Legal proceedings underway - Amanda Knox receives another conviction.
The legal saga involving the murder of a British student in Italy in 2007 has taken another unexpected twist: an appeals court in Florence penalized the American Amanda Knox for defamation. This was due to her accusations of an innocent bartender during her interrogation.
In the main trial, the now 36-year-old, also known as "The Angel with the Ice Eyes" - previously convicted twice of her roommate's murder, underwent complete elimination of all murder charges in 2015. Knox had hoped to be entirely vindicated by the Italian legal system - to no avail. The case remains unsolved to this date. It later served as the basis for numerous books, movies, and a successful TV series.
Knox was moved to tears when the Florence judges confirmed the defamation ruling from a prior trial. "I didn't anticipate that. I'm quite disappointed," said the American, who had made a trip to Italy expressly for the trial. Though she doesn't have to head back to prison, she's already served her three-year sentence during previous stints at Italian prisons. Knox now resides on the west coast of the United States. She's married and has two children. She perceives herself as a victim of the Italian legal system.
The murder of the 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in central Italy, Perugia, gained nationwide attention ever since. The young British woman was found dead in her apartment she shared with three others. Soon after, her American roommate, then only 20, and her new boyfriend, an Italian, fell under suspicion.
Knox was initially sentenced to 26 years in prison in the initial trial. After four years in prison, the verdict was rescinded, and she was allowed to return to the US. Following that, she was sentenced again in absentia. However, in 2015, she and her ex-boyfriend were acquitted of murder by Italy's highest court - not due to a lack of evidence, but because they weren't deemed to have committed the murder. The Supreme Court of Cassation chastised significant errors in the investigation and the previous trials.
Knox is also pursuing another judgment from 2019 by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. After her arrest, she had erroneously fingered a friend, for which she was jailed for three years. This sentence was also overturned by the European Court of Human Rights. Knox claims to have been subjected to immense pressure following her arrest and to have been pressured to provide false testimony. The new trial aimed to attain a complete acquittal of the defamation charges - unsuccessful.
During the trial, she pleaded: "I humbly request to be deemed innocent." Regarding the bartender Patrick Lumumba, a Congolese immigrant, she expressed remorse with the words: "I'm sorry I couldn't endure the pressure and you had to suffer." Knox appeared before the court with her husband, donning a gentle blue dress and a pink blouse. Attempting to secure the premises, she was once more confronted by journalists and cameramen. One camera smacked her head, inflicting a small bruise. There were also some tears on her face.
The bartender, now a free man
The identity of the individual who claimed the life of the young British woman is still mysterious. A 20-year-old individual was found guilty of being an accomplice, as his fingerprints were found at the crime scene. After 13 years in prison, he's now a free man. The bartender has long left Italy. He never attended the trial but expressed satisfaction with the decision. "It's accurate we were friends," Lumumba said. "But you don't stab your friends in the back. And Amanda stabbed me and never apologized."
A man convicted of accessories to murder, his prints were found at the crime scene, is now free. The bartender distanced himself from Italy long ago. He, too, was absent at the trial. Yet, from afar, he revealed satisfaction with the ruling. "It's true, we were friends," Lumumba noted. "But you don't stab your friends in the back. And Amanda stabbed me and failed to apologize."
The case remains unsolved, and Amanda Knox's name remains synonymous with the illustration of an innocent friend being falsely implicated in a crime. Despite the legal system's ambiguous resolution, Knox continues to bear the weight of uncertainty.
