Two weeks ago Amanda Knox was found guilty again of Meredith Kercher's murder and sentenced to 28-years in jail, sparking an extradition-battle between Italy and the USA. Now, attention has focused on the one person who is in jail over her 2007 murder - Rudy Guede. Or rather, as it transpires, the fact that Rudy - who was given a 30-year-sentence in 2008 - has been allowed to leave prison every day to attend history lessons with a tutor.
Some of Meredith's friends have told The Mirror this morning that they don't think it's fair. 'Poor Meredith was in Perugia to study at university and this man was convicted of killing her,' they've told the newspaper. 'She is dead and here he is now studying history and could even go to the same university.'
Guede's lawyer, Walter Biscotti, insisted that the rules that allow for Guede's day release are as they should be, and that this quasi-freedom is legally sound: 'If the English and Meredith’s family are upset about this I don’t know what to say… it’s the law,' he's reported to have commented about the controversy. 'Rudy spends his days studying history. He spends some hours with a teacher, we don’t want to say where he is because he will get swamped by people from all over the world.'
Adding extra controversy to the mix, Biscotti added that Guede's days out to study could eventually lead to days out to work and then result in his early release. 'A judge has to decide each time whether he has been behaving well enough to be allowed out. Soon he will start working outside and returning to the prison to sleep,' he added. 'If the judge agrees he can get longer and longer and work outside, it all depends on his behaviour. He could be completely free within four years.'
This would be another blow to Meredith's family, as Guede's sentence was 16 years subject to appeal in 2008, and, if he gets out in 2018, that's only 10 years spent behind bars for the English student's murder.
Amanda Knox is currently in the US and has made it clear she will not return to Italy to face her sentence. Ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was also re-tried and sentenced to 25 years, is at large in Italy, though his passport has been confiscated by authorities.
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**Pictures: Getty, PA **
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.