Rudy Guede, convicted of murdering British exchange student Meredith Kercher in 2009, was released from jail Friday. The decision angered Kercher’s family and could force the Italian courts to revise its rape laws.
After the 24-year-old student was found dead in a pool of blood inside the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Italian authorities accused Guede, then 20, of being responsible for her death. Guede had reportedly spent the evening drinking with the victim before they kissed.
He had only been sentenced to a 16-year term in 2011, but a verdict was overturned and he was re-sentenced to 30 years in 2012 due to new evidence.
The Kercher family filed a court case this week that called for the release of Guede, claiming that he had already served his time. Though the appeal was dropped earlier this week, Kercher’s mother, Arline, launched a second appeal last Friday, arguing that her daughter’s right to life was infringed upon.
In Friday’s ruling, Italy’s highest court gave Guede the go-ahead to walk free, making him the first person ever granted conditional release under Italy’s new “lifetime jail” law.
“If someone violates the legal framework and he is given a sentence for life, then they give you, before that sentence is served, the right to serve that sentence,” Justice Minister Dario Franceschini said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Franceschini said Italy might create a different law that would allow for clemency and parole, but it will be up to judges to determine whether a person should be granted such a release.
Lawyers for the Kercher family said Friday they plan to appeal the ruling to the constitutional court.
Italy’s highest court also ordered Guede to pay Kercher’s mother more than $1.1 million in legal costs.
Justice Minister Dario Franceschini said Italy may create a different law that would allow for clemency and parole, but it will be up to judges to determine whether a person should be granted such a release.
Lawyers for the Kercher family said Friday they plan to appeal the ruling to the constitutional court.
Franceschini said Italy might create a different law that would allow for clemency and parole, but it will be up to judges to determine whether a person should be granted such a release.
Lawyers for the Kercher family said Friday they plan to appeal the ruling to the constitutional court.
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