preview

Amanda Knox Case: Trial Of The Century

Decent Essays

Amanda Knox Case
The Amanda Knox case is one of the most widely known cases for its high profile nature and more importantly, its controversial miscarriage of justice and is branded as the ‘Trial of the Century’. Meredith Kercher was a British study abroad student and arrived in Italy in August 2007 to study at the University of Perugia (Fisher, 2011). Only months after arriving Kercher was found “under a blood-soaked duvet cover . . . with her throat slashed” in her house in Perugia on November 2, 2007 (Mirabella, 2012). Amanda Knox, an American student studying abroad and the victim’s roommate, was soon to be a suspect in the case. Prosecution theorised that it was a sex game turned violent (Annunziato, 2011), which additionally involved Knox’s boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, along with local bar owner Patrick Lumumba in the murder. On December 5, 2009 an Italian jury found Amanda Knox guilty of the murder (Annunziato, 2011).
Investigative Process
The accusatorial system is renowned for having a “clear barrier between the investigatory stage and the following trial phase, so that at the trial the information collected in the preliminary stage is not the basis for the decision” (Mirabella, 2012). In Italy the investigative responsibilities are handled by a public prosecutor to eliminate biases and neutralise the judge and the police. After the crime has been reported there is a 48-hour period in which the police must notify the public prosecutor, who then must find evidence

Get Access