Raffaele Sollecito, who was
convicted along with former girlfriend Amanda Knox of killing
Meredith Kercher, graduated Tuesday from Verona University with
a degree in computer engineering.
In his thesis, which he wrote in English and defended in
Italian, he analyzed social networks, including the numbers of
those who favored or opposed his conviction.
This is the second degree for Sollecito, who graduated from
Perugia University while in custody during his first murder
trial, in 2008.
Knox and Sollecito were initially convicted of the murder
at the original trial in Perugia in 2009 and served a total
of four years in prison including pre-trial custody.
That conviction was overturned on appeal two years later,
but in 2013 Italy's supreme court ordered a repeat of the
appeals trial, saying evidence linking Knox and Sollecito to the
murder scene had not been properly considered.
In January, the Florence court sentenced Knox to 28 and a
half years in prison and Sollecito to 25 years.
A third person convicted of the killing in a
separate fast-track proceeding, Rudy Guede, a drifter from the
Ivory Coast, is serving 16 years in prison.
Knox and Sollecito, both of whom have steadfastly
proclaimed their innocence, are appealing to Italy's highest
court.
Sollecito is free pending the result of that appeal. Knox
was convicted the second time in absentia, and is living in the
United States.
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