Superior Court judge for 10 years, Fauntleroy resident Michael Heavey, Sr. spoke on his own capacity (not judicial capacity) about the case of Amanda Knox which he has been following closely, at today's West Seattle Rotary Luncheon at Salty's on Alki. Amanda's father, Arbor Heights resident, Curt, attended as a guest.

Heavey served in the 34th District House of Representatives in 1986, then in this district's State Senate from 1994-2000. Governor, Gary Locke assigned Heavey to the bench Sept. 16, 2000. Heavey was a second lieutenant in the Vietnam War and received three medals including the Bronze Star.

Heavey's interest in the Knox case has been controversial. He was charged June 8 by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct for using court time, materials and employees to send three letters to prosecutors and a judge in Italy on the Knox case on County letterhead in 2008 while Knox was in prison awaiting trial.

Heavey told the West Seattle Herald last June, "A judge should not advance his private interest. I was not. I was advancing the interest of justice."

You can read that article here:

http://www.westseattleherald.com/2010/09/24/news/judge-michael-heavey-a…

"Curt is one of the strongest persons I have ever had the pleasure to meet. His family has been so devastated by this calamity, financially, emotionally," Judge Heavey began, at the Rotary podium. "I'm going to speak about justice systems in general and of course the case of Amanda Knox. In a letter from the Birmingham jail in 1963, Sr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, 'An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'

"The arrest was a flawed response...During the interrogation they said to Amanda, 'You are either lying or you repressed (the murder) because it was so traumatic... Trusting the police, she didn't have a chance. The evidence for Rudy Guede is overwhelming...His bloody shoe prints are on the floor...He cleaned himself up then went out dancing. There is a proverb (28:1) in the Bible that says, 'The wicked flee when no one pursues.' No one was after Rudy when he left the country.

"The evidence shows clearly that Guede acting alone broke into the cottage, ate some food, nature called, sat on the toilet. Meredith Kercher comes home. He doesn't flush the toilet because he doesn't want to warn her that he is there. The burglary turned into a robbery. The robbery turned into a sexual attack, and that turned into a murder."

Ms. Kercher was stabbed three times and died the evening of Nov.1, 2007.

"The prosecutor said that this was a sexual and sacrificial rite in accordance with the traditions of Halloween," he continued. "Now who would have a sexual and sacrificial rite on Halloween? A witch. He was metaphorically speaking of her as a witch.

"You cannot get a good pool of jurors who are going to be fair if they prejudge a case. The jurors were not screened for prejudging like we do. They were not sequestered. It's fine in a case where the defendant is anonymous, but in the case where she is the most famous woman in Italy, their hearts were hardened against Amanda Knox before she ever went to trial...Instead of being Amanda's shield against the government's arbitrary action, the jury became the sword of their arbitrary action."

Heavey spoke of what he called flawed DNA evidence on Ms. Kercher's bra clasp, the kitchen knife said to be the murder weapon, and the intermingled DNA of Ms. Kercher and Knox such as finger prints in their bathroom. He pointed out that it was their apartment and therefore normal that their fingerprints would be found on faucets and the toilet.

DNA samples are central in Knox's appeal. This Saturday, Jan. 22, two independent forensic experts from Rome will be sworn it at the appeal hearing. The judge may then assign a list of evidence, including the controversial knife and bra clasp, for the experts to examine.

Curt Knox, now employed as Controller for the Seattle Opera, told the West Seattle Herald at the Rotary luncheon that his hope is that the new judge and jury, via the forensic experts, will take a fresh, honest look at the above evidence. He said he does not yet know what evidence the judge will ask to be re-examined. He also said that the examination could drag on for up to four months but that he is fine with that if they need that time to take what he considers an honest look at the evidence.

"I was invited to come listen to Mike Heavey speak about Amanda's case," Knox told the West Seattle Herald. "It was a very impressive presentation. I was thankful for it. He has a clear understanding of the case and it is very nice for him to spend the time he does given everything he has going.

"It is emotional every time you hear about it and to have it be your own daughter is very tough,: he added. "I think as people become more educated about the case, their opinions change, if they had an opinion to start with. Then they can make their own conclusion, which is obviously that Amanda is innocent."