Amanda Knox and ex-boyfriend acquitted of murder of British student Meredith Kercher by Italian court - Mirror Online News Amanda Knox and ex-boyfriend acquitted of murder of British student Meredith Kercher by Italian court A Seattle-based representative for Knox said he was 'overjoyed' after the decision, adding 'the truth has won out' Share Verdict: A judge has acquitted Amanda Knox and her ex of the murder of a British student (Photo: Reuters / PA / Getty) Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email Italy's highest court has overturned the murder conviction against Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend, bringing to a definitive end the high-profile case. The decision by the supreme Court of Cassation is the final ruling in the case, ending the long legal battle waged by Knox and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito. Both Ms Knox, who was awaiting the verdict in her US hometown of Seattle, and Mr Sollecito have long maintained their innocence. The supreme Court of Cassation overturned last year's convictions by a Florence appeals court, and declined to order another trial.

Long Saga: Amanda Knox has been in and out of court since the killing in 2007 (Photo: Reuter) The decision means the judges, after thoroughly examining the case, concluded that a conviction could not be supported by the evidence. Their reasoning will be released within 90 days. "I personally feel overjoyed that the truth has won out, that she is innocent," said David Marriott, a spokesman for Knox, calling the verdict "unexpected." Lawyers for Knox's ex-boyfriend made a final appeal to Italy's top criminal court today, urging it to overturn the pair's murder conviction for the 2007 murder of Knox's room-mate. Attorney Giulia Bongiorno dissected the decision of an appeal court in Florence last year to show what she said were numerous errors of fact and logic that resulted in prison sentences of 28-and-a-half years for Knox and 25 years for Raffaele Sollecito. Court Decision: Raffaele Sollecito arrives to to appeal his conviction for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in 2007 (Photo: FameFlynet) Judges at the Court of Cassation in Rome started deliberating shortly after noon.

A decision to confirm the convictions could have resulted in an extradition request from Italy for Knox, who is currently living in the US. She had vowed to never willingly return to Italy. In her closing arguments, Ms Bongiorno said even Knox's original statement to police - which was never entered as evidence and was later changed - exonerated her client. Amanda Knox: Timeline of events since death of Meredith Kercher Knox, who along with Ms Kercher had been studying in the university town of Perugia, initially accused a Congolese bar owner of the murder. She also told investigators she was home the night Ms Kercher was killed and had to cover her ears to drown out her screams. Ms Bongiorno said she believed Knox's statement was coerced, but that even if the high court chooses to consider it, Sollecito figures nowhere in her story. Gruesome Murder: Meredith Kercher's throat was slashed during the killing eight years ago (Photo: PA) "My heart is crying because I think she was pressured by an intermediary," Ms Bongiorno said, apparently referring to the person who served as Knox's unofficial translator during police questioning.

But within that statement, Ms Bongiorno added, Knox "rules out Sollecito". Ms Kercher, 21, was found dead on November 2, 2007 in the apartment she shared with Knox and two other students. Her throat was slashed and she had been sexually assaulted. Knox and Sollecito were arrested a few days later. They both have maintained their innocence. Video Loading Share this video Watch Next Initially Sollecito said he was working on his computer all night, and that he could not remember if Knox had stayed the whole night with him. Police said there was no sign he used the computer that night. The couple later said they had spent the evening together at Sollecito's place watching a movie, smoking marijuana and making love. Knox said her initial statement was forced under duress during late-night questioning by Italian police without a lawyer present and in a language she barely spoke. (Photo: REUTERS) Her false accusation against Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, who owned the bar where Knox occasionally worked, resulted in a slander conviction against Knox that has been upheld on appeal. The high court had several options as it weighed the case.

It could have confirmed the guilty verdicts, raising the question of extradition for Knox; it could overturn the convictions and ordered a third appeals trial; or it could overturn the convictions without a new trial, tantamount to acquittal. Knox, who was freed in 2011 after an earlier appeals court ruling acquitted her, awaited the decision in Seattle on "pins and needles", lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said. Another lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, said he had spoken with Knox but that she responded in only "monosyllables". Family Bid: Meredith's relatives had wanted Knox extradited if the conviction was upheld (Photo: PA Wire) "She is very worried and stressed," Mr Ghirga told reporters outside the courtroom before the decision came in tongiht. "She just answers by saying 'Yes, no, thank you, talk to you later'." Sollecito was in court, joined by his girlfriend, sister and father, as was Mr Lumumba. Mr Bongiorno said Sollecito would not return to court to learn his fate, but was calm "because he knows he's innocent".

Knox and Sollecito were initially convicted by a Perugia court in 2009, acquitted and freed in 2011, and then convicted in 2014 in Florence after the Court of Cassation overturned the acquittals and ordered a new appeals trial. Amanda Knox found guilty of murder again by Italian court - CNN.com Amanda Knox found guilty of murder again by Italian court By Hada Messia and Steve Almasy, CNN Updated 9:28 PM ET, Thu January 30, 2014 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. JUST WATCHED Amanda Knox watches retrial from home 02:00 Story highlights Amanda Knox's attorney says appeal is certain, too soon to talk of extradition Italian court finds Amanda Knox, ex-boyfriend guilty of murder in retrial Knox says the legal proceedings have gotten out of hand, are perverted Both were convicted previously of British student's murder, later acquitted on appeal An Italian appeals court convicted former exchange student Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito on murder charges Thursday night.

