Lost in Translation

Italians are mystified by American outrage at the verdict in Amanda Knox's murder trial. They're watching CNN's analysts blame it on a parochial Perugia jury or Fox's pundits chalk it up to anti-American student sentiment in a college town. They saw Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sort of deflect the question of whether or not the U.S. government would intervene.

Reaction here ranges from defensive affront that anyone would knock Italy's judicial system to outright cynicism: the local TV affiliate compared Knox to Carlo Parlanti, an Italian convicted of rape in California and sent to prison for nine years (many Italians believe he was set up). America jailed an innocent Italian--so...tit-for-tat.

The people I've talked to reassure me that Amanda is "doing fine" in prison. They promise that her sentence will be reduced to 10 years on appeal. "A girl died," they say. "Someone had to go to prison."