Quote:
Originally Posted by federico
we don't judge a girl because of her looking, religion or sexual orientation (that is oklahoma, not italy).
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As a life-long Oklahoman, I'm going to have to take a little bit of offense to that.
And it's not anti-Americanism I suspect. It's much simpler. You have an out of control prosecutor who doesn't give a damn about the guilt or evidence of the accused, she'll just do anything, including lie and cheat to win a conviction. And that sort of prosecutor, unfortunately isn't only found in Italy. We have them in Oklahoma also. Even so, there's no way in hell even our worst would attempt, much less get away with what the prosecutor in the Knox case has apparently done. Not even in the most backwater, rural, redneck part of this fine state would that happen.
Apparently, Italy's Code of Evidence allows prosecutors to bring in irrelevant, prejudicial and speculative character evidence to bolster their case. If that had been attempted in an American court (even an Oklahoman court as that's where I'm a licensed and practicing attorney), not only would much of what the prosecutor said about Knox have been thrown out, it also would have caused a mistrial.
It's also alleged that the prosecutor leaked false details to the media for the jury's consumption (as the jury wasn't sequestered).
And of course, you don't really have a case where the theory fit the facts and evidence.. (what little actual evidence there was).
I do hope this case is overturned on appeal and Ms. Knox is afforded a
fair trial, which is probably impossible in Italy due to the absurd publicity. Every person charged with a crime deserves a fair hearing and Knox didn't get that.
And I guess I'd better stay out of Italy.. now that I've made some harsh comments regarding this prosecutor, I may be charged with defamation as it seems just about everyone connected to Ms. Knox has been. Anyone know what the statute of limitations for defamation is? Italy is a nice place and I'd like to visit again someday.
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