Court OKs Review of DNA Evidence in Knox Case
Last Updated 12:16 p.m. ET
Amanda Knox won an important victory in her appeals trial of her murder conviction in Italy on Saturday, when a court ruled that it will allow an independent review of crucial DNA evidence.
The lower court trial, which convicted the American student last year and sentenced her to 26 years in Italian prison, had rejected a similar defense request for an outside review of DNA found on the victim's bra clasp and on a knife the prosecution alleged was used to stab Meredith Kercher.
Knox was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering Kercher. The co-defendant in the appeals trial is her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian who was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years.
Prosecutors maintain that Sollecito's DNA was found on the bra clasp and that Knox's DNA was found on the knife.
The defense maintains that DNA traces presented at the first trial were inconclusive and also contends they might have been contaminated when they were analyzed.
Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, burst into tears of joy in the courtroom in the university town of Perugia when the appeals court announced its decision. "Finally a little bit of good news," Mellas said, as Knox's family members hugged defense team lawyers.
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The court selected two experts from Rome's Sapienza University to review the evidence. The experts will be formally given the task at the trial's next session on Jan. 15.
The request for the review was the first significant test for Knox's defense. A rejection could have dealt a severe blow to their hopes of overturning the conviction.
Prosecutor Giancarlo Costagliola had opposed the review request as "useless," asserting that "this court has all the elements to be able to come to a decision." A lawyer for the Kercher family, Francesco Maresca, also opposed the evidence review.
CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey also reports that the defense says it has a new witness, serving a life sentence for mafia connections, who claims his brother and an unnamed Albanian committed the Kercher murder during a robbery.
Knox, a 23-year-old from Seattle, was hunched and pale as she was escorted into the courtroom earlier in the morning.
She has been behind bars in Perugia since Nov. 6, 2007, four days after Kercher's body was found in a pool of blood, her throat slit, in the apartment Knox and Kercher shared as exchange students in Perugia.
Saturday's hearing was held two days after Italy's highest criminal court upheld the conviction and 16-year-prison sentence of the third person charged with the murder, Rudy Hermann Guede of the Ivory Coast. Guede has admitted being at the house the night of the murder but denies killing Kercher. He was tried separately.
The high court's ruling, which cannot be appealed, is significant because it states that Guede took part in the slaying but did not act alone, prosecutors and lawyers said.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Amanda Knox won an important victory in her appeals trial of her murder conviction in Italy on Saturday, when a court ruled that it will allow an independent review of crucial DNA evidence.
The lower court trial, which convicted the American student last year and sentenced her to 26 years in Italian prison, had rejected a similar defense request for an outside review of DNA found on the victim's bra clasp and on a knife the prosecution alleged was used to stab Meredith Kercher.
Knox was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering Kercher. The co-defendant in the appeals trial is her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian who was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years.
Prosecutors maintain that Sollecito's DNA was found on the bra clasp and that Knox's DNA was found on the knife.
The defense maintains that DNA traces presented at the first trial were inconclusive and also contends they might have been contaminated when they were analyzed.
Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, burst into tears of joy in the courtroom in the university town of Perugia when the appeals court announced its decision. "Finally a little bit of good news," Mellas said, as Knox's family members hugged defense team lawyers.
Amanda Knox Makes Emotional Appeal in Court
Knox Parents Hopeful That Amanda Will Be Cleared
Amanda Knox Set to Embark on Risky Appeal
Amanda Knox Case: All Sides' Lawyers in Trouble
Gallery: Amanda Knox: Case Timeline
Gallery: Verdict in Italy
The court selected two experts from Rome's Sapienza University to review the evidence. The experts will be formally given the task at the trial's next session on Jan. 15.
The request for the review was the first significant test for Knox's defense. A rejection could have dealt a severe blow to their hopes of overturning the conviction.
Prosecutor Giancarlo Costagliola had opposed the review request as "useless," asserting that "this court has all the elements to be able to come to a decision." A lawyer for the Kercher family, Francesco Maresca, also opposed the evidence review.
CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey also reports that the defense says it has a new witness, serving a life sentence for mafia connections, who claims his brother and an unnamed Albanian committed the Kercher murder during a robbery.
Knox, a 23-year-old from Seattle, was hunched and pale as she was escorted into the courtroom earlier in the morning.
She has been behind bars in Perugia since Nov. 6, 2007, four days after Kercher's body was found in a pool of blood, her throat slit, in the apartment Knox and Kercher shared as exchange students in Perugia.
Saturday's hearing was held two days after Italy's highest criminal court upheld the conviction and 16-year-prison sentence of the third person charged with the murder, Rudy Hermann Guede of the Ivory Coast. Guede has admitted being at the house the night of the murder but denies killing Kercher. He was tried separately.
The high court's ruling, which cannot be appealed, is significant because it states that Guede took part in the slaying but did not act alone, prosecutors and lawyers said.
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by erasmus111 December 19, 2010 4:08 PM EST
by samXXkiley December 18, 2010 8:52 AM EST
coucou,
"with the court expected to issue a key d?cision"
reste confiante "amanda", il ya une une justice, sois-en certaine.
sois courageuse "ma belle"
remains confident "amanda", there is justice, you can be certain.
Be courageous "my beautiful" au revoir
Maybe you should stick to French.
************************************************
tu comprends le fran?ais "rasmus 111"...au revoir
How could there be four large adults in a very small room, three (supossedly) trying to force a fourth ( strong, young, motivated and having taken martial arts training) to have unwated sex at the point of a knife and not expect everyone in that small room to have many bruises, cuts and scratches on them for weeks afterward? Actually Meredith, the victim, did have 100's of bruises and cuts all over her and actually when Rudy Guede was brought back to Perugia a couple of weeks after the murder (after having departed the night of the murder) he still did have partially-healed cuts, bruises and scratches on him, -even after weeks of healing. Guess who was standing there when the body was found and was in constant contact with the police from then on who didn't have a single scratch, cut or bruise on them: Amanda and Raffaele.
