Post by Admin on Sept 30, 2013 16:29:42 GMT
The second appeal trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito gets underway today in Florence, Italy. The American student and her former Italian boyfriend find they are once again defending themselves against the charge that they murdered Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in November 2007.
According to the Italian Supreme Court's decision, there is one piece of evidence in the case that is yet to be tested - and could be the key to the final verdict. It is labeled number 36-I. Number 36-I is a miniscule trace of material on the blade of a 12 inch knife that Italian prosecutors claim was used to kill Meredith Kercher. In 2007, police found the knife in a kitchen drawer in Sollecito's Perugia apartment. At the time, the Italian Scientific Police said they'd discovered a tiny amount of Meredith Kercher's DNA on the blade, but significantly no blood. That was trace evidence 36-B.
In 2010, the appellate court threw out DNA trace evidence 36-B, concluding the police laboratory testing and results were unreliable. So Meredith Kercher's DNA could no longer be claimed to be on the knife blade. But now, the Italian Supreme Court thinks trace 36-I should be front and center in the new trial that started today. And that could make things very interesting.
So, following the path of the Supreme Court's "decisive" dictate, if trace 36-I contains Meredith Kercher's DNA, the new trial is all but over, the two defendants are once again found guilty. But conversely, if trace 36-I has no Meredith Kercher DNA, Knox and Sollecito have, what should be a hands-down argument courtesy of the Italian Supreme Court, "if 36-I doesn't fit, you must acquit".
According to the Italian Supreme Court's decision, there is one piece of evidence in the case that is yet to be tested - and could be the key to the final verdict. It is labeled number 36-I. Number 36-I is a miniscule trace of material on the blade of a 12 inch knife that Italian prosecutors claim was used to kill Meredith Kercher. In 2007, police found the knife in a kitchen drawer in Sollecito's Perugia apartment. At the time, the Italian Scientific Police said they'd discovered a tiny amount of Meredith Kercher's DNA on the blade, but significantly no blood. That was trace evidence 36-B.
In 2010, the appellate court threw out DNA trace evidence 36-B, concluding the police laboratory testing and results were unreliable. So Meredith Kercher's DNA could no longer be claimed to be on the knife blade. But now, the Italian Supreme Court thinks trace 36-I should be front and center in the new trial that started today. And that could make things very interesting.
So, following the path of the Supreme Court's "decisive" dictate, if trace 36-I contains Meredith Kercher's DNA, the new trial is all but over, the two defendants are once again found guilty. But conversely, if trace 36-I has no Meredith Kercher DNA, Knox and Sollecito have, what should be a hands-down argument courtesy of the Italian Supreme Court, "if 36-I doesn't fit, you must acquit".