Prosecutors said the couple had killed Meredith Kercher in November 2007. They were convicted two years later of murder, but those charges were overturned on appeal in 2011. A judge said Thursday that Knox, also convicted of slander, was sentenced in absentia to 28 1/2 years in prison. Sollecito's sentence was 25 years. Knox, who was at home in Seattle, Washington, said her conviction would bring no consolation to the Kercher family. "I am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict," she said in written remarks. "Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system. The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. ...There has always been a marked lack of evidence." She called the legal proceedings a travesty. "This has gotten out of hand. Most troubling is that it was entirely preventable," she said. "I beseech those with the knowledge and authority to address and remediate the problems that worked to pervert the course of justice and waste the valuable resources of the system." Knox also said that Kercher's family had suffered greatly. "Their grief over Meredith's terrible murder will follow them forever.

They deserve respect and support." What comes next Presiding Judge Alessandro Nencini has 90 days to write his arguments behind the jury's ruling. Once that is out, lawyers have 90 days to appeal. Knox's attorney, Ted Simon, said there will certainly be an appeal and cautioned that extradition shouldn't yet be a part of the conversation surrounding the case. "It's really not in play right now, because first of all, she has another appeal to the Supreme Court of Italy," he told CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. "In Italy, under their system, you're still actually presumed innocent until that third, final stage." Simon said that if extradition does become an issue, Knox has "very substantial defenses" that can be used. "But I think we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves," he told CNN. "The bottom line is, there is no evidence. There was no evidence, and there never will be any evidence, and that's why this is such a gross miscarriage of justice." Legal analysts debated whether the U.S. would send Knox back to Italy if Rome requests extradition. It is unlikely that Knox will return to Italy to serve additional prison time because U.S.

law dictates that a person cannot be tried twice on the same charge, a legal expert told CNN. "She was once put in jeopardy and later acquitted," said Sean Casey, a former prosecutor who is now a partner at Kobre & Kim in New York. "Under the treaty (between the two nations), extradition should not be granted." JUST WATCHED CNN legal analyst Mark O'Mara said that the United States has to respect the treaty. "We have to follow the letter of the law," he said Thursday. Knox says she won't go back Kercher, 21, of Great Britain, was found partially nude in a pool of blood in the house she shared with Knox in the picturesque town of Perugia, where both women were exchange students. Knox has said she is afraid to return to Italy, where she spent four years behind bars. "I will become ... a fugitive," she told Italian daily La Repubblica this month, when asked what she would do if she was found guilty in the second trial. Italy's Supreme Court in March overturned the pair's acquittals, saying that the jury did not consider all the evidence and that discrepancies in testimony needed to be answered. The case was sent to a retrial in Florence.

Amanda Knox retrial verdict: Six things to know Ruling unclear The retrial began in September, refocusing international attention on the case that grabbed headlines in Italy, Britain and the United States -- but neither Knox nor Sollecito were present in court. Both Knox and Sollecito have maintained their innocence. Timeline: Kercher murder case 'Fugitive' Knox, 26, and Sollecito, 29, were convicted in 2009 of killing Kercher, who was found with more than 40 stab wounds and a deep gash in her throat. Speaking on Thursday, Knox's defense team asked for an acquittal. Knox has always denied murdering Kercher and has maintained she is not guilty in a written statement to the Florence court. JUST WATCHED MUST WATCH Dr. Drew weighs in on Amanda Knox 02:23 "I must repeat to you. I'm innocent. I did not rape, I did not steal ... I did not kill Meredith," Knox said in a lengthy e-mail presented by her lawyer to the court in December. Sollecito was in the Dominican Republic at the start of the retrial but returned to Italy.

In November, he took to the stand to make a spontaneous declaration, saying the charges against him were "absurd." "For me, it's a nightmare that goes beyond imagination," he said of what he's been through. 'No one remembers Meredith' "They are tired of this long trial and they want justice," Francesci Maresca, attorney for the Kercher family, said. The Kercher family welcomed the retrial ruling, Maresca said in March, adding they believed the ruling that acquitted Knox and Sollecito was "superficial and unbalanced." They believe more than one person was in the room when Kercher was killed, he said. "No one remembers Meredith, while the two defendants write books, speak to the media and earn money," Maresca told the court in closing remarks last month. Amanda Knox Biography (Crime Suspect) Birthplace: Seattle, Washington Best known as: The Italian murder suspect known as "Foxy Knoxy" Amanda Knox is the American student who was convicted, then acquitted, then convicted again of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, while both were students in Italy in 2007.

