Amanda Knox Court Appearance (REUTERS/Giorgio Benvenuti)
The Amanda Knox verdict of not guilty determined by appeals court. After hours of deliberation, an Italian appeals court has ruled to overturn Amanda Knox’s conviction for murder, allowing Knox to leave prison and return to the United States. The teary eyed Knox was immediately escorted out of the courtroom.
During the reading of the verdict, the court stated there was not sufficient evidence to uphold a murder conviction. Unlike American jurisprudence, where only points of contention can be heard, the Italian Prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, was allowed to retry the entire case. He had asked that Knox’s 26 year sentence be increased to a life sentence.
The defense sought an independent investigation of the evidence which the court then ordered. The two experts heading the investigation found that police conducting the initial investigation had made glaring errors in evidence-collecting. They also reported that below-standard testing and possible contamination raised doubts over the attribution of DNA traces that were found both on the knife blade and on Meredith Kercher’s bra clasp. That evidence had not been collected from the crime scene until 46 days after the murder.
The court did uphold Knox’s previous conviction for slander, that carried a three year sentence. Knox has already spent four years in jail which made her eligible for immediate release
