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Amanda Knox's Appeal: A Case of Too Little DNA?

Read more: Amanda Knox's Appeal: A Case of Too Little DNA? - TIME


In the Italian justice system, it pays to play the press. Most trials are presided over by professional magistrates, but some — like Knox's — also include a panel of jurors known as "citizen judges." Unlike in the United States, where those deciding the case are carefully screened for bias and sequestered during the proceedings, Italian jurors are not only free to hold preconceived opinions, they're at liberty to follow the news of the trial as it unfolds, leaving them vulnerable to swings in popular sentiment. Leaks like the one that broke this week open the possibility that by the time the evidence is officially presented on May 21 the minds of the jurors will already have been made up. "This is a way to play with public opinion," says Francesco Maresca, a lawyer representing the murdered woman's family. "Obviously, somebody put it in circulation to cause confusion."

Read more: Amanda Knox's Appeal: A Case of Too Little DNA? - TIME