The gruesome murder was discovered on 2 November 2007, when police found Kercher's body with her throat cut in the apartment she shared with Amanda Knox. Knox, then 20, was a student from the University of Washington spending the term in Italy. She and her Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were soon arrested and charged with the murder, along with a third man, Rudy Guede. Guede, a drug dealer from the Ivory Coast, was convicted of murder in October 2008 and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Knox and Sollecito remained in jail and had their own sensational trial, which lasted nearly all of 2009 and made "Foxy Knoxy" (as she had been nicknamed) a national obsession. Prosecutors called Knox "a she-devil, a diabolical person focused on sex, drugs and alcohol" and said she had killed Kercher as part of a drug-fueled sex game. Knox insisted she was innocent and said she had been beaten by police -- but she and Sollecito were convicted of murder and sexual violence on 4 December 2009.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison and ordered to pay Kercher's parents a million Euros each. Amanda Knox continued to maintain her innocence, and in 2011 her appeal led to a stunning reversal: she was acquitted after an appeals jury said the 2009 guilty verdicts for Knox and Sollecito were not supported by evidence. She returned to Seattle and published a memoir, Waiting to be Heard, in 2013. However, her case continued to work its way through the Italian legal system, and on 26 March 2013, Italy's highest appeals court ruled that her aquittal was flawed and ordered a fresh trial for Knox and Sollecito -- in essence, a repeat of her 2011 appeal trial -- to be held in an appeals court in Florence. That trial ended on 30 January 2014 with a guilty verdict for both Knox and Sollecito. Knox was sentenced to 28 years and six months in prison, but (again) appealed the verdict.

Just over a year later, on 27 March 2015, Italy's high court overturned the convictions and decided not to order another retrial, setting both Knox and Sollecito free and apparently bringing an end to legal proceedings. Extra credit: The “Foxy Knoxy” nickname was taken by the press from Amanda Knox’s MySpace page; although Italian papers used it to mean sexy or devious, Knox’s family said it referred to her quickness on the soccer field… Amanda Knox attended Seattle Prep, a Catholic high school… Amanda Knox behaved oddly when she was first interrogated by police; as The Daily Telegraph reported, “While Miss Kercher’s other friends had been distraught and tearful, Knox appeared entirely detached and showed no signs of distress, even performing cartwheels and doing the splits while she was waiting to be questioned.” Knox later said this was her way of relieving stress… During the initial investigation, Amanda Knox accused a local bar owner, Patrick Lumumba, of the crime; he was later cleared and then sued Knox for defamation.

Knox said she had accused him only after police hit her and pressured her without letting her have a lawyer or translator… Meredith Kercher was a citizen of the UK and a student at the University of Leeds; her family was from Coulsdon, a suburb of London… Amanda Knox was played by Hayden Panettiere in the 2011 TV movie Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial in Italy. Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved. Kercher Italy murder case: Knox appeal in September - BBC News BBC News Kercher Italy murder case: Knox appeal in September 9 July 2013 Close share panel Image copyright AP Image caption In April, Amanda Knox revealed she was considering returning to Italy from the US to clear her name An Italian court will begin hearing on 30 September the appeal against the convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the 2007 murder of the British student, Meredith Kercher. The American and her Italian ex-boyfriend were found guilty in 2009, but acquitted on appeal in 2011. In March, Italy's highest court overturned both acquittals.

Meredith Kercher, 21, was found dead in a flat she shared in Perugia with Ms Knox, a fellow exchange student. The Leeds University student, from south London, had been repeatedly stabbed. Prosecutors said she died in a brutal sex game that went wrong. Both Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito maintain their innocence. Ms Knox insists that on the night of Meredith Kercher's death she was at Mr Sollecito's flat smoking marijuana and watching a movie. Another man - Rudy Guede from Ivory Coast - was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to 16 years for the killing. 'Deficiencies' Amanda Knox and bad maths in court Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito were sentenced to 26 and 25 years in prison respectively after being convicted of murder and sexual violence in December 2009. Ms Knox received an extra year for slander after she falsely accused another man of committing the murder. However, they were freed on appeal by a court in Perugia in October 2011 after doubts were raised about the forensic evidence against them.

Prosecutors and lawyers for the Kercher family then challenged the acquittals, which were subsequently overturned by the Court of Cassation because of the way the appeals process had been handled. The Court of Cassation's judges sharply criticised the appeals court, saying its ruling had been full of "deficiencies, contradictions and illogical" conclusions. A ruling published in June said the appeals court judges had ignored some evidence, considered other evidence insufficiently, and undervalued the fact that Ms Knox had accused an innocent man. The judges were also criticised for not taking into account the sentence against Guede, which said he had not acted alone. The re-run of Ms Knox's and Mr Sollecito's appeals due to start in Florence on 30 September is technically not a new trial, but a continuation of the original one and therefore not considered "double jeopardy". After her acquittal was overturned, Ms Knox revealed she would consider returning from the US to clear her name. If the new appeals process confirms her previous conviction, Italy would then be expected to request her extradition. However, the US is famously reluctant to hand over its citizens.

