Italian Law
Giuliano Mignini, the Public Minister of Perugia Italy, is found guilty of Abuse of Power and Corruption for falsely accusing and prosecuting Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of Meredith Kercher.
Well, at least that is the fervent wish of every one of Amanda’s family and friends on Vashon Island. The Seattle native, with deep ties to Vashon, is currently serving a 26-year sentence in Capanne Prison because of collusion and corruption. In the Trial of First Instance, back in 2009, vital evidence was destroyed or withheld, tainted evidence admitted, questionable witnesses sworn in, motions were blocked and defendants were silenced while prosecutors yelled.
Rudy Guede murdered Meredith on November 1, 2007, during a botched robbery, and when her body was found the next morning Amanda stepped into the Twilight Zone; she had no idea she was a suspect by the evening of November 2nd. Why? Maybe Mignini needed to distract Perugia from his legal woes; maybe Guede had lots of Get Out Of Jail Free cards. Theories abound and whatever his reason Mignini began to corrupt Italian Law from the moment he laid eyes on the American girl whose parents were not rich or powerful. What is clear is that innocent, naive Amanda served some purpose and Mignini thought no one would notice his ever-changing, completely ridiculous stories, but skeptical bystanders saw right through the deception.
Guede’s DNA was in abundance at the murder scene, his fingerprints and shoeprints in Meredith’s blood. His skin cells and body fluids were found all over Meredith, in Meredith. Only Guede’s DNA, no one else’s.
Not One Molecule of Amanda’s DNA was found in Meredith’s bedroom, but she was tied to the murder with a kitchen knife from Raffaele’s apartment. Raffaele was tied to the crime with essentially One Molecule of what may be his DNA on a bra clasp collected at the crime scene 47 days after the murder. It was located under a pile of debris across the room from its original position, as shown in the police video. Both items would never have been admitted in an honest courtroom.
On June 26, 2011, Rudy Guede appeared in court to rebuff the testimony from inmates in Viterbo prison. The men claimed that he had said, "Amanda and Raffaele were not involved," the same story in his recorded Skype call while he was on the run in Germany in 2007. But on the stand Guede stuck to the prosecution’s story. Then PM Mignini read a letter supposedly written by Guede in the spring of 2010 referring to "a horrible homicide of a splendid young girl, Meredith Kercher, by Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito." Defense lawyers said they did not know of the existence of the letter before it was read in court and Judge Hellmann chided Guede for not reading his own letter, questioning his knowledge of ‘big words.’
Amanda was shocked and anguished; she tried to address the court but was denied her voice until after Guede left. She said, "The only time that Rudy Guede, Raffaele Sollecito and I were in one room together was in a courtroom. He knows what the truth is. I don’t know what happened that night." Raffaele also spoke out, proclaiming their innocence, "Our lives have been destroyed based only on suppositions."
In hindsight we can see the twisting and breaking of the Italian Constitution, the Italian Code of Criminal Procedure, the American Foreign Affairs Manual and the Vienna Convention. Citizens of both Italy and the US are guilty of taking the Perugian theories at face value and some still cling to the belief that the kids were involved.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The illegal ‘softening up’ process began before the interrogations. The kids were called into the police station at all hours of the day and night, depriving them of sleep, a key factor in the procedure. When the Illegal Interrogation took place, four days after the murder, they were mentally and physically exhausted.
The kids were followed and observed, thus becoming "suspects." Then Amanda’s request to talk to her embassy was smoothly denied, "You don’t need them dear, we just want to ask questions." The Italians were required to contact the consulate "Without Delay,’ a key phrase in the Vienna Convention; instead the American Embassy was contacted after the Illegal Interrogation. Both countries have signed the Vienna Convention.
Eating pizza and buying undies became scandalous, perfectly normal behavior was ‘rearranged’ to create the Italian version of Amanda: Foxy Knoxy, a despicable murderess who could hypnotize weak men with a swivel of her hips. A jealous woman, capable of insane rages. Raffaele was reduced to lapdog. Rudy was swept under the rug. Meredith was martyred.
The real Amanda was a scared kid trying to be brave until her Mom arrived. The real Raffaele was trying to protect her. The real Rudy is a murderer. The real Meredith deserves true justice.
The misuse of the word ‘interview’ (to deflect suspicions away from the interrogative behavior) and of the word ‘speculation’ (to entice the kids into ‘imagining’ scenarios) is illicit. Under the guise of ‘interview’ Mignini was able to skate past the need for lawyers and an accredited interpreter for Amanda. And when he presented ‘speculation’ as fact it deceived and confused the public.
Clearly spelled out in international law is the difference between an interview and an interrogation. Steve Moore, FBI (ret), tells how Amanda and Raffaele’s ‘interviews’ fit the precise definition of ‘interrogations’ and how both students were abused. www.gmancasefile.blogspot.com/2011/06/interrogation-that-never-was.html. In 2009 the Italian Supreme Court threw out both Illegal Interrogations, because they were not recorded, but PM Mignini managed to sneak them into testimony during the Trial of First Instance.
The crime scene investigation. OMG. The entire crime scene was cross-contaminated by the end of the first day. Dr. Patrizia Stefanoni, head of DNA collection and processing, testified in court that she "only changed gloves if they were especially bloody." Several Youtube videos show the police in hazmat suits, no way to change footies, walking in and out of Meredith’s bedroom, tracking her blood all over the apartment. Evidence was piled up, kicked around or moved indiscriminately. Millions watching said, "Wait a minute, the Perugians screwed up!"
