Let me tell you, I’m Italian. I wouldn’t want to be defending myself in an Italian court for ANY REASON. We are a very emotional bunch who love theories and character assassinations. This case had legs because Amanda Knox was American, young, pretty, a partier, and there was some sex in it. Great soap opera UNLESS you are Amanda Knox.
Amanda has some culpability in that she let herself be manipulated into implicating an innocent man by the Italian police. However the chances that an attractive young woman with no criminal history or gang affiliations from a family affluent enough to fund her schooling in the romantic, beautiful county of Italy would stab to death another attractive young woman is completely implausable unless there was some powerful motives. It is crazy.
Of course the drifter from Africa whose sperm was found inside the body of the victim would be a likely suspect anywhere. Most of the time the simplest explanation is the most likely. The man from a culture where women are valued little more than cattle raped and killed the victim after she resisted his advances. Motive oportunity and hard evidence... It is amazing to me that the authorities pursued any other theory.
Exactly the impression I got when I looked into the details of the case. I'm somewhat abashed to admit, though, that initially I simply assumed they were guilty. I think this is because I was applying American standards of criminal investigation and jurisprudence, and looking at things only on the surface.
I feel badly, too, for poor Raffaele. One minute he's having the time of his life with a sweet-looking American babe, the next thing he knows he's sharing a cell with Big Bruno.