My second question is this; how could you (supossedly) have four large and violently fighting adults in a small room where three, one with a knife, are trying to force a fourth unwilling person to have sex with someone who is a total stranger to her and not have blood and other DNA evidence all over the room ? If Amanda and Raffele were in the murder room then it stands to reason that their DNA would be all over the room. No, it isn't. The only DNA found in the room was Meredith's and that of her attacker and murderer, Rudy Guede. There is s ton of both of their DNA all over the room-and lots of his all over the other rooms of the apartment.. There is none of Amanda's and none of Raffaele's . And I don't want to hear about that many-times already discounted theme of them having cleaned up their DNA with bleach and having left all that of Guede and Meredith's there to be found; there is no way to look at blood stains and know who they belong to until carefull testing has been done by reputable labwork (or in this case, unreputable)A killer can clean all the bloodstains off the walls, floor, etc.possibly, but he cannot pick and choose which ones to clean and which ones to leave and know which is which in order to frame someone else.Either it's all clean or it's all there.
If the prosecutor's scenario was the correct one how there could have been such a violent fight with only the marks of the fight on one of the perpetrator's and only the DNA of one of the perpetrator's. Where is all the physical evidence of the other two perpetrators in that room if they were there? Without it I see no way for believing that they were there.It looks to me like there was one victim and one murderer; Meredith as the lone fighter of a vicious attack and one Rudy Guede as the the vicious attacker.
coucou,
"with the court expected to issue a key d?cision"
reste confiante "amanda", il ya une une justice, sois-en certaine.
sois courageuse "ma belle"
remains confident "amanda", there is justice, you can be certain.
Be courageous "my beautiful" au revoir
Maybe you should stick to French.
How could there be four large adults in a very small room, three (supossedly) trying to force a fourth ( strong, young, motivated and having taken martial arts training) to have unwated sex at the point of a knife and not expect everyone in that small room to have many bruises, cuts and scratches on them for weeks afterward? Actually Meredith, the victim, did have 100's of bruises and cuts all over her and actually when Rudy Guede was brought back to Perugia a couple of weeks after the murder (after having departed the night of the murder) he still did have partially-healed cuts, bruises and scratches on him, -even after weeks of healing. Guess who was standing there when the body was found and was in constant contact with the police from then on who didn't have a single scratch, cut or bruise on them: Amanda and Raffaele.
My second question is this; how could you (supossedly) have four large and violently fighting adults in a small room where three, one with a knife, are trying to force a fourth unwilling person to have sex with someone who is a total stranger to her and not have blood and other DNA evidence all over the room ? If Amanda and Raffele were in the murder room then it stands to reason that their DNA would be all over the room. No, it isn't. The only DNA found in the room was Meredith's and that of her attacker and murderer, Rudy Guede. There is s ton of both of their DNA all over the room-and lots of his all over the other rooms of the apartment.. There is none of Amanda's and none of Raffaele's . And I don't want to hear about that many-times already discounted theme of them having cleaned up their DNA with bleach and having left all that of Guede and Meredith's there to be found; there is no way to look at blood stains and know who they belong to until carefull testing has been done by reputable labwork (or in this case, unreputable)A killer can clean all the bloodstains off the walls, floor, etc.possibly, but he cannot pick and choose which ones to clean and which ones to leave and know which is which in order to frame someone else.Either it's all clean or it's all there.
If the prosecutor's scenario was the correct one how there could have been such a violent fight with only the marks of the fight on one of the perpetrator's and only the DNA of one of the perpetrator's. Where is all the physical evidence of the other two perpetrators in that room if they were there? Without it I see no way for believing that they were there.It looks to me like there was one victim and one murderer; Meredith as the lone fighter of a vicious attack and one Rudy Guede as the the vicious attacker.
Italy is beautiful.
[She's guilty as hell and got 25 years. ]
----------------------------------
based on what ...
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I was convinced she was guilty when she she changed her account of the event 3 times.
Not the act of an innocent, by any means.
by thirdeyeview December 19, 2010 1:22 AM EST
The fictions created in the rancid media portray Amanda Knox as a person who turns cartwheels in police stations on a whim, buys sexy lingerie blah blah blah.
***************************************
c'est exact les m?dias ont diabolis? amanda et son ami, surtout amanda, elle a ?t? cibl?e ? cause de son "joli" visage.
la presse, la police, n'ont pas cess? de provoquer amanda, profitant de sa vuln?rabilit?, c'est cruel et injuste, certains m?dias ne m?ritent pas d'exister, ce sont des "torchons" et rien d'autre
il faut croire en la justice, esp?rer que de nouveaux indices viendront disculper amanda et son ami.
that's right the media has demonized amanda and her friend, especially Amanda, she was targeted because of his "pretty" face.
the press, the police have continued to cause amanda, taking advantage of her vulnerability, it is cruel and unfair, some media do not deserve to exist, they are "tea" and nothing else
we must believe in justice, hope that new evidence will exonerate amanda and her friend. au revoir
coucou,
je voudrai t'y voir toi en prison, on verra bien quelle sera ton attitude.
I want you to see you in jail, we'll see what will be your attitude. au revoir
---
Oye pendejo-
No me vale ni las nalgas de un raton lo que tu quieres ver, entiende?
Hey fool-
I don't give a rats ass what you want to see, got it?