Wrongful Convictions

Eight years of litigation came to close last year as the Italian Supreme Court acquitted Amanda Knox and her co-defendant Raffeale Sollecito of charges that they were involved in the murder of Knox’s roommate, Meredith Kercher. Numerous books, countless magazine articles and a veritable avalanche of internet traffic was generated by the case. In the process, two “camps” (an “innocence” camp …

  Caledonian Road Station, a popular tube stop on London’s Piccadilly Line, one along from King’s Cross, is to be closed for eight months from January 4th 2016, because Transport for London (TfL) claims that there is no alternative.  The station has two ageing, thirty-year-old lifts (elevators) and they cannot be replaced separately while the station remains open. This explanation …

The Russell “Russ” Faria murder retrial began quietly on Monday in Troy, Missouri. Faria was convicted in 2013 of murdering his terminally ill wife, Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria, in 2011. The Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals threw out Faria’s conviction in February of this year, based on claims of improperly suppressed evidence and alleged prosecutorial misconduct, paving the way for a new …

The Jeff Havard case in Mississippi is attracting more international attention. Havard has seen support coming from a growing list of countries in recent years, including (but not limited to) Australia, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, and the UK. He can now add France to the list. French anti-death penalty advocate, Louis Richard, has taken great interest in Havard’s case and is …

The movie inspired by the Kercher case and directed by the talented, if sometimes controversial, British director has not been much appreciated, both by general audiences and by critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 37% rating and quotes the critics consensus as: “The Face of an Angel finds director Michael Winterbottom in pursuit of ideas that remain frustratingly diffuse and …

Supporters for Nicole “Nyki” Kish were optimistic last year when the fifth estate, Canada’s premier investigative journalism show, decided to investigate her case. As part of their investigation, the show requested to film an interview with Kish at the Grand Valley Prison where she is currently being housed. Unfortunately, Nancy Kinsman, the prison warden, denied the fifth estate access despite …