It's over, not officially of course, but it's over none the less. The prosecution's case against Amanda Knox has crashed as the court appointed DNA experts have turned in a 144 page report which completely destroys the the so-called 'evidence' against Knox. The DNA was the last foothold for the prosecution and they lost big-time on that one. The experts Carla Vecchiotti and Stefano Conti have stated that the DNA testing of the knife and bra clasp was "unreliable" and possibly the result of contamination. They further stated that the investigators/police handling of the evidence was not acceptable, and that the testing of the low copy number DNA did not meet minimum international standards. The DNA could not be retested because there was nothing to test so, as ordered by the court, the experts turned their attention to the collection of evidence and the DNA testing procedures.
For anyone wanting more information on the expert's report just google it- it's all over the news.
Amanda Knox has unofficially won her appeal with the long awaited DNA report. There is now zero evidence against her, and all that is left is some expected fussing from the prosecution. People everywhere should now ask themselves how the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox could have happened in the first place, and what should be done about it. Yet all of that is best left till after Amanda and Raffaele' are free. I think at this point in time, with Amanda being clearly innocent, the court should have her placed under 'house arrest' in Perugia, rather than continuing in prison, until the appeal is over. The same should go for Raffaele. And why not? They are at this point clearly innocent with nothing to merit a continued stay in prison. They have been locked up for over 3 and a half years and are clearly innocent- enough is enough. What I am suggesting is nothing special. Prosecutor Mignini himself is out walking around a free man while waiting for his own appeal after he was convicted of abusing his office and bugging the phones of journalists. I think it is time to show some compassion to these two victims of a crass rush to judgement from the original trial. Of course the prosecution could object to their release from prison but they could not do so for any rational reasons. Like I said, Mignini himself is out walking around, and I find him a much more dangerous person than Amanda Knox. Just an idea. In any case (unofficially of course) it's over- and the good guys win.
Amanda's Book Due Out April 30, 2013
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Amanda Knox Appeal: Knox Shocked and Saddened By Guede's Cowardice
June 27, 2011- It was a strange day in the Perugia court this morning- tense, emotional, but ultimately disappointing. For those who thought Rudy Guede would come clean about the murder...well....he didn't. For those who thought that Amanda's and Raffaele's defense teams would give Guede the business...well... they didn't. For those who thought Guede would be compelled one way or another to tell the truth... he wasn't.
Guede said he would not answer questions related to the murder and would only make a statement and read a letter regarding Mario Alessi's claim that he told him Amanda and Raffaele were innocent. He was not compelled to answer questions from the defense. While this may have been legally correct, it was also morally reprehensible. Particularly since he (actually prosecutor Mignini) slipped in that Amanda and Raffaele were responsible for the murder (without using those exact words). What did appear like a legal ploy was that Guede said he had trouble reading his own handwriting and Mignini read the letter for him. The letter basically stated that he (Guede) had never told Alessi anything about the murder and that in his opinion it was Amanda and Raffaele who were the murderers. Although Guede has changed his story several times about who was involved in the murder, he seems quite comfortable lately about Amanda and Raffaele getting the rap for it.
Perhaps the strangest and most surprising event of the day was that witnesses were called saying that Raffaele's lawyer Bongiomo offered a witness a large sum of money to cook up a story of someone else commiting the murder. While I am sure no one including the prosecution believes this foolishness, it certainly did get Bongiomo's blood up, and who could blame her. It seems that the prosecution is ready to play dirty now that they no longer have a case against Amanda and Raffaele. The witnesses saying this against Bongiomo were of course inmates who said they heard this from the 'witness' himself. Was this some kind of message from the prosecution saying "See we can get inmates to say things too". Well this is really just too stupid to believe- Bongiomo is a highly respected lawyer and is a member of the Italian PM.
As far as Guede's comments and letter- well, what do you expect from a thief and murderer. He doesn't have a moral bone in his body. However Amanda and Raffaele were more than a little upset with his getting away with it. Amanda was on her feet to defend herself, but the judge told her she had to wait until Guede was finished. She did get to make a statement after Guede had left the courtroom and was just about shaking with emotion. Amanda told the court that Guede knew the truth and was lying, and that the only time Guede, Raffaele and herself had been together was in the courtroom. Apparently she had thought that Guede might come clean and tell the truth. Unfortunately, he didn't.
So after today- what has changed? Nothing. Amanda's innocence does not hinge on anything Guede says. It still comes down to evidence, and there isn't any. There is no evidence against Amanda or Raffaele. There is no motive. No witnesses. No prior violent histories. No trace of Amanda in the murder room. And the DNA put forth by the prosecution is a joke- and we'll see this on the 30th as the DNA experts turn in their reports. So now we look forward to the DNA experts and what they have to say on the 30th but some claim there will be leaks on the 29th. In any case this will be a major factor in this appeal- the DNA or lack of it. Today was just a lot of drama.
