The news last Thursday 30th January, that an appeals court in Florence reinstated the original guilty verdict of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, for the murder of English student Meredith Kercher, has made world headlines. After the couple were tried and convicted in 2009, that verdict was reversed by Italy’s Court of Cassation – second only to the Supreme Court -  in March 2013 on the basis of errors and faulty logic. In fact, many non-Italian journalists and commentators wrongly referred to this latest process as the couple’s second “trial” when in fact it was, as Knox’s lawyer pointed out: a “continuing case on appeals”.

The mistake is understandable given the complex, drawn out nature of Italy’s justice system. Although Knox’s and Sollecito’s last appeal did result in an acquittal, that ruling was thrown out by Italy’s Supreme Court due to “deficiencies, contradictions and illogical” conclusions and  the case was sent back to the appellate level. Since, under Italian law no verdict is  final until the Supreme Court affirms a judgement, last week’s newly upheld guilty verdict must also again go before the Supreme Court which will eventually uphold or overthrow it. That ruling will almost certainly not happen until next year. And, if the Supreme Court does uphold the verdict of the appellate court, there will almost certainly be a move to extradite Knox, who has stated she will never willingly return to Italy. The case therefore could drag on for many years, if not decades.

This is a deplorable scandal for many reasons. Not least, the lack of hard evidence of the couple’s guilt. The recent hearing included some much-vaunted ” further evidence” brought by the prosecution. This consisted principally of a second forensic analysis of DNA traces, already previously tested, on a knife, alleged to be the murder weapon. That analysis, as in the first forensic report, proved inconclusive. Not that this will cut any ice with seasoned followers of the saga. Irrespective of the eventual Supreme Court ruling , many will claim that justice was not done: whether Knox and Sollecito are found to be innocent or guilty will not satisfy the two main groups of observers who have followed the case since 2007. A final guilty verdict will lead many to declare a grave error of justice, since no hard forensic evidence, or eyewitness testimony links Knox and Sollecito to the murder scene – the house shared by Kercher and Knox which necessarily bears traces of both women’s DNA. If the couple’s guilty verdict is overturned, a howl of fury will erupt from the alarmingly vociferous army of self-confessed “Amanda Knox haters”, who have repeatedly, publicly and furiously vilified the American woman on Twitter and Facebook, believing her to be the devil incarnate, a drug and sex-obsessed degenerate who can only be  guilty of Kercher’s murder. This is therefore a case in which there are no winners, only losers.

These days, Welfare Island is a verdant, residential retreat which was renamed Roosevelt Island in 1973. But in the earlier 20th century it was notorious as the “worst and most unmanageable prison in the world.

The grotesquely misnamed Welfare Island was known to most New Yorkers as the city’s most wretched hell hole, the setting for some of the darkest episodes in the city’s history since the mid nineteenth century.

When the City officials MacCormick and Marcus organised a raid on the prison in 1934 they had no idea what they were about to stumble upon. Emaciated and scarred inmates, rife with self-mutilation, drug withdrawal and addiction, were crammed into stinking cells kept in appalling conditions.

While shipping them off to hospitals and alternative prisons, the officers discovered a large-scale drugs trafficking operation run by notorious mobster inmates and facilitated by prison staff. As they delved deeper into the workings of the prison it soon became apparent that the scale of the corruption was larger than they ever could have anticipated. The whole of New York was contaminated.

But who was controlling this widespread ring of crime and corruption?

And what dirty secrets were being hidden on the Island of the Damned?

‘Island of the Damned’ is the compelling true story of New York’s most brutal prison. It is a compelling mix of social, political, and criminal history – essential reading for anyone who wants to understand New York’s past.

‘A brilliantly told story.’ – Robert Foster, best-selling author of The Lunar Code.

So-called “circotherapy”, developed two years ago in Finland, is today proving successful in helping to rehabilitate Syrian youngsters and adults traumatised by war and homelessness. Originally developed to treat Finnish youngsters with behavioural and emotional problems, Sirkus Magenta, based in Helsinki, began a new project this March, sending twenty trainers to the Middle East to work with PTSD sufferers, the bereaved and homeless.At refugee camps they have been teaching survivors skills ranging from stilt walking and acrobatics to high-wire walking, juggling and uni-cycling. Because it involves teamwork, courage and trust, young people especially, as they learn, soon develop confidence, become less shy and  withdrawn, more outgoing and responsive to others. The trainers also work with entire families, disabled and older people.  Sirkus Magenta recently teamed up with representatives of Finn Church Aid to help refugees at Jordan’s Za’atari camp. An inspiring example of how mastering physical skills can calm troubled minds and repair a fractured psyche under even the most deplorable circumstances.

My new book is now available for Kindle … Manhattan Murder Mystery, from Amazon.

When New York heiress Irene Silverman vanishes from her Upper East Side mansion, the case sparks a major criminal investigation.

A fifty-strong team of FBI and NYPD officers scours the city’s streets in vain for evidence or sign of a body, becoming caught up in one of the most perplexing mysteries in New York’s criminal history. Detectives soon hit a dead end. Is she dead, or alive?

When an elderly woman, Sante Kimes, and her son Kenny, are arrested in another part of town on minor fraud charges, the Silverman case takes a chilling twist. Are the couple connected to her? An eagle-eyed NYPD officer thinks so. As police teams around the USA probe the background of Sante and Kenny Kimes, reports of a horrifying crime spree materialise, linking the couple to property theft, fraud, kidnapping and multiple murders throughout the country, for which they have so far escaped arrest.

Eventually, the couple’s deadliest and most audacious plot is exposed. The Kimeses have come to New York for one reason only, and soon they are charged with the murder of Irene Silverman. It is Manhattan’s “trial of the century”. But the mystery remains. Irene Silverman’s body has never been found, and her last moments and cause of death are still unknown.

One of the world’s most eminent violin dealers, accused of defrauding and embezzling clients and businesses to the tune of millions, is finally facing the music in court … The Great Stradivarius Swindle, at The Telegraph.

In Spring 1804, four Spanish frigates set sail for home from Montevideo to Cádiz. In October a British squadron sank the Mercedes off Portugal’s shores. A new era of deep-sea exploration is uncovering some historic shipwrecks. But who gets the spoils? Mystery of the Black Swan.