Double Jeopardy In November 2007, British college student Meredith Kercher, as !

ound raped and stabbed to death in her Italian home that she shared ith roommate "manda Kno#$ "merican college student "manda Kno# and her boy!riend at the time %a!!aele &ollecito instantaneously became suspects in the case$ "ccording to 'NN, a !e days a!ter Kercher as murdered, Italian police brought Kno# in !or (uestioning, here she admitted to being home at the time o! Kercher)s murder$ *o ever, Kno# insisted that she had nothing to do ith the +illing$ During this time, she also implied that a local bar o ner, ,atric+ -umumba, as the one ho had stabbed Kercher$ .he police detained -umumba/ ho ever, t o ee+s later his alibi as con!irmed and he as released !rom 0ail$ .his event only made police o!!icials narro in on Kno# as they ondered hy she ould place the blame on someone ho as proven not to be present during the murder$ "!ter this, Kno# e#plained that police o!!icials had pressured, con!used and hit her during her (uestioning, hich made her rong!ully accuse -umumba$ "lthough Kno# maintained her innocence throughout the investigation, there is no doubt in my mind that police ere convinced !rom the start that she murdered Kercher$ Many ere le!t stunned hen Kno# and her boy!riend ere o!!icially convicted o! murder in July 2001$ I can honestly say that once Kno# and &ollecito ere charged ith murder, mysel! as ell as the entire orld became in!atuated ith this case$ Italians anted nothing more than to !ind Kno# guilty and +eep her imprisoned in Italy !or li!e$ 2n the other hand, many "mericans hoped that they ould !ind the young girl innocent and sa Kno# as an "merican ho as stuc+ in Italy$ During the trial, Kno# repeatedly e#plained that during (uestioning she as very con!used and as pressured by the police$ &he also e#plained that the media had shed a negative light on her and portrayed her in a bad ay$ Many believed that Kno# had acted suspicious the days !ollo ing Kercher)s death/ ho ever, Kno# insisted that the con!usion and stress led to her bi3arre behavior$ In 2004, Kno# and &ollecito ere !ound guilty on all counts o! murder and Kno# as given 25 years in prison, hereas her boy!riend as sentenced to 26 years$ .he t o immediately appealed the verdict, and in December 2070 the appeal process began$ 8I)ve been condemned !or the crime I did not commit,9 Kno# e#plained$ .hroughout the lengthy trial, there ere many !actors to the case, but many ould agree that the most important !actor as the DN" in the case$ .he (uestion as i! Kno#)s DN" as on the +ni!e$ ,olice !ound that Kno#)s DN" as in !act on the +ni!e/ ho ever, !orensic e#perts too+ another loo+ at the DN" evidence and said that it as unsound to connect her to the murder$ .his as due to the !act that Kno# had indeed used the +ni!e many times hile living in the house$ .his signi!icantly helped Kno#)s case$ :inally, in :ebruary 2072, Kno# and &ollecito)s conviction as overturned and Kno# as able to return to "merican and her hometo n o! &eattle$ Many onloo+ers as ell as Kno# believed that the case as over/ ho ever, in March 207;, the court ruled that Kno# and &ollecito should stand trial once again$ Kno# immediately rote an email saying, 8I must repeat to you$ I)m innocent$ I did not rape, I did not steal<I did not +ill Meredith$9 .his trial has le!t many people on edge as e all ait to !ind out Kno#)s !ate$ "lthough Kno# is currently in "merica, i! she is !ound guilty she could be e#tradited bac+ to Italy$ "lthough Kno# ill most li+ely not be !orced to return to Italy, it is important that she is !ound innocent so that she can lead a normal

li!e$ .his case continues to be one o! the most controversial cases I have seen and is one that has had me enthralled !rom the very beginning$ .he timeline o! this case can be !ound on 'NN and has recently le!t a huge impact on social media sites such as :aceboo+ as it continues to be a trending topic$