Guede said he would not answer questions related to the murder and would only make a statement and read a letter regarding Mario Alessi's claim that he told him Amanda and Raffaele were innocent. He was not compelled to answer questions from the defense. While this may have been legally correct, it was also morally reprehensible. Particularly since he (actually prosecutor Mignini) slipped in that Amanda and Raffaele were responsible for the murder (without using those exact words). What did appear like a legal ploy was that Guede said he had trouble reading his own handwriting and Mignini read the letter for him. The letter basically stated that he (Guede) had never told Alessi anything about the murder and that in his opinion it was Amanda and Raffaele who were the murderers. Although Guede has changed his story several times about who was involved in the murder, he seems quite comfortable lately about Amanda and Raffaele getting the rap for it.
Perhaps the strangest and most surprising event of the day was that witnesses were called saying that Raffaele's lawyer Bongiomo offered a witness a large sum of money to cook up a story of someone else commiting the murder. While I am sure no one including the prosecution believes this foolishness, it certainly did get Bongiomo's blood up, and who could blame her. It seems that the prosecution is ready to play dirty now that they no longer have a case against Amanda and Raffaele. The witnesses saying this against Bongiomo were of course inmates who said they heard this from the 'witness' himself. Was this some kind of message from the prosecution saying "See we can get inmates to say things too". Well this is really just too stupid to believe- Bongiomo is a highly respected lawyer and is a member of the Italian PM.
As far as Guede's comments and letter- well, what do you expect from a thief and murderer. He doesn't have a moral bone in his body. However Amanda and Raffaele were more than a little upset with his getting away with it. Amanda was on her feet to defend herself, but the judge told her she had to wait until Guede was finished. She did get to make a statement after Guede had left the courtroom and was just about shaking with emotion. Amanda told the court that Guede knew the truth and was lying, and that the only time Guede, Raffaele and herself had been together was in the courtroom. Apparently she had thought that Guede might come clean and tell the truth. Unfortunately, he didn't.
So after today- what has changed? Nothing. Amanda's innocence does not hinge on anything Guede says. It still comes down to evidence, and there isn't any. There is no evidence against Amanda or Raffaele. There is no motive. No witnesses. No prior violent histories. No trace of Amanda in the murder room. And the DNA put forth by the prosecution is a joke- and we'll see this on the 30th as the DNA experts turn in their reports. So now we look forward to the DNA experts and what they have to say on the 30th but some claim there will be leaks on the 29th. In any case this will be a major factor in this appeal- the DNA or lack of it. Today was just a lot of drama.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Amanda Knox Appeal: Another Day In Court With Testimony From Inmates
June 18, 2011- Amanda Knox appeared in the Perugia court this morning and heard testimony from several prison inmates, including Mario Alessi. For those of you not up on this- Alessi testified that Rudy Guede told him in prison that Amanda and her former boyfriend were not involved in the murder of Amanda's British room-mate, for which she was convicted and sentenced to 26 years. In short, Alessi stated that Guede admitted to him that he (Guede) and another man were present but not Amanda or Raffaele. This testimony was backed up by several other inmate witnesses. The prosecution of course objected saying that the testimony of Alessi was not reliable and so on, but it really doesn't matter.
Amanda does not need this testimony in order to win her appeal. It doesn't matter if Alessi is lying or not- Yet I, personally believe he is telling the truth; The prosecution's case is finished- regardless of today's testimony pro or con (pun intended). There is nothing that will prevent Amanda Knox from winning her appeal. Why do I say this? Simply put- It's the head judge handling this appeal. Hellmann is not falling for any foolishness. He is calling everything that was so stupidly swallowed by a former court into question. He is re-examining everything that the prosecution had put forth as fact and the end result has been- the prosecution's case is pathetic. They have no motive and no evidence- Nothing.
Today I noticed a few blogs/ forums trying to downside the inmates testimony- that's fine. The point is, the testimony of these inmates was not needed, but they wanted to be heard, and if it made the prosecution pucker up just a little more than they have been lately- so much the better. The bottom line on all of this is- Amanda Knox is going to win this time around. All the lies and smoke and mirror acts are over. The prosecution's case is being exposed for what it is- pathetic. The only logical conclusion to this appeal trial is the release of Amanda Knox- and the sooner the better.
Amanda does not need this testimony in order to win her appeal. It doesn't matter if Alessi is lying or not- Yet I, personally believe he is telling the truth; The prosecution's case is finished- regardless of today's testimony pro or con (pun intended). There is nothing that will prevent Amanda Knox from winning her appeal. Why do I say this? Simply put- It's the head judge handling this appeal. Hellmann is not falling for any foolishness. He is calling everything that was so stupidly swallowed by a former court into question. He is re-examining everything that the prosecution had put forth as fact and the end result has been- the prosecution's case is pathetic. They have no motive and no evidence- Nothing.
Today I noticed a few blogs/ forums trying to downside the inmates testimony- that's fine. The point is, the testimony of these inmates was not needed, but they wanted to be heard, and if it made the prosecution pucker up just a little more than they have been lately- so much the better. The bottom line on all of this is- Amanda Knox is going to win this time around. All the lies and smoke and mirror acts are over. The prosecution's case is being exposed for what it is- pathetic. The only logical conclusion to this appeal trial is the release of Amanda Knox- and the sooner the better.
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