Amanda Knox
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Even after 24 years in prison, even after Ian's charges were dropped, and even after someone else's DNA was connected to the case, they persist in searching for guilt that isn't there. I know exactly what that feels like. They found the real killer in my case, whose DNA was all over the crime scene, just two weeks after the murder and nearly a year before I even went to trial.
Even after 24 years in prison, even after Ian's charges were dropped, and even after someone else's DNA was connected to the case, they persist in searching for guilt that isn't there. I know exactly what that feels like. They found the real killer in my case, whose DNA was all over the crime scene, just two weeks after the murder and nearly a year before I even went to trial.
It didn't matter then, and it doesn't matter today. A cloud of suspicion still hangs over me. To many, I'm still guilty until proven innocent. That is the look on Ian's face. The anxiety that he'll have to prove himself forever and ever. At the very least, I can point to Italy's Supreme Court, which declared me factually innocent. And Ian and Sean deserve the same.
It didn't matter then, and it doesn't matter today. A cloud of suspicion still hangs over me. To many, I'm still guilty until proven innocent. That is the look on Ian's face. The anxiety that he'll have to prove himself forever and ever. At the very least, I can point to Italy's Supreme Court, which declared me factually innocent. And Ian and Sean deserve the same.
And it's not looking like they'll get what they deserve. But something interesting comes up during this hearing that surprises a lot of us, including the judge. Bill Harrison and Keith Shigatomi both speak to conversations they had with Michael Ortiz, the jailhouse informant, a.k.a. the prison priest, whose testimony led to the second indictment and Ian and Sean's convictions.
And it's not looking like they'll get what they deserve. But something interesting comes up during this hearing that surprises a lot of us, including the judge. Bill Harrison and Keith Shigatomi both speak to conversations they had with Michael Ortiz, the jailhouse informant, a.k.a. the prison priest, whose testimony led to the second indictment and Ian and Sean's convictions.
Just note that that's a serious allegation of misconduct. It's not just that the testimony came from a jailhouse snitch who was incentivized to lie, but that the police fed him the story they wanted him to repeat.
Just note that that's a serious allegation of misconduct. It's not just that the testimony came from a jailhouse snitch who was incentivized to lie, but that the police fed him the story they wanted him to repeat.
And then, Keith Shigatomi, on behalf of Sean Schweitzer.
And then, Keith Shigatomi, on behalf of Sean Schweitzer.
Dr. Richard Leo, by the way, is a friend of mine and a renowned expert in police coercion and confessions. And he's prominently featured in another podcast series I made called False Confessions, which you can find linked in the show notes.
Dr. Richard Leo, by the way, is a friend of mine and a renowned expert in police coercion and confessions. And he's prominently featured in another podcast series I made called False Confessions, which you can find linked in the show notes.
As part of her own investigation into this case, award-winning investigative journalist Lynn Kawano is able to find the polygraph report and review it firsthand.
As part of her own investigation into this case, award-winning investigative journalist Lynn Kawano is able to find the polygraph report and review it firsthand.
By the end of the hearing, the team is on the edge of their seats, trying to predict how this judge, who decided to release Ian at the end of his last hearing with zero expectation to do so, will react to all of this information.
By the end of the hearing, the team is on the edge of their seats, trying to predict how this judge, who decided to release Ian at the end of his last hearing with zero expectation to do so, will react to all of this information.
I hope you're beginning to see how damning a false admission can be. Even when contradicted by DNA, prosecutors, juries, and even judges have a hard time ignoring such evidence.
I hope you're beginning to see how damning a false admission can be. Even when contradicted by DNA, prosecutors, juries, and even judges have a hard time ignoring such evidence.