"Without a clear motive or convincing witnesses, much of the appeals outcome hinges on how the court views the DNA evidence.
"In the morning it goes one way, in the afternoon another. It's two schools of thoughts facing off on scientific theories," said Luciano Ghirga, a lawyer for Knox. "The issue becomes more and more important every day."
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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BACKGROUND: Ms. Knox, 23, from Seattle, and her co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian, were convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 26 and 25 years in prison, respectively, for the murder of Meredith Kercher, 21, a British exchange student at the University of Perugia who shared a home with Ms. Knox. Both have denied wrongdoing and their appeal trial started last November. An Ivorian man, Rudy Guede, was also convicted of the crime and sentenced to 16 years. After Ms. Kercher’s half-naked body was found in her bedroom, her throat slit, on the morning on Nov. 2, 2007, prosecutors said she had been killed in a sexual escapade that spiraled out of control. (New York Times);
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PERUGIA, Italy (AP) -- Questions mounted Tuesday over crucial DNA evidence linking Amanda Knox and her co-defendant to the murder of her British roommate, with forensic experts giving detailed and conflicting views in court over genetic science," the Associated Press brief filed earlier today under the heading, "Battle over DNA evidence sows confusion at Knox's appeals trial in Italy," begins.
"Knox felt "disoriented" after two days listening to the reports about DNA extraction and attribution, her lawyer said," the story continues.
"A prosecution consultant and a lawyer suggested further testing on DNA evidence might be warranted, a step prosecutors might decide to push for as the appeals trial continues.
Without a clear motive or convincing witnesses, much of the appeals outcome hinges on how the court views the DNA evidence.
"In the morning it goes one way, in the afternoon another. It's two schools of thoughts facing off on scientific theories," said Luciano Ghirga, a lawyer for Knox. "The issue becomes more and more important every day."
Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of sexually assaulting and killing Meredith Kercher in November 2007 in the apartment Knox and the 21-year-old Briton shared while studying in Perugia. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison; Sollecito to 25. Both deny wrongdoing and have appealed the December 2009 verdict."
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