Court allows Amanda Knox to sue Italy for trial 'abuses' - BBC News BBC News Court allows Amanda Knox to sue Italy for trial 'abuses' 18 May 2016 Close share panel Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Amanda Knox - pictured with fiance Colin Sutherland last year - claims she was mistreated and denied access to a fair trial over the murder of Meredith Kercher The European Court of Human Rights has granted Amanda Knox the right to make a legal complaint against Italy for violating her rights after the 2007 murder of UK student Meredith Kircher. She argues she was subjected to an unfair trial and maltreated under questioning. Ms Knox was convicted, acquitted and retried on charges of the sexual assault and murder of her flatmate. She and her former boyfriend were definitively acquitted in March 2015. In September, Italy's highest appeals court criticised "glaring errors" in the investigation . Ms Kercher, 21, was stabbed to death in the Perugia flat she shared with Ms Knox in November 2007. The Strasbourg court's decision (in French) has been conveyed to Italy to allow it to begin preparing its defence.

Among the claims made by Ms Knox are that in the period preceding her first trial: She was subjected to hours of questioning without access to a translator, despite her limited abilities in Italian She was questioned without being granted a lawyer She was subjected to inhumane treatment including "degrading slaps to the head" Ms Kercher's body was found in a pool of blood at her apartment in the university city. Her throat had been cut. Meredith Kercher murder: Timeline Image copyright PA Image caption Meredith Kercher, from Surrey, was just 21 when she was killed in Italy 1 November 2007: Meredith Kercher is killed at her apartment in Perugia. Police find her a day later. 6 November 2007: Ms Kercher's American housemate Amanda Knox is arrested, along with Italian Raffaele Sollecito and Congolese national Patrick Diya Lumumba. 20 November 2007: Rudy Guede detained in Germany and extradited to Italy. Mr Lumumba released without charge 28 October 2008: Guede sentenced to 16 years.

A judge rules Mr Sollecito and Ms Knox will face a murder trial 4 December 2009: Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito found guilty of murder and sexual violence, and jailed for 26 and 25 years 3 October 2011: Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito acquitted 31 January 2014: Convictions re-instated 28 March 2015: Court of Cassation acquits Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito in final verdict "The court's acceptance of the appeal is great news. It's difficult to get cases accepted," said Luciano Ghirga, one of Ms Knox's lawyers. "I can't say it gives me any satisfaction, however, as so much suffering has already been caused." Ms Knox's former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, was also cleared of all wrongdoing when the case reached Italy's highest court of appeal last year. He welcomed the court's decision, saying Ms Knox had been questioned for 15 hours without a lawyer or an official interpreter, "It's time people started opening their eyes on this affair," he told Italy's Ansa news agency.

Another man, Rudy Hermann Guede, born in Ivory Coast, was convicted of murder in a separate trial and is serving a 16-year sentence. The court's ruling against Guede stated that he did not act alone, but the acquittals of Ms Knox and Mr Sollecito mean that no-one now stands convicted of acting with Guede to kill Ms Kercher. Amanda Knox: I will become a 'fugitive' if re-convicted for murder - TODAY.com Amanda Knox: I will become a 'fugitive' if re-convicted for murder 2014-01-10T12:59:00.000Z Knox: I will become a fugitive if conviction upheld Play Video - 1:59 Knox: I will become a fugitive if conviction upheld Play Video - 1:59 Monster winter storm cripples Southern states, impacts millions Amanda Knox has reportedly told an Italian newspaper that if she is again convicted of murder, she will become a fugitive rather than return to an Italian prison.

A representative for Knox, 26, confirmed the interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica and released a statement to TODAY on Friday clarifying her comments. “[If convicted] legally I'll be defined a ‘fugitive,’ but I will continue to fight for my innocence,’’ Knox said in the statement. “I will not willingly submit myself to injustice." The current trial is Knox's third for the alleged murder of British roommate Meredith Kercher while both were students in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. Knox was convicted in 2009 and spent nearly four years in an Italian prison before she and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were acquitted on appeal and released on Oct. 4, 2011. In March of last year, the Italian Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Knox, rejecting the appeals court ruling. Knox has remained at her home in Seattle during the proceedings in Italy. She has suggested that she will not leave there even if the Italian court finds her guilty again, telling La Repubblica, “In that case, I will become, what do you call it?

A fugitive.” Slideshow Oli Scarff / Getty Images Europe Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga The long legal saga of Amanda Knox, an American student accused of the violent death of her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, has made headlines around the world since it began in Perugia, Italy, in late 2007. Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga - The long legal saga of Amanda Knox, an American student accused of the violent death of her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, has made headlines around the world since it began in Perugia, Italy, in late 2007. Reversal of fortune From left, Pierluigi Puglia, member of the British consulate in Italy; Stephanie Kercher, sister of the late Meredith Kercher; her brother, Lyle Kercher, and lawyer Francesco Maresca speak to the press in Florence on Jan. 31, 2014, the day after the guilty verdicts against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher in 2007 were reinstated in Italy.

