Amanda Knox: "The guards helped me out. They held me all night"

Story here. I can't begin to tell you how much red I am seeing over this topic. Brace yourselves, please, for a Matt-rant. Here goes:

I wonder how many times the guards in a prison somewhere have "held" a male prisoner all night as he sobbed miserably after being convicted of a murder in a case that had a mountain of evidence against him? Knox supporters have been crying anti-Americanism is behind her convictions, but was anti-Ivorian sentiment behind Rudy Guédé's conviction? (Who the hell was that, you ask? The "third" person found guilty in this trial, which is a funny way to look at it since he was the first of the three to stand trial and the first actually convicted. So we know where he sits in precedence of public consideration already.)

Is any one of her partners in crime receiving such sympathy? Her Italian boyfriend (umm, what's-his-name again... Raffaele Sollecito, umm, that's it) is also doing 25 years for this crime, and the "third convict" as he is being called was found guilty in a separate trial. I am amazed they even bother to mention his name, Rudy Guédé, at all in the article as he is 1) a man, and 2) from the Ivory Coast (ie, he's black) and 3) was not romantically (but by his account, in a sexual way, and only recently relative to the crime) involved with Knox. Does *anyone* at all, in comparison to Knox, care a whit about what his first night in jail was like?

But to be fair, those two others were assuredly held all night in prison by the guards. They just weren't cuddled or coddled in that meaning of the word. They were instead held in cells probably without any contact with others, unless it was in the form of some kind of abuse, which no one cares about. (Aside: Notice how NGOs like Amnesty International have stopped discussing such matters as the abuse of prisoners in jails unless the prisoners are female?)

It would seem, as I often point out, that nymphotropism has absolutely no limits. I predict Ms. Knox will be out in less than five years while her "boyfriend" will do all 25. (God knows how long Guédé got; they don't mention it in this article but they do mention his was the only DNA *not* found on the murder weapon, which is not to say I think he isn't guilty of the murder along with the other two). In any case after she gets out, I doubt she'll do anything to get either of them out of jail, either.

Let me be clear: I firmly believe anyone guilty of such a crime shouldn't be let out early. I also believe with equal firmness that all the guilty parties should do the same time yet even if one of them is cuter or more feminine than the others. Excerpt:

'PERUGIA, Italy – Amanda Knox sounded casual, surprised even, by the simple question as it came through the door of her prison cell in English on Sunday: "How are you?"

"OK, thanks. How are you guys?" said the American student, who had been sentenced eight days earlier to 26 years in prison for the murder of her British roommate. But minutes later, Knox confided, in answer to a question from an Associated Press reporter in her cell: "I am scared because I don't know what is going on."

The 22-year-old, who is a cause celebre in the United States among those who contend she was wrongly convicted by the Perugia court, received a 10-minute visit inside the cell by two Italian lawmakers, prison officials and a pair of reporters in Capanne prison on the outskirts of Perugia.
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Three people, including Knox's Italian former boyfriend, have been convicted of sexual assault and murder.
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Toward the end of the visit, the woman from Washington state recalled her emotions on Dec. 5, when shortly after midnight the judge read out the verdict after a nearly yearlong trial: "I was feeling horrendous" upon being convicted.

"The guards helped me out. They held me all night," she said.

Knox's ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, who was given a 25-year-sentence, is now in another prison. Both insist they are innocent, as does a third defendant, Ivory Coast national Rudy Guede, who was convicted in a separate trial.
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Knox's cell mate, who has been identified by other lawmakers in previous visits as a 53-year-old American woman from New Orleans serving a four-year sentence for a drug conviction, wasn't present during the visit.

The cell includes a private bathroom with shower, toilet and bidet.

Shortly after her visitors left the cell, just before lunch time, Knox sat on her bed and was reading some handwritten papers. When she heard the delegation leaving the corridor, she looked up, waved and said, "Ciao."

TVs and newspapers are available, although Knox said she doesn't watch television or read the newspapers.

The prison was decked out for the holidays, with Christmas trees. During a short tour, the delegation saw a hairdresser, whose services inmates can use once a week.

A pingpong table is among the recreation facilities.'