Passport and Justice - Essay Example

? Passport and Justice Introduction: The case of Amanda Knox reflects on a murder case, which occurred in the year 2007, where Amanda and her boyfriend were charged and given sentences for several years in jail. However, both them have got their releases in the year 2011 (Jones, 2011). The current study focuses on the incidents and the trials that had taken place on this murder, and judgment of the Italian government and how it could be different if the US government was in charge of the case. Also, an overview on the major legal systems in the world would be presented such that an understanding of the legal procedures can be achieved while people move to different countries. The Case of Amanda Knox and the Murder of Meredith Kercher: The Trial: As far as the case is concerned Amanda Knox is originally from the United States who was pursuing her studies from an institute in Italy. Meredith Kercher was her roommate and was found murdered on November 2, 2007, as reports reflect her death to have occurred the night before. Four days later on November 6, Knox and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were arrested as prime suspects. Also the owner of the pub in which Knox used to work was arrested since Knox had tried to make statements against him. However, he was later released due to lack of evidences. The court charged Knox and her boyfriend of sexual assaults and murder on Kercher in October, 2008. The trial of the case began in 2009 (Amanda Knox chronology: timeline of a murder case, 2011). Although Knox had tried to defend herself to the greatest extent possible, she and her boyfriend were found to be guilty by the court in Perugia and the court had declared sentences for the two individuals for several years- 25 years for Raffaele and 26 years for Amanda. Further appeals made to the court had opened their files again in 2010 in Perugia. Although several evidences in regard to the presence of DNA in the murder weapons, or clothes, had been derived, the court could not declare the evidences to be enough reliable. The trial continued for some time. However, in 2011, both the accused individuals, Knox and Sollecito were declared free of their charges (Amanda Knox chronology: timeline of a murder case, 2011). An Analysis of the Case: As far as the case is concerned, the significance of the case is severe since a young girl had been sexually assaulted and murdered. As statements made by Knox, she had heard of screams of Kercher proving that she was present in the location and at the time of the murder. At the same time statements of Knox also stressed on the fact that she was mentally pressurized by the investigation team that could have led her to make such statements. Also, the evidences of the blood stains and the matching of DNA with Knox and Kercher could not prove to stand strongly against Knox and her boyfriend. This was primarily because the weapon in which the blood stains were obtained and the injuries on the body of Kercher did not match (Kington, 2011). All these facts reflect on one very important suggestion that the investigation of the murder was done to the proper extent it was needed. Moreover, while the court or the legal system in Italy has been unable to find the match of the evidences with the murder of the young girl, it could also be stressed that the court did not take significant measures to place orders for the identification of the truth. The blame was instead completely placed on the team of investigation without any strict rules for them to ensure that the evidences they presented could be strongly used to find the murderers. The US Legal System: Any Difference That Would Have Taken Place: An analysis of the case in concern of the study reflects on the fact there had been a lack in the entire investigation process as well as the legal system that did not contemplate well on what could have actually happened to Meredith Kercher whose throat was slashed and signs of sexual assaults were also found. Rather the judge had made statements that showed that he did not find it necessary for the speculation since he believed that the process of investigation was not the responsibility of the court (Kington, 2011). Thus there appeared to be a huge gap of sincerity and responsibility in finding out the murderers of Kercher. In this context, it can be discussed as to what could be the probable differences if such a case was handled by the US legal system. In the US, any case of murder is considered as highly important and a murder being a criminal act by the human beings, the US law has strict punishments for such criminals. Such punishments include either sentence to death or life time imprisonment (U.S. Code, n.d.). Thus it can be realized from this that if the case was handled by the US government, firstly, the case could be expected to be considered more sincerely not only by the investigation team but also by the court, and secondly, the years for punishment in the prison would be life time instead 25/26 years as had been decided by the Italian government. Thus if the US government was in charge of the case, the case might have had different outcomes unlike the trial that occurred in Italy. This also reflects on the condition of the prison proving that the conditions in the US are much better to be able to handle more number of prisoners for longer periods of time. The Major Legal Systems in the World: There are currently four major legal systems in the world. If any individual travels to different countries, he/she needs to understand the difference in these laws such that they can maintain the decorum applicable in the particular country. Also, in case of any accidents, or criminal acts, the understanding of these laws becomes highly essential. The four major legal systems include the Civil law, the Socialist law, the Islamic law, and the Common law. The Common law determines the outcomes on a case based on the earlier made judgments on similar cases. The Civil law is dependent on different codes for law that have been derived based on the activities of the human beings and the acts of crimes as well. The Islamic law reflects on the use of the Islamic principles in determination of their laws. Lastly, the Socialist law is based on the good that human beings can do to their social environment including other human beings (Shippey, 2002, pp.120-123). Thus it can be realized that each of these laws are more or less different from each other. If an individual travels to a different country, a study on which law is followed in that country and thus an understanding of that law would assist the individual to keep safe in a foreign country as well. Conclusion: From the above study it can be concluded that different countries have different legal systems, and thus the outcomes of particular criminal cases might also be different. The case concerned in this study reflects that the law in the Italian government is not strict enough to identify the murderers thus releasing the prime suspects on lack of proper evidence. The outcomes might have been different if the case was handled by any other law in any other country. References 1) Amanda Knox chronology: timeline of a murder case (October 3, 2011). The Telegraph, Retrieved on February 1, 2012 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8803231/Amanda-Knox-chronology-timeline-of-a-murder-case.html 2) Jones, T. (October 4, 2011). Amanda Knox case is typical of Italy’s inconclusive justice, The Guardian, Retrieved on February 1, 2012 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/04/amanda-knox-case-italy-justice 3) Kington, T. (December 15, 2011). Amanda Knox trial was flawed at every turn, says appeal judge, The Guardian, Retrieved on February 1, 2012 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/15/amanda-knox-trial-flawed-says-judge 4) Shippey, K.C. (2002). A short course in international intellectual property rights: protecting your brands, marks, copyrights, patents, designs, and related rights worldwide, California: World Trade Press 5) U.S. Code (n.d.). Legal Information Institute, Law, Retrieved on February 1, 2012 from: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/usc_sec_18_00001111----000-.html Read More