The verdict overturned Knox and Sollecito's successful appeal in 2011, which released them after four years in jail. Getty Images / Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Reconvicted - Amanda Knox is shown here in Seattle after serving four years in prison after being convicted in a case involving the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher. Her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito is shown here in Florence, Italy, on Jan. 20, 2014. Though both were acquitted on appeal and released in 2011, they were re-convicted of the murder on Jan. 30, 2014. Splash News, AP file / Splash News, AP file Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Awaiting another verdict - Raffaele Sollecito leaves court in Florence, Italy, on Jan. 30, 2014. The Italian ex-boyfriend of Amanda Knox awaited the court's verdict in the retrial of both Knox and himself for the murder of Meredith Kercher more than two years after they were acquitted.

EPA / EPA Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of A new trial - Francesco Maresca, lawyer for the family of Meredith Kercher, talks to reporters as he arrives for the start of Amanda Knox's second appeals trial in Florence, Italy, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. Italy's highest court ordered a new trial for Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, overturning their acquittals in the 2007 slaying of Kercher. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Not going back - Amanda Knox appeared on TODAY on Sept. 20, 2013, to discuss her upcoming retrial in Florence for the murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher. Knox maintained that she would not go back to Italy to face trial again: "It's not a possibility, as I was imprisoned as an innocent person and I just can't relive that," she told Matt Lauer. NBC / NBC Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of A memoir - Filled with details first recorded in the journals Amanda Knox kept while in Italy, "Waiting to be Heard," Knox's memoir, is set to be released on April 30, 2013.

HarperCollins via AP / HarperCollins via AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Acquittal overturned - Luciano Ghirga, lawyer of Amanda Knox, center, talks to journalists as he leaves Italy's Court of Cassation in Rome on March 26, 2013. Italy's highest criminal court overturned the acquittal of Amanda Knox in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial. The court ruled that an appeals court in Florence would have to re-hear the case against the American and her Italian-ex-boyfriend for the murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Home at last - Amanda Knox makes remarks after arriving in Seattle a day after her release from prison in Italy on Oct. 4, 2011. She was acquitted of murder and sexual assault by an Italian appeals court after spending four years in custody over the killing of her British housemate, Meredith Kercher. At left is her father, Kurt Knox.

EPA / EPA Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Welcome home - Well-wishers greet Amanda Knox upon her arrival at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle a day after her release from prison in Italy on Oct. 4, 2011. EPA / EPA Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Tears of relief - Amanda Knox cries after hearing the verdict that overturned her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court on Monday, Oct. 3. The Italian appeals court threw out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Home front - Supporters of Amanda Knox react as they watch a news broadcast about her appeal verdict from a hotel suite in downtown Seattle on Oct. 3. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Sisterly support - Amanda Knox's sister Deanna Knox, center, cries tears of joy in Perugia's Court of Appeal after hearing that Amanda won her appeal against her murder conviction on Monday in Perugia, Italy.

Getty Images / Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Closing arguments - Amanda Knox, accused of the 2007 murder of her housemate Meredith Kercher, arrives in court as her appeal trial resumes in Perugia, on Sept. 30, 2011. Wrapping up the defense case, Knox's lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, points to alleged errors by police and urges a panel of lay and professional judges to look beyond how Knox has been portrayed by the media and the prosecution. AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Hoping for her release - Amanda Knox's lawyer, Luciano Ghirga (left), and her father, Curt Knox (right), use their mobile phones at the court during her Sept. 30, 2011, appeal trial session in Perugia. Reuters / Reuters Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Her fate in the balance - Amanda Knox arrives at the court during her appeal trial session in Perugia, Italy, on Sept. 30, 2011.

Reuters / Reuters Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Her ex-boyfriend - Raffaele Sollecito attends his appeal hearing at Perugia's Court of Appeal on Sept. 29, 2011 in Perugia, Italy. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are awaiting the verdict of their appeal that could see their conviction for the murder of Meredith Kercher overturned. Getty Images / Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of He calls her 'she-devil' - Carlo Pacelli (center), lawyer for Patrick Lumumba, (left) -- a barman who is seeking damages from Amanda Knox as part of a civil case running alongside her murder appeal -- speaks outside the Perugia courthouse on Sept. 26, 2011. Pacelli called Knox a "she-devil" and told the appeals court she destroyed Lumumba's image by falsely accusing him of the murder, testimony that helps prosecutors attack her credibility. Knox has said she wrongly implicated Lumumba under pressure from police. . AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Legal battleground - Through the bars of holding cells, a view of the courtroom in Perugia on Sept.

6, 2011, before the resumption of the appeal trial of Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Making her appeal - On Nov. 24, 2010, Amanda Knox leaves court after a trial session in Perugia, Italy. Knox and former lover Raffaele Sollecito returned to court to appeal their conviction for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. Reuters / Reuters Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of New 'do - Sporting a new, short haircut, jailed Amanda Knox attends a preliminary hearing in Perugia, Italy, on June 1, 2010. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Awaiting sentence - Amanda Knox is driven into court at midnight to hear the sentence in her murder trial on Dec. 5, 2009, in Perugia, Italy. Knox was convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher was sentenced to 26 years in prison. Her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, was also convicted of the murder charges.

