Amanda Knox of Washington State was granted an appeal in the Italian courts. Knox, a foreign exchange student, was convicted of sexual assault and the murder of Meredith Kercher, one of her roommates on November 1, 2007 in Perugia, Italy. Knox is presently serving a 26 year sentence for her part in the crime. Knox’s trial was widely reported on in the United States. She has professed her innocence at every occasion to date.
Knox was granted the equivalent of a new trial on Saturday at which she will bring up inconsistencies in DNA evidence as cause for the action. Apparently at the trial prosecution DNA experts and experts for the defense drew completely opposite conclusions in reference to DNA found at the crime scene. It is reported that Knox believes that an independent review of the forensic evidence will clear her of any involvement in the crime.
Many of Knox’s supporters have put forth the scenario that the Italian prosecutors broke protocol in preparing the case against Knox in bending the truth to portray her as a vicious and malicious young lady capable of murder. The prosecutor that procured the conviction against Knox has, since the conviction, been convicted of abusive process in connection with another case. As a part of the original trial the prosecutor put forth the assertion that Knox was a member of a sex cult, which her family and supporters discount as ludicrous.
If the DNA evidence does show that Knox had nothing to do with the murder I would have to ask what shall be the punishment for the over-zealous prosecutor? In our own country it is a fact that thousands of people are convicted every day that are innocent. If they are lucky enough to find an advocate and bring the truth to light it is usually found that their conviction is the result of lack of proper representation or prosecutorial misconduct. Some of these innocents have even been put to death in our self-proclaimed freest country in the world.
I believe that if prosecutorial misconduct is found in any case where a person has been wrongfully convicted, the person responsible for the conviction should have to serve every day in prison that the person who was convicted had to serve. If the wrongful conviction resulted in an innocent person’s death and it could be shown that the prosecutor acted with malice and forethought, then he or she should be charged with premeditated murder and if found guilty, put to death.
People who weld such power should not be exempt from the standards of behavior that they inflict on others. They should indeed be held to the highest standard under the law.