Powerpoints #14: The Telling Case Of The Doctored Footprint



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Context

At a guess maybe half of the defense-campaign resources have gone into public relations. Money well spent? We rather doubt it. P-R and legal watchers of the case we consider impartial have noted three problems with the campaign:

  • It seems to be addressed to the wrong country, and the only one, Italy, that really matters, now seems totally lost.
  • It seems to have started with a very raw-knuckle message which was bound to polarize, and only got harder ever since.
  • It doesn’t seem to be particularly competent with the evidence, taking potshots, but never really shaking the whole.

And this unprecedented campaign may have buoyed Amanda Knox herself into taking the stand, where neither her demeanor nor her claims seem to have done her any good (see here and here).

This Powerpoint analyzes a new claim on the FOA campaign website about a key piece of evidence (footprint evidence against Sollecito, not against Knox) which seems straight out of cloud-cuckoo land.

The size of the footprint had been doctored to make a footprint that is clearly the same size and shape as Sollecito’s NOT into Guede’s as intended - but into Knox’s!

Hmmm. An unusual way to help Knox, that is for sure!

Posted by Kermit on 06/24/09 at 01:53 PM in

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Comments

I wish the prosecution had access to this site and was legally allowed to use the information in the trial.  The evidence is laid out so effectively and when one sees it in its entirety, it leaves little doubt that that amanda and raf are guilty.

Posted by gramjan on 06/24/09 at 05:33 PM | #

Thank you Kermit for this interesting and timely powerpoint presentation.

I totally agree that the PR campaign has been aimed in completely the wrong direction. How can the FOA expect to receive support from Italy when they are seemingly behind almost every single example of ethnocentrism and anti-Italianism surrounding this case?

I can’t imagine Amanda’s lawyers were too keen on her testifying either but as usual she was pushed in the direction of mouthing off rather than sitting back and letting her extremely efficient lawyers do the talking.

Posted by Miss Represented on 06/24/09 at 06:14 PM | #

I hope that the prosecution takes a close look at your careful work and that they have demonstrative evidence for the trial as good as this.  Also, I hope that the FOA posts a clear, factual and evidence-based response to this indictment of their honesty, motives, impartiality and competence.

Questions: Was anything like this used/introduced into evidence by the prosecution at trial?

Do the procedural rules for the trial allow for rebuttal evidence by the prosecution or the Kercher family or Lumumba?

Is there a closing argument procedure analogous to the trial procedure in the U.S.?

How does deliberation by the judges/jurors take place?

Is there a transcript of Knox’ statement, cross and direct examinaition available anywhere?

Keep up the good work and thorough analyses.

Posted by Sierra1049 on 06/24/09 at 06:47 PM | #

I wonder if Amanda and her family did not decide they know better what’s best for her than her Italian lawyers?

I remember years ago while in Torino, a young Californian wanted to work for Giuggiaro asked me and an Italian friend to help him doing his resume.

And we could not stop laughing…

He was the best in everything, first here and first there. He was a very nice guy, mind me, but knew only the way of “selling” himself, instead of introducing himself, offering his skills.

Amanda and her family, as well as all her support group, trust “they can do better” than her Italian defense.

And I am horrified in seeing that they do not even stop at photoshop lies! They probably do not feel they can win with the truth, huh?

Thanks for this great Powerpoint!

Posted by Patou on 06/24/09 at 07:22 PM | #

patou, hmmm….it becomes clearer and clearer where amanda gets her propensity (sic) for lying.

Posted by gramjan on 06/24/09 at 07:30 PM | #

Gramjan…

Is there any reason to believe that the prosecution is foreclosed from reading this site or, for that matter, contacting Kermit and enlisting his assistance to develop their own presentations to be used at trial?  In the U.S. courts a Powerpoint or photographic presentation like this would generally be used at trial by an expert.  The expert, having been duly qualified in his or her field of expertise,  would be required to establish the factual basis for the presentation or “lay the foundation” after which the presentation could be shown to the judge and jury and entered into evidence.  Evidence of this kind is called “demonstrative evidence” in the U.S.

Posted by Sierra1049 on 06/24/09 at 08:07 PM | #

@Sierra1049

The prosecution has already finished presenting their case, and I think they know what they are doing.

Forensic experts testified for days in great detail in court about the footprints and DNA. Their conclusions were the same as in the powerpoints here.

See the PMF Forum for transcripts of most of Knox’s testimony, and lots of lively and in-depth discussion about the case.

Posted by GreenWyvern on 06/24/09 at 09:17 PM | #

Greenwyvern,  I have a difficult time wading through the PMF site.  I can’t quite figure out how to eliminate the stuff that isn’t relevant and get to the “meat” of the site.  Is it just me or is that site not particularly user-friendly?

Posted by gramjan on 06/24/09 at 10:21 PM | #

Hi Sierra 1049 and the others here. Thanks for the appreciation. Kermit always comes up with the goods and the views of his Powerpoints (12 so far) are now up in the many thousands. Like all of us he deeply appreciates the huge intellect and the compassion for Meredith of our readers.

We are perhaps best in the role of “justice must be seen to be done” to borrow from Hellodalai’s post title last Sunday. What we hope to head off is 30 or 40 years of media campaigns if the verdict is guilty and the Kerchers never ever again seeing real peace. 

We know that TJMK is being read in Perugia, though by who precisely we can’t say. Prosecutor Mignini has assigned a staffer to follow the websites, and he expressed appreciation for an unnamed US website denouncing the sliming of him about the same time we decried it. There is no direct equivalent of TJMK in Italian, but of course there is no great dispute there over the case and the media do a good job.

The prosecution can and possibly will reopen their case at the end of the defense phase to take into account any new evidence the defense has placed on the table. Nothing of real new interest has appeared yet. We were led to believe the testimony on the small knife would be quite a page-turner but little seemed to emerge that we did not know.  There will be a final summation by the prosecutor to tie all the threads together and in this case it could be a long one.

And whether or not the verdict is guilty, the two judges must come up with an equivalent of the Micheli report for this trial. It will be printed on paper and also released as a digital file (we got the digital file of Micheli the same morning it was released) but Italian law forbids its republication in full. The tremendous work done by Brian on Micheli is the kind of thing the Italian process expects and likes to see happen.

Brian, are you ready?!! I am quite sure he is. The next big post up here will be the summary of the prosecution case by The Machine. And if you have ever encountered The Machine, you will know that he is a stickler for detail!

And guest posts are always very welcome, if you see an angle that will add to the closure of the case and, in particular, to the legacy of poor Meredith.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 06/24/09 at 10:22 PM | #

I have been following this murder case since day one, here in Ireland. Since I have found this site I have spent many hours reading the detailed analysis of the evidence, such as the post above by Kermit and others. I am so impressed at the most intelligent thinking and sorting of facts that all add up to complete the bigger picture.  I am certainly convinced that this cold liar Amanda Knox is guilty of violently taking the life of this most beautiful, innocent young girl Merideth and hope she and her accomplices will eventually get what they deserve for what they have done.

Posted by Estelle on 06/26/09 at 11:55 PM | #
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