He was sentenced to 25 years. Getty Images / Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Pleading her case - Amanda Knox looks on during a break in the closing arguments of the murder trial in Perugia, Italy on Dec. 3, 2009. She read a statement during her murder trial on Dec. 3, in Italiian saying, "I am afraid of having the mask of a murderer forced onto my skin." Reuters / Reuters Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Police escort - Murder suspect Amanda Knox, right, is escorted by a police officer as she arrives at Perugia's court, Italy, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. Italian prosecutors have begun their closing arguments in her trial. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of The murder weapon? - Prosecutor Manuela Comodi shows a knife during a hearing in the murder trial for Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, on Sept. 19, 2009. The knife, wrapped in plastic and kept in a white box, was shown to the eight-member jury during the trial of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.

AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Victim in video - At the trial of Amanda Knox, a music video that included an appearance by slain student Meredith Kercher was shown June 8, 2009. Kercher played the love interest in the video for the song "Some Say" by London musician Kristian Leontiou. The 2007 video was shot only weeks before Kercher died in Perugia, Italy, at age 21. TODAY / TODAY Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Boning up? - Amanda Knox holds the Italian penal code book at the trial of slain British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, on Jan. 16, 2009. Reuters / Reuters Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Back in court - Amanda Knox, one of three suspects in the murder of Meredith Kercher, arrives at a Sept. 27, 2008 court hearing in Perugia, Italy. Kercher, a British student, was found dead in her Perugia flat on Nov. 1, 2007 with her throat cut.

AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Sister speaks out - Stephanie Kercher reads a statement during a Sept. 15, 2008 press conference in Perugia, Italy as legal proceedings connected to the death of her sister, Meredith Kercher, approach a critical phase. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of The victim's family - Arline, mother of Meredith Kercher, answers newsmen questions flanked by Meredith's sister Stephanie, left, and brother Lyle, during a press conference in Perugia, Italy on April 18, 2008. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Headed to a hearing - Amanda Knox's ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who along with Knox and Rudy Hermann Guede was held on suspicion in the murder of Knox’s housemate Meredith Kercher, is escorted by Italian police to a January 2008 hearing with magistrates.

AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Remembering Meredith - A floral tribute with photographs of Meredith Kercher is shown at her funeral at Croydon Parish Church, South London on December 14, 2007. Getty Images / Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Another suspect - In December 2007, police in Germany arrested Rudy Hermann Guede, a native of the Ivory Coast, in connection with Meredith Kercher's murder. Here Guede is shown being led away by Italian police after arriving in Rome from prison in Germany. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Arrested, then released - Patrick Lumumba Diya, a Congolese man who owned a small bar in Perugia where Amanda Knox sometimes worked as a barmaid, was arrested after being implicated in the Meredith Kercher murder by Knox. However, he was released after another suspect, Rudy Hermann Guede, was arrested in the case. He is shown here leaving police headquarters with his lawyer on Nov. 20, 2007.

AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Under arrest - Her cap pulled low, American student Amanda Knox was arrested on Nov. 6, 2007, for her alleged involvement in the brutal murder of her housemate, Meredith Kercher. EPA / EPA Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Searching for clues - Police forensics investigators examined Meredith Kercher's Italian house while a coroner conducted a post-mortem investigation on the slain student's body. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of The murder scene - On Nov. 5, 2007, the rented hillside home that murder victim Meredith Kercher had shared with fellow student Amanda Knox in Perugia, Italy was a crime scene. AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of Front-page news - By Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007 Meredith Kercher's gruesome murder was front-page news in the central Italian city of Perugia. AP / AP Amanda Knox: Her long legal saga of The day after - Amanda Knox, a student from Seattle who had been living with Meredith Kercher in Perugia, was arrested Nov.

6, 2007 for her alleged involvement in Kercher’s murder. Also held by police was Knox’s Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. Taken Nov. 2, the day Kercher was found dead, this picture shows the pair outside the rented house Knox shared with Kercher.

AP / AP Knox 'inflicted knife wound that killed Meredith after explosive row': Italian court reveals reasons for second conviction of American | Daily Mail Online Knox 'inflicted knife wound that killed Meredith after explosive row': Italian court reveals reasons for second conviction of American Florence courthouse has issued a 337-page explanation of its decision Knox and boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito reconvicted of murder in January Says Knox and Kercher fought over money on the night of Kercher's death Wounds show she was held down and stabbed by 'multiple aggressors' Death not sex-game gone awry, as it was out of character for Kercher Papers mark start of appeal which could see Knox extradited from US Amanda Knox To Fight Guilty Verdict All The Way To Italy Supreme Court | TIME.com Follow @TIMEWorld A day after an Italian court convicted her of a murder for a second time, American student Amanda Knox said in an emotional interview that her ongoing legal ordeal is “not right.” “I’m going to fight this to the very end. It’s not right and it’s not fair,” Knox said on ABC’s Good Morning America.

