billswift comments on Advancing Certainty - Less Wrong
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This is a side-point, perhaps, but something to take into account with assigning probabilities is that while Amanda Knox is not guilty, she is certainly a liar.
When confronting someone known to be lying during something as high stakes as a murder trial, people assign them a much higher probability of guilt, because someone that lies during a murder trial is actually more likely to have committed murder. That seems to be useful evidence when we are assigning numerical probabilities, but it was a horrific bias for the judge and jury of the case.
Edit: To orthnormal, yes, that is what I meant, thank you. I also agree that it's possible that her being a sociopath and/or not neurotypical confused the prosecutor.
People lie all the time, mostly to protect their self-image or their image in others' minds. Just because it was done during a trial does not mean they are more likely to have committed the crime. Just as often people misremember, forget things they said before, or remember things they didn't mention before.
I think if we compare the set of all accused murderers that lie during their trials to those that tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, a higher percentage of liars will be guilty.
It's improper reasoning, however, to use that as the reason for convicting someone of murder.
I think there is a significant chance she was in the house at the time of the murder or otherwise knew something that she didn't tell the police, and that major lie could have really confused the prosecutor, who was also the interrogater when she implicated Patrick Lumumba.