How Would Amanda Knox Have Fared In The U.S. Justice System?

Law professor Jason Mazzone has an interesting post concerning the Amanda Knox retrial (and conviction) in Italy.  He wonders how Knox would have fared had her alleged crimes been committed in the U.S.:

Under those circumstances, the most likely place Knox would be today is in prison serving a lengthy sentence. This is because, as is true of the vast majority of criminal defendants facing trial, Knox would have pled guilty pursuant to a plea bargain—in exchange for a reduced sentence or dropped charges or some combination of both. As it is, Knox might well never spend another day in prison and certainly she will not be in a cell anytime soon. From that measure, the Italian criminal justice system probably serves Knox better than would that of the United States.