She said she won’t return to Italy : “I will never go willingly back.” The Seattle native, along with her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, was convicted on Thursday for the 2007 murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy. That followed a series of verdicts, appeals and judgements that have kept her in legal limbo for years, even after returning to the United States. Following the latest conviction, Knox pleaded for “those with the knowledge and authority” to remedy what she called a “wrongful persecution.” A court in Florence handed down the verdict Thursday, effectively upholding the duo’s 2009 conviction. An appeals court overturned the original guilty verdict in 2011, and both Knox and Sollecito were freed after four years in jail. But in another twist, Italy’s supreme court then overturned the appeal acquittal and called for a retrial, which began Sept. 30. The court on Thursday sentenced Knox to 28 years and six months in jail, while Sollecito received 25 years. Reaction to the verdict rippled across the world.

From Seattle, where she has been living since her 2011 release, Knox released a statement about the judgement. “I am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict,” she said. “Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system. The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, nothing has changed. There has always been a marked lack of evidence. My family and I have suffered greatly from this wrongful persecution. She added: “I beseech those with the knowledge and authority to address and remediate the problems that worked to pervert the course of justice and waste the valuable resources of the system: overzealous and intransigent prosecution, prejudiced and narrow-minded investigation, unwillingness to admit mistake, reliance on unreliable testimony and evidence, character assassination, inconsistent and unfounded accusatory theory, and counterproductive and coercive interrogation techniques that produce false confessions and inaccurate statements.” Unfortunately for Knox, the powers that have the “authority” to reverse the guilty verdict are the same ones that overturned her acquittal in the first place: Italy’s supreme court.

John Follain, author of Death in Perugia and a Rome correspondent for the Sunday Times, told Newsnight that when the supreme court ordered the retrial, “it was pointing to a conviction.” It is now up to the supreme court to finalize the guilty verdict, but Follain added, “Given that the supreme court previously trashed the acquittal, it would be quite surprising if the supreme court went back on what it’d once ruled. One could expect a definitive conviction.” No matter what the supreme court’s decision is—and it will be months before that stage is reached— it’s already apparent that Knox won’t voluntarily return to Italy. Meanwhile, in Italy, Sollecito was “struck dumb” after hearing the verdict, his lawyer told the BBC. Hours later, police detained Sollecito near Italy’s border with Austria and Slovenia. The authorities promptly confiscated his passport and stamped his identity papers, indicating that he could not leave the country. But he was then released, as the retrial judge had not ordered an immediate arrest. Knox and Sollecito weren’t the only ones trying to process the latest verdict on Thursday.

Meredith Kercher’s family has said in the past that they believe Knox and Sollecito are culpable, but Thursday’s verdict clearly brought no relief. Outside the courtroom, Stephanie Kercher, Meredith’s sister, told reporters, “I think we are still on a journey for the truth and it may be the fact that we don’t ever really know what happened that night, which is obviously something we’ll have to come to terms with.” A London-based correspondent, Megan Gibson has been with TIME since 2010. She covers society, politics, culture and everything in between. Subscribe Popular Among Subscribers Amanda Knox convicted of murder in Italy - Dec 04, 2009 - HISTORY.com Amanda Knox convicted of murder in Italy Share this: Amanda Knox convicted of murder in Italy Author Amanda Knox convicted of murder in Italy URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 2009, 22-year-old American exchange student Amanda Knox is convicted of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007 in Perugia, Italy.

Knox received a 26-year prison sentence, while her 25-year-old Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaelle Sollecito, who also was convicted in the slaying, was sentenced to 25 years behind bars. The sensational, high-profile case raised questions in the United Statesabout whether Knox, who always maintained her innocence, received a fair trial. Then, in October 2011, in a decision that made international headlines, an Italian court reversed the murder convictions of both Knox and Sollecito and they were freed from prison. On November 2, 2007, 21-year-old Kercher ofCoulsdon, England, was found fatally stabbed in the bedroom of the home she shared with Knox and two other women in Perugia, the capital city of the Umbria region in central Italy. Investigators said the British exchange student had been slain the previous night. After questioning by police, Knox, a Seattle native and University of Washington student doing her junior year abroad in Italy, was arrested. She denied any wrongdoing, saying she was at computer science student Sollecito’s house the night the killing occurred.

Police claimed Knox later gave them conflicting statements about her whereabouts at the time of the crime, and said she also accused her boss at a bar where she worked, who turned out to have a solid alibi, of Kercher’s murder. The American student, who was first questioned without an attorney or professional interpreter, said police coerced her into making the accusation as well as other incriminating statements. (The false accusation would later result in an extra year tacked on to Knox’s prison sentence.) During the nearly yearlong trial that followed in 2009, Italian prosecutors charged that Knox, along with Sollecito and a third person, Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast native, had viciously attacked Kercher in a sex game gone wrong. (Guede was convicted for his role in Kercher’s death in a separate, fast-track trial in 2008. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which was reduced to 16 years on appeal.) The prosecution’s main evidence against Knox included tiny traces of her DNA and that of Kercher’s on a knife discovered at Sollecito’s home. Traces of Knox’s DNA were also found on a bra clasp belonging to Kercher.

