appeared.
What happens if Knox and Sollecito are acquitted?
They will return to their respective prisons to collect their belongings. But they should be free in hours, and the word in Perugia is that Knox will immediately leave the country.
And that would be the end of it?
No. Within 90 days, the judges must submit their written verdict and the various parties would then have 45 days in which to take the case to Italy's highest appeals court. Under Italian law, the prosecution as well as the defence can lodge an appeal. But it is usually on a point of law or procedure.
By then, though, Amanda Knox would be the other side of the world.
Yes. But, despite what the prosecutor said in court (astonishingly, without being corrected by the judges), Italy has an extradition treaty with the United States. So if the lower court decision were reinstated, in theory, the Italian authorities could ask for her to be returned.
No one can tell. But the presiding judge, Claudio Pratillo Hellmann, told the court it would not be before 8pm local time.
Who takes the decision?
Hellmann has two votes. The other professional judge has one. Then there are six lay judges: ordinary citizens drawn by ballot from among the residents of Umbria, the region of which Perugia is the capital. They have one vote each.
So the lay judges could outvote the professionals?
In theory, yes. In practice, they are heavily influenced by the so-called "giudici togati" (robed judges).
What do they have to decide?
More than you might imagine. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were jointly convicted on five charges: murder; unlicensed possession of a lethal weapon; sexual assault; theft (of the €300 and two mobiles stolen from the flat Knox shared with Meredith Kercher and two Italian women); and, finally, trying to cover up the crimes by simulating a robbery (the break-in by way of a smashed window, which the defence says was genuine and perpetrated by Rudy Guede).
In addition, Knox was convicted of criminal slander (identifying her employer, Diya "Patrick" Lumumba as the killer in a statement she later withdrew). The appeal is against all six convictions. The judges will probably look at each in turn.
So the appellants could be acquitted of some charges and not others?
Absolutely. One possible outcome is that Knox and Sollecito are cleared of murder, while Knox's appeal against the slander charges is turned down. She was given a one-year sentence for that, and has served almost four times that amount of time in jail, so she would walk free.
A much stranger outcome, but one that cannot be discounted, would be if they were acquitted of murder, but had their appeals against the cover-up charge rejected. That would leave a big cloud hanging over them.
Any other variations?
Plenty. Under Italian law, there is more than one kind of acquittal. Two do not apply to this case. The others are full acquittal and acquittal for lack of proof, the latter being similar to the so-called "third verdict" of "not proven" available under Scottish law: the court is not saying the accused is innocent, but that there is insufficient evidence to the contrary.
This could offer a way out that would save the face of the Italian police and prosecutors, by implying they were quite right to bring charges, while releasing two young people against whom the evidence is no longer as strong as it once appeared.
What happens if Knox and Sollecito are acquitted?
They will return to their respective prisons to collect their belongings. But they should be free in hours, and the word in Perugia is that Knox will immediately leave the country.
And that would be the end of it?
No. Within 90 days, the judges must submit their written verdict and the various parties would then have 45 days in which to take the case to Italy's highest appeals court. Under Italian law, the prosecution as well as the defence can lodge an appeal. But it is usually on a point of law or procedure.
By then, though, Amanda Knox would be the other side of the world.
Yes. But, despite what the prosecutor said in court (astonishingly, without being corrected by the judges), Italy has an extradition treaty with the United States. So if the lower court decision were reinstated, in theory, the Italian authorities could ask for her to be returned.
