In this Sum it Up: in the past two weeks, I read a lot of news articles, book reviews, and watched via live feeds the trials of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in Perugia, Italy, and of course, the Dr. C. Murray trial in the death of Michael Jackson. If it hadn’t been for the Internet, I would not have been able to “attend” both on the same day. The live feeds allowed me to watch as much of each trial as I could squeeze into my work day (read: as I could get away with) and that is pretty amazing.
About these trials, I was pleasantly surprised that they officially cleared both Knox and Sollecito of murder. The evidence was thin, the evidence collection handled badly, and knowing that Knox did not have either lawyer or translator with her when she was questioned, that was enough to convince me that this case was badly handled. I also believe that the plea Knox made in fluent Italian helped to make the jury see the case through her eyes. As much as folks rejoice now regarding the freedom that Sollecito and Knox can enjoy again, let’s not forget that Meredith Kercher’s murder still leaves us with questions. Was Rudy Guede really the only attacker? Knowing now how badly some things were handled in the investigation, it would not surprise me if the authorities have overlooked other issues and maybe some leads.
I am following the Murray trial with great interest. My main questions remains: if you know that the desired prescription medications and/or drugs are lethal why do you continue to prescribe them to an addict? Is your reason: “better through me than through a contact on the street?” There are so many examples of so-called celebrities whose doctors keep getting them what they ask for despite knowing the consequences. I wonder if this is a mindset of “I will be able to control the intake in the long run” and then it gets out of hand or, is this a sheer disregard for the life of the addict (and the addict’s family) because it pays the bills? Your thoughts?
In one of my posts about the Crewe Murders I alerted you to an article written by Ross Meurant who wrote an article about police culture. There is an interesting reaction to that article written by New Zealand Police Commissioner Peter Marshall. You can find that here.
In the aftermath of the Troy Davis execution, an article appeared entitled “I ordered death in Georgia.” The article is by Allen Ault, and he explains in plain English what it is like to supervise executions.
Two movies or clips deserve your attention.
The first is “Of Dolls & Murder” and raises the question whether a sequel should be made. Read it here!
The second is the case of Cameron Todd Willingham. The indie movie is called “Incendiary” and will be a hot topic for months to come.
Enjoy!