Is the use of irregardless some sort of inside joke?
Acquittal is clearly not inevitable but today moved the dial in that direction.
ToD and the prejudging by ILE brought out today was excellent. The not matching bloody outline of the knife and the randomness of its selection were great points.
I imagine Amanda's team will reinforce the prejudging by the police and the obvious leading her into giving the "truth we knew" statement. She may mention it again when she speaks, telling the court that even though she knows that Mignini will probably sue her again. She may say that they planted the Patrick account and the interpreter told her that she too had forgotten important details under stress and Amanda just needed to try harder to remember what the police "knew to be the truth".
See, I know the perils of going out on a limb, but I actually
do think that acquittals are inevitable. I wasn't prepared to go that far before hearing the prosecution closing arguments (even though I was pretty certain that they wouldn't have anything we didn't already know), but it turned out that the prosecutors (and civil lawyers) had even less ammunition than anticipated.
I think that an outsider (such as I am) has enough information and access to the case to be able to make a reasoned call on what's going to happen. In some cases, it's easy to tell that the defendants are guilty long before the verdict is announced. In other cases, it's difficult to make a call one way or the other. And in other cases - such as this case - it's easy to tell that the defendants are not guilty long before the verdict is announced.
If this were a balance of probabilities case, I'd probably be prepared to predict that Knox/Sollecito would likely be found not guilty, but I wouldn't be prepared to be any more than cautious about that opinion. But in a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt case - which this is - I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the burden of proof of guilt has not been met.
And as I said earlier, I think Hellmann is already giving indications that he's about to acquit. To me, the most clear indication is his suggestion that the verdict may be announced on Saturday. For him to say this even before one of the defence teams has given a closing argument can only lead to one inference: Hellmann and his court have now heard all that the prosecutors have, and have seen all the evidence/testimony with their own eyes, and are in no doubt that there is no proof beyond a reasonable doubt. That's why the judicial panel will need very little time to deliberate after rebuttals, and that's why Hellmann already knows this to be the case.
I therefore am prepared to stand up and say that Knox and Sollecito will definitely be acquitted (barring something truly extraordinary happening between now and the end of the week). If I'm wrong, then of course I will eat humble pie and declare myself an idiot too. But I don't think I'll be wrong. I think I'll be correct.