Knox’s attorneys argued the bra clasp was found over a month after the murder at a contaminated crime scene, and that the knife blade couldn’t have made the wounds on the victim. The case received extensive media coverage in the U.S. and Europe, where the attractive Knox was dubbed “Angel Face” and “Foxy Knoxy” by the tabloids. In the Italian and British press, Knox was painted as a promiscuous party girl. However, in America, she was often portrayed in the media as an innocent abroad, a young woman who had worked several jobs to earn money to study in Perugia, where she had been railroaded by an overzealous prosecutor. Knox and Sollecito appealed their convictions, and at their subsequent trial court-appointed experts testified the original DNA evidence was unreliable and did not definitively link the young American and her former boyfriend to the crime. On October 3, 2011, a court in Perugia acquitted the two defendants of murder. The 24-year-old Knox, who been jailed in Italy since her 2007 arrest, flew home to the U.S. the following day.

In March 2013, in a new twist in the case, Italy’s highest court overturned the acquittals of Knox and Sollecito and ordered that they be retried. In January 2014, the two were re-convicted in Kercher’s death. Knox, who remained in America during the trial, was sentenced to 28 1/2 years years behind bars, while her former boyfriend received a 25-year prison sentence. Lawyers for the two vowed to appeal the convictions. If Knox’s conviction is upheld, she’s unlikely to return to Italy unless extradited. Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, contact us ! Get This Day In History every morning in your inbox! December 04, 2009 : Amanda Knox convicted of murder in Italy Introduction On this day in 2009, 22-year-old American exchange student Amanda Knox is convicted of murdering her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007 in Perugia, Italy.

Knox received a 26-year prison sentence, while her 25-year-old Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaelle Sollecito, who also was convicted in the slaying, was sentenced to 25 years behind bars. The sensational, high-profile case raised questions in the United Statesabout whether Knox, who always maintained her innocence, received a fair trial. Then, in October 2011, in a decision that made international headlines, an Italian court reversed the murder convictions of both Knox and Sollecito and they were freed from prison. On November 2, 2007, 21-year-old Kercher ofCoulsdon, England, was found fatally stabbed in the bedroom of the home she shared with Knox and two other women in Perugia, the capital city of the Umbria region in central Italy. Investigators said the British exchange student had been slain the previous night. After questioning by police, Knox, a Seattle native and University of Washington student doing her junior year abroad in Italy, was arrested. She denied any wrongdoing, saying she was at computer science student Sollecito’s house the night the killing occurred.

Police claimed Knox later gave them conflicting statements about her whereabouts at the time of the crime, and said she also accused her boss at a bar where she worked, who turned out to have a solid alibi, of Kercher’s murder. The American student, who was first questioned without an attorney or professional interpreter, said police coerced her into making the accusation as well as other incriminating statements. (The false accusation would later result in an extra year tacked on to Knox’s prison sentence.) During the nearly yearlong trial that followed in 2009, Italian prosecutors charged that Knox, along with Sollecito and a third person, Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast native, had viciously attacked Kercher in a sex game gone wrong. (Guede was convicted for his role in Kercher’s death in a separate, fast-track trial in 2008. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which was reduced to 16 years on appeal.) The prosecution’s main evidence against Knox included tiny traces of her DNA and that of Kercher’s on a knife discovered at Sollecito’s home. Traces of Knox’s DNA were also found on a bra clasp belonging to Kercher.

Knox’s attorneys argued the bra clasp was found over a month after the murder at a contaminated crime scene, and that the knife blade couldn’t have made the wounds on the victim. The case received extensive media coverage in the U.S. and Europe, where the attractive Knox was dubbed “Angel Face” and “Foxy Knoxy” by the tabloids. In the Italian and British press, Knox was painted as a promiscuous party girl. However, in America, she was often portrayed in the media as an innocent abroad, a young woman who had worked several jobs to earn money to study in Perugia, where she had been railroaded by an overzealous prosecutor. Knox and Sollecito appealed their convictions, and at their subsequent trial court-appointed experts testified the original DNA evidence was unreliable and did not definitively link the young American and her former boyfriend to the crime. On October 3, 2011, a court in Perugia acquitted the two defendants of murder. The 24-year-old Knox, who been jailed in Italy since her 2007 arrest, flew home to the U.S. the following day.

In March 2013, in a new twist in the case, Italy’s highest court overturned the acquittals of Knox and Sollecito and ordered that they be retried. In January 2014, the two were re-convicted in Kercher’s death. Knox, who remained in America during the trial, was sentenced to 28 1/2 years years behind bars, while her former boyfriend received a 25-year prison sentence. Lawyers for the two vowed to appeal the convictions. If Knox’s conviction is upheld, she’s unlikely to return to Italy unless extradited. Article Details: December 04, 2009 : Amanda Knox convicted of murder in Italy Author December 04, 2009 : Amanda Knox convicted of murder in Italy URL

Question: What is the name of the American student who was convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher, along with her Italian boyfriend and released in 2011 after an appeal?
Answer: AMANDA KNOX