Amanda Knox found guilty of defamation in Italian court.
The trial wasn't primarily about the 2007 murder case that resulted in Knox's acquittal, but about her false accusation of a bar owner.
Emotions ran high as the court sentenced Knox to an additional three-year jail term for libel, even though she didn't need to serve it as she'd already finished a four-year sentence for the murder case.
Knox falsely implicated an innocent Congolese bar owner named Patrick Lumumba in her roommate Meredith Kercher's murder during police inquiries. She was penalized with a three-year prison sentence for this alleged smear campaign back in 2011.
Last year, Italy's Supreme Court overturned the libel conviction, paving the way for a fresh trial in Florence.
Knox alleged that she had been mistreated and beaten during her police questioning. The European Court of Human Rights determined in 2019 that Knox hadn't had a suitable attorney or professional translator while being interrogated.
After the verdict, her attorney Carlo Dalla Vedova shared his thoughts with reporters: "Knox is quite taken aback by this verdict. She's looking for some kind of closure after 17 years of legal procedures."
He further expressed, "We're fairly shocked by the decision. We'll meticulously examine the justification, which will be available in the next 60 days, to determine our next steps and consider the possibility of an appeal."
Knox, who had been cleared in the murder case back in 2015, expressed hope on Monday through an online platform: "I wish to finally shed all the false accusations against me."
The murder took place on November 2, 2007, in a shared apartment in Perugia, Italy. UK student Meredith Kercher was found half-dressed and with her throat slashed. Her body bore 47 stab wounds and showed signs of rape. This contentious case, where Knox consistently claimed her innocence, garnered global attention.
Knox and her then-Italian lover Raffaele Sollecito were first sentenced to 26 and 25 years behind bars in 2009. However, due to poor investigation methods in the case, the highest Italian court ultimately cleared them both in 2015. Knox served four years in an Italian prison before being allowed to return home after her acquittal.
