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angus_mckeogh's review
4.0
I pretty much knew Knox's trial was gonna be a farce and loaded with insane amounts of injustice ever since reading Monster of Florence. In that book prosecutor, Mignini, tracks an infamous serial killer pushing forward a conspiracy theory about satanic worship and ritual murder before ultimately deciding that a famous American author, Preston, and an Italian investigative reporter are actually the serial killer(s). It's ineffably ridiculous and sad. Not to mention completely nonsensical and corrupt. Guess who's prosecuting Knox? Mignini! And his theory? Ritual sex games and satanic influence resulting in murder. Uh? Really? Get off it already. What this book brought to the table was the copious load of forensic evidence at the scene (DNA, blood, footprints, handprints, etc) that ultimately resulted in Guede being rightfully jailed for the murder. All this information was never reported by the media. How did Mignini handle this? Suddenly Knox and her boyfriend were part of a ritual, satanist conspiracy to murder with Guede. Please. Get off it already. Frankly you're a terrible prosecutor.
nickjonesreadsbooks's review
4.0
Like many others watching the news in 2007 I was appalled to hear the supposed facts that were coming to us out of Italy--lurid tales of seduction and murder at the hands of "Foxy Knoxy" Amanda Marie Knox, an American college student studying abroad in Italy. The media coverage convinced me that the case was above board and implicated Amanda Knox and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito of conspiracy, rape, and murder in a "sex game gone wrong." Little did I know (because the media was less interested in retracting its defamations) that the case against Amanda and her boyfriend was contrived out of thin air, and that all the facts of the case (including DNA evidence) implicated one man--and one man only--a petty thief and drug dealer, Rudy Guede.
I originally picked up this book because one of the contributing authors, Douglas Preston, is a favorite of mine. When I saw John Douglas' name on the same book (he's one of the founding fathers of criminal profiling) I knew it would be a great read. I wasn't disappointed. The book is nearly courtroom defense of it's own, calling experts to bear on the evidence and examine the gross negligence, out-right fabrication of evidence, and subsequent cover-ups by Italian law enforcement and prosecution in the name of saving face.
Douglas Preston kicks things off by revealing that the chief prosecutor in the Knox case, Giuliano Mignini, was also the man who had botched the Monster of Florence investigation. Preston and Italian journalist Mario Spezi had begun to research the Monster of Florence killings and publically criticized Mignini. The prosecutor then targeted Preston and Spezi for the Monster killings, claiming that they were members of a satanic cult that had ordered the killings. After international uproar over Spezi's unjust incarceration, Mignini was indicted for abuse of office, illegal wire tapping, and other such crimes. Twenty months later Mignini is claiming to have solved the murder of Meredith Kercher before the evidence was even processed.
One after another experts weigh in: John Douglas and Mark Olshaker analyze the crime scene, review the evidence, and profile the UNSUB; Steve Moore, a retired FBI SA and SSA, takes a look at the investigation and how it was conducted. (Here's a spoiler: He says, "The investigation was botched at a level I have rarely seen outside of totalitarian or Third World countries."); Judge Michael Heavey and Jim Lovering discuss the court findings; and lastly we read a declaration by Amanda Knox, herself, written to the Honorable Court of Appeals of Florence.
After reading this book, I am utterly convinced that Knox is a victim of slander in the court of public opinion and a casualty of legal "professionals" seeking offer quick solutions and to cover their tails/tales when the facts revealed their sloppy work and fabrication of "evidence." I hope that books such as this one clear the air and shed light on the truth of the case--that Amanda is innocent.
I originally picked up this book because one of the contributing authors, Douglas Preston, is a favorite of mine. When I saw John Douglas' name on the same book (he's one of the founding fathers of criminal profiling) I knew it would be a great read. I wasn't disappointed. The book is nearly courtroom defense of it's own, calling experts to bear on the evidence and examine the gross negligence, out-right fabrication of evidence, and subsequent cover-ups by Italian law enforcement and prosecution in the name of saving face.
Douglas Preston kicks things off by revealing that the chief prosecutor in the Knox case, Giuliano Mignini, was also the man who had botched the Monster of Florence investigation. Preston and Italian journalist Mario Spezi had begun to research the Monster of Florence killings and publically criticized Mignini. The prosecutor then targeted Preston and Spezi for the Monster killings, claiming that they were members of a satanic cult that had ordered the killings. After international uproar over Spezi's unjust incarceration, Mignini was indicted for abuse of office, illegal wire tapping, and other such crimes. Twenty months later Mignini is claiming to have solved the murder of Meredith Kercher before the evidence was even processed.
One after another experts weigh in: John Douglas and Mark Olshaker analyze the crime scene, review the evidence, and profile the UNSUB; Steve Moore, a retired FBI SA and SSA, takes a look at the investigation and how it was conducted. (Here's a spoiler: He says, "The investigation was botched at a level I have rarely seen outside of totalitarian or Third World countries."); Judge Michael Heavey and Jim Lovering discuss the court findings; and lastly we read a declaration by Amanda Knox, herself, written to the Honorable Court of Appeals of Florence.
After reading this book, I am utterly convinced that Knox is a victim of slander in the court of public opinion and a casualty of legal "professionals" seeking offer quick solutions and to cover their tails/tales when the facts revealed their sloppy work and fabrication of "evidence." I hope that books such as this one clear the air and shed light on the truth of the case--that Amanda is innocent.
saydenie's review
4.0
This short book laid out the facts of the case very well. Its scary to think how easily an innocent person can be prosecuted based on media coverage and "ideas" of what people think happened. I just hope that Amanda Knox can at some point live the rest of her life in peace and put this nightmare behind her.
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