Sometimes Americans do root for the other team

Listen to Sometimes American do root for the other team

We don’t typically root for convicted murderers in this country. We root for the prosecution.

“Your state has executed 234 death row inmates, more than any other governor in modern times…” (Cheers!)

Hang ’em high! But it was different for Amanda Knox. As she went on trial for the murder of her roommate, there was outrage. The evidence seemed flimsy. The Italian justice system looked like something out of the middle ages. And Correspondent Peter Van Sant reported that the real crime was the conduct of the prosecution!

“He created this sex fiend and remember this is a man who was convicted of abuse of office. Trust me, I think he will have his day in court.”

And yet overseas, Amanda never stopped being Foxy Knoxy. And when the Italian appeals court set her free yesterday, the locals didn’t cheer. They couldn’t believe it:

“She was the she-devil, is how she was portrayed here, so people are genuinely shocked that she is walking free.”

But in the US, especially in Seattle, there was celebration. And Anne Bremner, the attorney who helped raise money for the family, even told me that in hindsight, Amanda should have run:

“I think that in the very beginning the best thing that she could have done was get on a plane and come home because there was no evidence and she wasn’t arrested right away. I don’t think she would have been extradited.”

Imagine how that would have looked! So pay attention world, you may see the US as a hang ’em high culture, but not in the Amanda Knox case. In the Amanda Knox case we were ready to smuggle in the hacksaws.