Before the arrests the Perugians began leaking details and early reports show the set-up for the Sex Fueled Orgy Gone Wrong. After the arrests the stories became a rendition of the Reefer Madness trailer on Youtube and the laws that protect an accused from having their reputation smeared were violated.
On June 29, 2011 the Conclusions of the Independent Review of the knife and bra clasp were released to the press. It’s already apparent that the Roman experts, Prof. Carla Vecchiotti and Prof. Stefano Conti, found the manner in which the evidence was collected and processed, by Dr. Stefanoni, shocking and were astounded it had been admitted as evidence. Judge Hellmann will be ruling on the report in late July.
CONCLUSIONS:
"Having examined the record and conducted such technical investigations as shall be necessary, the Expert Panel shall ascertain:
1. Whether it is possible, by means of a new technical analysis, to identify the DNA present on items 165b (bra clasp) and 36 (knife), and to determine the reliability of any such identification.
- The tests that we conducted to determine the presence of blood on item 36 (knife) and item 165B (bra clasps) yielded a negative result.
The cytomorphological tests on the items did not reveal the presence of cellular material. Some samples of item 36 (knife), in particular sample "H", present granules with a circular/hexagonal characteristic morphology with a central radial structure. A more detailed microscopic study, together with the consultation of data in the literature, allowed us to ascertain that the structures in question are attributable to granules of starch, thus matter of a vegetable nature.
- The quantification of the extracts obtained from the samples obtained from item 36 (knife) and item 165B (bra clasps), conducted via Real Time PCR, did not reveal the presence of DNA.
- In view of the absence of DNA in the extracts that we obtained, with the agreement of the consultants for the parties, we did not proceed to the subsequent amplification step.
2. "If it is not possible to carry out a new technical analysis, shall evaluate, on the basis of the record, the degree of reliability of the genetic analysis performed by the Scientific Police on the aforementioned items, including with respect to possible contamination."
Having examined the record and the relevant documents, we are able to report the following conclusions regarding the laboratory analyses performed on Item 36 (knife) and Item 165B (bra clasps):
ITEM 36 (KNIFE)
Relative to the genetic analysis performed on trace A (handle of the knife), we agree with the conclusion reached by the Technical Consultant regarding the attribution of the genetic profile obtained from these samples to Amanda Marie Knox.
Relative to trace B (blade of the knife) we find that the technical analyses performed are not reliable for the following reasons:
1. There does not exist evidence which scientifically confirms that trace B (blade of knife) is the product of blood.
2. The electrophoretic profiles exhibited reveal that the sample indicated by the letter B (blade of knife) was a Low Copy Number (LCN) sample, and, as such, all of the precautions indicated by the international scientific community should have been applied.
3. Taking into account that none of the recommendations of the international scientific community relative to the treatment of Low Copy Number (LCN) samples were followed, we do not accept the conclusions regarding the certain attribution of the profile found on trace B (blade of knife) to the victim Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher, since the genetic profile, as obtained, appears unreliable insofar as it is not supported by scientifically validated analysis;
4. International protocols of inspection, collection, and sampling were not followed;
5. It cannot be ruled out that the result obtained from sample B (blade of knife) derives from contamination in some phase of the collection and/or handling and/or analyses performed.
ITEM 165B (BRA CLASP)
Relative to Item 165B (bra clasp), we find that the technical analysis is not reliable for the following reasons:
1. There does not exist evidence which scientifically confirms the presence of supposed flaking cells on the item;
2. There was an erroneous interpretation of the electrophoretic profile of the autosomic STRs;
3. There was an erroneous interpretation of the electrophoretic profile relative to the Y chromosome;
4. The international protocols for inspection, collection, and sampling of the item were not followed;
5. It cannot be ruled out that the results obtained derive from environmental contamination and/or contamination in some phase of the collection and/or handling of the item."
During the Perugian twisting and bending spree, the American Embassy in Rome broke nearly every bylaw in 7 FAM 400—The Arrest of Citizens Abroad by not protesting. www.state.gov/m/a/dir/regs/fam/07fam/index.htm. They should have lodged many protests by now. They must have been too busy to help Amanda, just as they were too busy to help another American, Douglas Preston. He was working on a book and when PM Mignini interrogated him, threatened him with prison and then chased him out of Italy. And too busy when Amanda’s mother contacted the embassy scant hours after her arrest. Edda, too, was left without any support, "We can send you a list of lawyers and report the incident." The consulate is REQUIRED BY LAW to do much more than that.
Italian officials interrogating Americans must be so commonplace that consulate staffers take no notice. No Protests. No Shouting. No Nothing.
The Seattle advocacy group, Friends of Amanda, sent a letter to President Obama in May outlining the abuses of the US Embassy in Rome. We ask all concerned citizens to write or email the White House and lodge a complaint about the utter failure of our consulate to protect US Citizen Amanda Knox from a known antagonist, PM Giuliano Mignini.
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20500, www.whitehouse.gov/contact.
On July 8, 2011, there is a fun, yet poignant, benefit for AmandaDefenseFund.org planned at The Showbox at the Market, tickets start at $15. www.brownpapertickets.com/event/180335. Three local rock bands, Brian DiJulio and the Love Jacks, Zero Gravity Circus, and The G Program are headlining the event and we plan to celebrate Amanda’s birthday at midnight. July 9, 2011 is her fourth birthday in prison. Listen to a song written for Amanda by Brian DiJulio and the Love Jacks at www.reverbnation.com/briandijulioandthelovejacks.
Please keep Amanda, Raffaele and their families in your prayers as we await Judge Hellmann’s ruling at the end of July. If the court rules fairly we hope the kids will be out of prison by fall, but as we say:
It ain’t over until Amanda’s plane touches down at SeaTac.
