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
On June 12,1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered. Their bodies were discovered outside Nicole Simpson's condominium. Nicole Simpson was the estranged wife of the famous football player and T.V. star O.J. Simpson.
The body of this paper will examine the case of Pamela Foddrill and compare what happened in that real criminal investigation to the theory of criminal investigation discussed in our course textbook, Criminal Investigation: The Art and the Science. I will first examine the forensics evidence and
Alves, S. (2011, September 27). Lessons from the Amanda Knox Arrest. Retrieved April 13, 2012, from Indelibleinternational: http://indelibleinternational.com/index.php?pc=justArticle&ora=E0_70130&so=safety
The popular television show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigations has been on the air for 12 years, and it has brought forth the behind-the-scenes actions of criminal investigations, even if its portrayals are not always scientifically accurate. This has caused an interest in the forensic sciences that has led most people to a skewed view of how a criminal investigation actually works. The reality of a criminal investigation is that it is generally more tedious and difficult than the theory of criminal investigation would have you believe. By examining the forensic and investigative procedures of the case of Pamela Foddrill, it is apparent that the theory of criminal investigation was not representative of the procedures concerning examination
During the processes, there are some key people that will contribute to clarify what happened. Among them, the police, the forensic service, the expert witnesses or witnesses testimony. Sadly, while sometimes those are the ones who elucidate the crime, at times, their confessions may be critical for the innocent person who is finally convicted because of their lies and corruption.
In July of 2008, one of the biggest crime cases devastated the United States nation-wide. The death of Caylee Anthony, a two year old baby, became the most popular topic in a brief amount of time. Caylee’s mother, Casey Anthony, became the main suspect after the child supposedly was kidnapped and went missing. To this day, the Casey Anthony case shocks me because justice, in my opinion, wasn’t served. I feel as if the criminal conviction system became somewhat corrupted in this case. The entire nation, including the court system, knew that Casey Anthony was behind this criminal act, but yet she escaped all charges. I chose this case not only because it’s debatable, but also to help state the obvious, this case was handled the wrong way.
During the year of 2015, a case that the Innocence Project was working on at the time was the Joseph Buffey Case. Joseph Buffey was convicted in 2001 in West Virginia of rape and robbery. Mr. Buffey pled guilty to the crimes based on the advise of his counsel and witness misidentification which was the heart of this investigation. On May 11, 2015, Mr. Buffey was excluded by DNA and the real perpetrator was later found. Mr. Buffey served a total of 15 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. DNA Exonerations makes up 334 total cases that the Innocence Project has worked on. The following numbers overlap with the 334 cases. 237 cases involved misidentification by witnesses, 154 were the result of improper forensics, 92 were due to
Civil law is predicated upon the original Roman Law code wherein the person was presumed guilty until proven innocent. Countries such as Italy practice this code of law and the most recent case that symbolizes this type of law is the Amanda Knox case. Knox was interrogated for over 24 hours without a lawyer and presumed guilty until proven innocent, which runs contrary to the common law practiced in America. This is why the case caused outrage in America, which didn't understand the civil law practiced in Italy and how a suspect can be deemed guilty until proven innocent, which dictates that the defendant can be incarcerated until the person goes to trial.
In a criminal investigation, there is the need to break down two things. Firstly, the investigation itself and secondly the investigator involved. It is of utmost importance that the criminal investigation is done accurately, failure to do so will have negative consequences on the society. Investigation involves the collection of facts, scenarios and situations which are directly or indirectly related with the case. Whereas investigator is the person who should observe, question, analyze and scrutinize the available details. Careful evaluation then helps to achieve the much needed evidence. Criminal investigation is one of the most essential functions of the Law Enforcement agencies, as it is their prime responsibility to maintain a secure environment and
In this paper I will be answering, “Many people believed that justice had been served when Amanda Knox, Raffaele Sollecito, and Rudy Guede were arrested, prosecuted, and convicted. Italy’s high court recently reversed the convictions of Amanda and Raffaelle. After reading the books, which court do you think got it right—the lower trial court with the guilty verdict or the high court with the not guilty verdict? Why?” I will provide at least three examples, with at least one example coming from each book, to support my response. The books “Honor bound” and “Murder in Italy” talk about the Amanda Knox trial. Amanda’s roommate Meredith Kercher, was found murdered in their home leaving the main suspects to be Amanda and her boyfriend Raffaelle Sollecito.
On July 15, 2008, Cindy Anthony called the police saying her daughter Casey Anthony stole her car and some money. Later that same day the police received another call from the same person saying that her granddaughter Caylee Anthony had been gone for over a month. When this was heard, they knew they had a big case on their hands. The mother Casey Anthony was taken into custody and told many lies concerning the whereabouts of her daughter. The police began to investigate and found some interesting things that could very well prove Casey Anthony guilty of kidnapping and murder of her own daughter.
The investigation process relies heavily on discretion. The investigation of a crime relies on the decision to report the crime. It is not uncommon for many crimes to go unreported, leading to what is known as the dark figure of crime, an ABS survey finding that only 36.6% of sexual assaults and 50.5% physically assaults were
Some may not know there’s a difference between motive and evidence, but there is. They might seem similar but there different. Motive is a persons’ reason for doing something. For example one of Scott Peterson’s motives was money issues. On the other hand, evidence is the facts indicating a person did something.
One of the most controversial and polemic trials of all times since the OJ Simpson trial was the case of Casey Anthony and the murder of her two year old daughter. All the evidences and witness revealed that she was the main suspect in the murder of her daughter; however in 2011 she was found not guilty of this murder due to several different aspects. This paper will inform and provide the reader with detailed information about this case. In addition the reader will find out what was the outcome of this case and will provide the evidence and will summarize the criminal procedures that occurred from arrest through appeal. The elements of the crime and the evidence which prove that she was guilty will be
Amanda Knox was an American girl from Seattle, Washington whom had went to Perugia, Italy to study abroad for a year. Among her inquiry there she meant three girls whom she roomed with one in which was Meredith Kercher. She also established a relationship with a guy she meant at a theatrical performance; his name was Robert Sollecito. On the night of Halloween all roommates had gone out to celebrate the afterlife, for it is a big holiday in the Italian culture. All roommates, except for Meredith Kercher had planned on spending the night away from their cottage with their significant others. On the night of Halloween the cottage had been broken into and Meredith had been killed. She was found on November 1, 2007 when Knox had