STORY: "Final arguments given in Amanda Knox trial: Defence lawyers argued Monday that her forst acquittal should stand as both sides gave final statements in the third trial of a sensational murder case plagued by irregularities from the prosecution," by Eric Lyman, published by USA Today on January 20, 2014.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS: Knox served four years in the death of her former roommate, but conviction was overturned; Knox is not at the trial; Prosecutors are asking for 26 years for Knox and her former boyfriend.
GIST: "Defense lawyers argued Monday that the first acquittal of Amanda Knox should stand as both sides gave final statements in the third trial of a sensational murder case plagued by irregularities from the prosecution. Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito already served four years in prison for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, who was found nearly naked and dead with her throat cut in a home she shared with Knox. Their original conviction was overturned in 2011, and Knox returned to the United States. But Italy's highest court ordered a retrial after criticizing aspects of the first appellate trial, including the poor handling of forensic evidence by police. A verdict is not expected sooner than Jan. 30, and that must be approved by Italy's highest court. Knox, who was not required to be at the trial, has said she would not voluntarily go to Italy if she were ordered to return to prison."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/01/20/amanda-knox-retrial/4659111/
See Daily Beast story. (Not comforting for Amanda Knox): It's headed: "Amanda Knox faces another guilty verdict."..."Despite the various outcomes of the trials, the details of the case have not changed much in the six years it has been heard. The prosecutor, judges and lay jurors have all changed, and the new appeal is being heard in Florence, not Perugia, and, perhaps most notably, Sollecito has been in court alone since Knox has not attended any hearings. But the elements of the case that have always been the most contentious from day one remain unresolved, meaning that the new appellate trial is a cliffhanger going into the verdict next week. Conventional wisdom in Italy, based on how presiding judge Alessandro Nencini has been ruling so far and how the high court ruled on the acquittal, is that Knox and Sollecito stand a good chance of having their murder convictions upheld. But in a case as complicated as Kercher’s murder, anything could happen."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/20/amanda-knox-faces-another-guilty-verdict.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com;
