I don't agree with
this statement, since I believe that the evidence strongly suggests that the relevant Italian authorities intended to
frame Knox and Sollecito, through the
official misconduct of those authorities.
I don't know what posters here mean by "frame" - that is, what definition they are using. Here is a definition from a legal context:
Source:
https://www.legalbriefai.com/legal-terms/frame
I've read several objections to the use of the word "frame" to describe the official misconduct (including but not limited to failing to provide a lawyer, failing to provide a fair interpreter, and use of coercive methods) of the Italian police and prosecution in the Knox - Sollecito case. I believe that some of these objections relate to the use of a different definition or a misapprehension as to the legal status, even in Italy, of a suspect or an accused (the last term may be used to mean a defendant in a criminal case in Italy).
One objection seems to be that the police and prosecutor sincerely believed Knox and Sollecito to be guilty, even before the beginning of the impugned interrogation, and therefore the official misconduct could not by definition be "framing". However, under Italian law, a suspect or an accused is to be
presumed innocent (Italian Constitution)*, provided with a defense lawyer, particularly during interrogations (CPP Articles 63 and 64), and not subjected to "methods or techniques which may influence the freedom of self-determination or alter the capacity to recall and evaluate facts" - that is, coercion to gather evidence is prohibited (CPP Article 188).
Another objection seems to be that the police and prosecutor were so incompetent that their official misconduct should be taken to be mistakes rather than intentional violations of Italian law, and therefore no "framing" occurred. My view is that the police and prosecutor were highly trained professionals who were careful to make their violations of Italian law seem to be excusable mistakes or otherwise covered, for example, by pretending to interrogate Knox and Sollecito as witnesses when in fact they were already suspects in the (undocumented) opinions of the police and prosecutor. It should be recalled that the prosecutor, Mignini, at the relevant time, was himself a defendant in a criminal case alleging abuse of his power as a prosecutor against several persons, including fellow prosecutors. He was pursuing what many would consider rather bizarre hunches as to the guilt of certain (innocent) individuals in an alleged conspiracy in the Monster of Florence murders. The charges against Mignini were dismissed because the length of the trials against him exceeded the time limit set under Italian law - this was due in part to the Italian judicial system initiating trials in a judicial district that included prosecutors or other judicial officials whom he had (allegedly) targeted with his (alleged) abuses of power. Mignini also had the Italian journalist Mario Spezi imprisoned on false charges of impeding Mignini's Monster of Florence investigation; that imprisonment was subsequently declared illegal.
In the Knox case, Migini questioned her following her impugned interrogation by the police. He would certainly have been aware that under Italian law CPP Article 63 she was entitled to a defense lawyer to be present at that point because of her first interrogation statement. It was his responsibility to not question her until she had that lawyer. According to Knox's statement in her memoir
Free: My Search for Meaning, Knox told Mignini, in response to his question why she was crying and hitting her head, she complained that she had been hit on the head and yelled at (page 7). Mignini's legal duty would have been to initiate an independent investigation of Knox's complaint. He did not do so.
See:
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
* The suspect or accused can be subjected to security measures, such as detention, but only according to law and with the approval of a judge.