Knox's Co-Defendant Finds Himself Innocent in Thesis

Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito was awarded a degree in information technology today with a thesis that studied his own name on social networks and analyzed his legal case.

Sollecito and Knox were recently convicted for the murder of Knox's former roommate Meredith Kercher. The former lovers have spent four years in an Italian prison and have been convicted, found not guilty and convicted again in a trial and two appeals. Knox and Sollecito are appealing their latest conviction.

Sollecito was awarded a degree in information technology from Verona University, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

His thesis for the degree analyzed social media, including mentions of his name and his case. Sollecito, who wrote the thesis in English and defended it orally in Italian, concluded that his name was more often linked to the word "innocent" than "guilty," ANSA reported.

"I did an experiment on myself" he told ANSA.

Knox, 27, and Sollecito, 30, had been dating for about a week in November 2007 when Kercher was found with her throat cut in the bedroom of the Perugia cottage that she shared with Knox and two Italian women. The case became an international sensation and both Knox and Sollecito have written books about their ordeal.

Sollecito is facing a 25 year prison term if his conviction is upheld by Italy's supreme court. Knox, who is living in Seattle, has been sentenced to 28.5 years in prison.