In Florence, Italy, an Italian court reconvicted Amanda Knox of slander for accusing an innocent man of killing her British roommate in 2007. Knox herself was previously jailed for the murder before being acquitted. She was sentenced to three years already served for falsely accusing a Congolese bar owner of killing Meredith Kercher.
Knox, who is now 36 years old and a mother of two, wept in court during the sentencing. Her lawyer expressed surprise at the decision and stated that they may appeal once they have examined the detailed verdict. Knox and her Italian then-boyfriend were initially arrested for the brutal killing of Kercher in 2007 at the girls’ shared home in Perugia, leading to a long legal saga.
Following various convictions and acquittals, Knox still had a 2011 conviction for slander for initially naming Patrick Lumumba as the murderer. Italy’s highest court threw out this verdict on appeal and ordered a retrial, resulting in Knox’s recent conviction for slander. Knox apologized for falsely naming Lumumba, citing pressure from police during her interrogation.
Kercher’s half-naked body was found in a pool of blood in 2007, with her throat slit and multiple stab wounds. After being implicated by Knox, Lumumba spent time in prison before being released without charge. Knox claimed that Lumumba was her friend at the time. Lumumba’s lawyer stated that Knox’s accusation changed his client’s life and that she had been ordered to pay legal fees and compensation.
The global interest in Knox’s murder trial focused on prosecutors’ claims that Kercher died as part of a sex game gone wrong. However, Italy’s highest court cited major flaws in the police investigation when acquitting Knox and her former boyfriend once and for all. Knox, now a journalist and advocate for criminal justice reform, has previously been cleared of slandering police and took her case to the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in her favor in 2019.
During her testimony in court, Knox stated that the police mistreated her during her interrogation, including hitting her and pressuring her to remember details that she claimed she did not witness. Despite her ordeal, Knox eventually submitted to the pressure. Only one person, Ivorian Rudy Guede, remains convicted of Kercher’s murder based on DNA evidence. Guede was sentenced to 30 years in 2008, later reduced to 16 years on appeal, and was released early in 2021.
