September 5, 2011- The appeal for Amanda Knox kicked up again today in Perugia, picking up where it left off last July with the court appointed experts taking the stand. The big issue was still the DNA which the experts shot full of holes earlier this summer and continued to stand by. Despite the prosecution blowing a lot of smoke, Dr. Carla Vecchiotti came through the cross examination convincingly. As regards to the knife, Vecchiotti stated that the investigators/ Stefanoni, "evaluated a quantity of DNA that no one in the world would try to analyze". In regards to the bra-clasp she stated that small traces of at least 18 people including herself were on the clasp. "Anyone's DNA could be on there" she said, obviously referring to widespread contamination of the clasp.
Dr Stefanoni, who did the original testing for the prosecution, also testified today and defended the original investigation and collection and testing of DNA in direct opposition to the court appointed experts. Well now- who to believe. Actually, most people who know about DNA and what is called Low Copy Number DNA, already know the prosecution is on very thin ice. Personally I think the thing to remember about this clash over DNA is that the court appointed DNA experts have nothing to gain or loose by stating their case- they have nothing to do with the defense or prosecution and therefore their findings can be taken as being unbiased. Can the same be said for Stefanoni who works on the side of the prosecution?
The appeal hearings will continue through the week with the verdict expected by the end of the month.
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