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As the Main and Only Piece of Evidence Against Him and Amanda Knox Collapses in Court
By Frank Sfarzo
Florence, November 6 2013
“Act of Courage: Raffaele Sollecito today in courtroom”
It was interesting studying this case and, within the case, the DNA issue, but that was in 2008.
In 2009 it became already boring, let alone in 2010, 11 and 12, or even now, when this story should be confined in the annals, two years after a full absolution occurred.
For the nth time, instead, a new judge arrived, and we had to start reasoning again from square one on the same subjects. Life has to go ahead, but a little defect in the Italian judicial system – the possibility to overturn a verdict of acquittal on mere reasoning – keeps life on hold for Amanda and Raffaele, and for those like us, who are on the case since Day One.
Even the biologist of the scientific police, Stefanoni, told us already in 2010, “I can’t stand this knife anymore.” But nothing to do, life is stopped for her too.
We can’t stand talking about this knife anymore, exercising ourselves in the contemplation of a piece of cutlery that can’t have had anything to do with the crime, and that has been plenty proved it never left Raffaele’s kitchen. Even the knife itself, if he had a soul, would beg today to be left alone.
If we are so tired of all this (and observe with a half-smile the excitation of the newcomers in the new venue) imagine how tired are Amanda and Raffaele.
Nevertheless, with an act of courage, Raffaele threw himself again in the arena of the lions.
The newcomers may have thought that he would have screamed his innocence. Instead, no, he whispered. We are not at the beginning of the story, we are in the following of a never-ending story started a life ago, and he looked like he had realized that being vocal is useless, thinking probably that those who don’t want to hear wouldn’t hear anyway. That’s probably why he almost whispered to the judges the reasons of his innocence, showing dejection, maybe, but in a very effective way.
Besides describing the devastating effects of this whole story on his life, Raffaele spoke about what he called the building of the image of a criminal that “those who accused me threw on me with great contempt.” He remembered that he is a person completely different from that image. “I wasn’t drinking, I wasn’t going to parties. I did smoke some joints” –Raffaele stressed– “But that couldn’t change my personality.” Indeed, we all know that smoking a joint doesn’t change people’s personalities and turn them into murderers (otherwise universities would produce millions of murderers a year…). But yes, it was a good idea to explain it (again), because that’s what the case built against Amanda and Raffaele is: old people who judge the customs of young people that they read through the lenses of their imagination. And in their imagination a joint may be evil, and young –in truth inexperienced– kids engage themselves in orgies or rape each other… There’s nothing more tasteless, to use a euphemism, than old people talking about the sex of young people.
Raffaele then outlined what he called the “illusion” of evidence that those who accused him proposed. He could have gone on at length, but he stayed only on the main details. That after he was arrested, for instance, “those who accused me” said that there was “a shoe-print that had a perfect correspondence with my shoes.” And that came out to be not true. Same for the footprint on the bathmat, same for the DNA on the bra clasp, same for the witnesses — “all mythomaniacs”– same, last but not least, for the DNA on the knife.
The knife died today, hopefully forever. It should never have been a piece of evidence, since only a doubtful DNA test produced a doubtful Meredith profile, not confirmed by the second electrophoretic run and contradicted by the blood test, which was negative.
The Rome scientists Stefano Conti and Carla Vecchiotti had already explained that that test was not reliable, and meant nothing. But no, a Supreme Court judge, from the heights of an improvised scientific competence, wanted to doubt the word of two scientists (a different act of “courage”…).
FORENSIC “VERDICT” ON THE KNIFE: IT’S NOT THE MURDER WEAPON
They wanted to test the trace “I.” They wanted the bike, and they had to ride. Well, the ride said that it was not Meredith’s DNA, therefore the knife is not the murder weapon. The RIS biologists explained it in a highly technical and perfectly documented report (how different from the mere assertions produced at the time by the scientific police, in truth consultant for the prosecution…), and repeated it today in court with simple words.
So, the last piece of evidence against Amanda and Raffaele is buried forever. Can they still be convicted?
Believe it or not, the lawyers think that yes, a new miscarriage of justice may happen and Amanda and Raffaele may be convicted even with no proof (probably joint smokers deserve it…).
They have seen those things happen, after all. How to forget, for instance, Amanda’s statements in the police station, that the Supreme Court in April 2008 declared inadmissible? The Supreme Court said they couldn’t be used, but they used them anyway. That’s the law baby, they can do anything they want.
Hopefully, though, this time common sense will prevail, since all evidence, as Raffaele reminded today, has been disproved.
Judges are not versed in science, but the concept to understand is very simple: errors can occur. Therefore, that multi-disproved test that, back in the obscure pre-history of this case, found “Meredith’s DNA” on the blade, should just be recognized as a normal, frequent, usual, natural, WRONG TEST. That can’t convict anyone.