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Now that “Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy” has aired, the question still remains: Was Lifetime right, wrong or downright reprehensible for airing it — just in time for her appeal to begin?
Answer: All of the above.
* Why they were right: Hello! Knox has already been found guilty. True crime movies are as old as “In Cold Blood,” and, yes, “The Killer Nuns.” True crime is what Lifetime now does best, and it’s what people like to watch. Truth is not just stranger than fiction, but it’s so much more riveting. And hey — where was the Knox family and the public’s outrage when “Lifetime” aired “Amish Grace” about the schoolhouse slaughter of children?
As for tainting the jury before the appeal, do you seriously believe there is one human in Italy (even among the panel of judges who serve as the jury) who hasn’t already read every salacious fact and lie printed about the case?
The whole country is already so tainted, it’s rancid. This jury of judges will have nothing but the facts left to ponder. It’s trial by jury — not trial by TV movie.
* Why they were wrong: Yesterday, Knox’s family issued a statement about how disgusted they are that Lifetime behaved like insensitive profiteers when two young people’s lives are at stake. Are they serious? TV producers are the carpetbaggers of entertainment. But what would an expert in the ethics of this particular dilemma think? Best-selling true crime author, Seattle resident and mother of many, Ann Rule, who has had countless true crime books made into TV, weighed in on “wrong.”
“Frankly, I was shocked [that they would air it] because of the appeal,” she said. “I have chosen not to write about this case myself — even though I’m from Seattle — until we really know the truth. I’m still conflicted about the whole thing.”
* Why they were downright reprehensible: Because it will change Americans’ perceptions of Amanda’s guilt or innocence — without a doubt. In fact, according to a survey on Hollywoodlife.com, 55.55% of responders think “it was so wrong” to air this movie. Of course, they all watched it anyway.
The support of Americans was all Knox has left to cling to. Taking that away — if she’s innocent — is reprehensible indeed.
Either Americans found it so distasteful they stayed away in droves or they just don’t care about Knox. The movie only pulled in 2.8 million viewers — almost half of what “The Craig’s List Killer,” also about a sexual predator/killer college student, pulled. Now, that’s just wrong.