Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Amanda Knox...Free at last!

After four years in prison, the Italian appeals court threw out Amanda Knox's conviction of sexual assault and the fatal stabbing of her British room mate.  Raffaelle Sollecito, her boyfriend at the time, was also released from his 25 year sentence. DNA evidence had previously suggested that Knox and Sollecito were at the scene of the crime, but after further investigation, it was deemed that the DNA samples were contaminated and that the 47-day DNA retrieval process was the cause of this contamination.

We wish her and her family all the very best.

Problems with forensic evidence in Amanda Knox case

  • Knife: the actual knife used to kill Meredith Kercher was never found.
  • Other knife: DNA on knife found at Raffaelle Sollecito's house had such a slight presence it could not be ruled an exact match to Kercher.
  • Kercher's blood-stained bra clasp: Experts said the clasp had been laying on a floor for so long that it was useless as evidence.
  • Bedroom: No DNA from Knox was found in the bedroom where Kercher was fatally stabbed.
  • Witnesses: No reliable witness could say Knox and Sollecito were in the house when the murder occurred.
  • Confession: Knox's lawyers argued that her purported confession to being in the house during the killing was not true, claiming she had made the admission under no sleep and extreme duress and stress.

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