Why Extradite Amanda Knox: Italy Refused Extradition of Anhang ‘Black Widow’ Wife

A lot has been made as to whether the US Government should extradite Amanda Knox back to Italy.

Knox, who was often referred to as “Foxy Knoxy” in the Italian media, was convicted of murdering British exchange student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Umbria, Italy back in 2009 in what prosecutors called a deviant sex game that went awry.   She served four years of a 26-year sentence before the murder conviction was overturned on October 3, 2011.  In March 26, 2013, Knox's acquittal was overturned by the Italian Supreme Court, sending the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.  Italy now wants to have Knox retried.

"I was already imprisoned as innocent person in Italy, and I can't reconcile the choice to go back with that experience," Knox said in an interview with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today" show. "I just can't relive that."

Knox, however, may not have any say in the matter.

Some experts fear that, in failing to extradite Knox back to Italy, we could ultimately jeopardize the entire extradition process as a whole.

Then there is the argument that the move potentially pits a U.S. constitutional ban on double jeopardy, or being tried twice for the same offense after an acquittal, against international extradition agreements.

There is precedent for Italy refusing to extradite wanted murderers back to the US on the basis of national policy.

As Gambling911.com has previously reported, Italy refused to extradite Vazquez Rijos on the basis that the wanted American fugitive could be a prime candidate for the death penalty if returned to the United States.

A U.S. grand jury charged Vazquez in 2008 with offering a man $3 million to kill her husband, online gambling entrepreneur and real estate tycoon Adam Anhang, in broad delight on a busy San Juan, Puerto Rico intersection.  Anhang was brutally stabbed nearly two dozen times.

While living in Italy, Vazquez Rijos even gave birth to another man’s twins.  But she was captured back in June while in transit at Madrid’s international airport.

Whether Knox’s attorney cites this case as reason not to have his client extradited to Italy remains to be seen.  There is certainly precedence for not doing so.

If Knox is retried after she was acquitted, that would violate her constitutional rights, said Christopher Blakesley, a law professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who specializes in international criminal law. On the other hand, the United States entered into an extradition treaty and, in doing so, accepted Italy's criminal justice system, he added.

"If Knox is found guilty, there's still a whole lot of room for battle before she would ever be extradited," Blakesley said.

- Alajendro Botticelli, Gambling911.com