Amanda Knox Says She’s Been ‘Unjustly Accused For 17 Years’ After Slander Re-Conviction

 

Knox was re-convicted of slander in an Italian court on Wednesday for a false accusation that she made under duress and later recanted

Amanda Knox vowed to fight her slander re-conviction, she said Thursday, one day after an Italian court handed down the verdict for a false accusation she made against bar owner Patrick Lumumba in the death of her study abroad roommate Meredith Kercher—which she said she made under duress and later retracted.

KEY FACTS

Knox recorded two episodes reflecting on the verdict for her podcast “Labyrinths,” which she hosts with Christopher Robinson, her husband.

In the first episode, which mainly summarized the case and Knox’s immediate reactions, she said her party is waiting on a motivation document, set to be delivered in 60 days, “to even understand how they’re going to, in their twisted way, justify this ridiculous verdict”—and then her attorneys will appeal the verdict to the “Corte di Cassazione” (the Italian Supreme Court equivalent).

After detailing the potential timeline and uncertainty of next steps, Robinson asked if “any part’ of her wanted to let the situation go, to which Knox said: “No. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not a liar. I did not slander anyone. I’m gonna fight it until I can’t fight it anymore.”

In the second episode, she said it is “hard to describe in words” her feelings about the verdict since she is experiencing several: “I'm feeling very determined to keep fighting this. I'm feeling confused by this outcome because I thought this was a very straightforward proceeding."

In an exclusive interview with Sky News’s Simone Baglivo, Knox said she has been “unjustly accused for 17 years” and she sometimes feels like there is nothing she can do, but added: “I am trying, I will try forever.”

Knox also released the statement she made to the court, which she posted to her account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“I have been unjustly accused for 17 years,” Knox told Sky News. “I spent four years in prison as an innocent. 17 years, that is my entire adult life, I have been unjustly accused. From the beginning I just wanted to do the right thing and tell the truth.”

KEY BACKGROUND

Knox’s legal battles in Italy have been ongoing since 2007, following the death of Kercher, who was her roommate when she was studying abroad. Knox found Kercher’s body with then-boyfriend Raffale Sollecito and the pair were then detained by police. While being interrogated, Knox gave them a false confession placing her at the crime scene and accused Lumumba, local bar owner and her then-boss, of Kercher’s murder. The statement was recanted hours later, but Knox was convicted of slander in 2009—which was ultimately thrown out in November after the European Court of Human Rights found her rights were violated during the interrogation. A new trial began in April, which led to Wednesday’s conviction. Knox won’t serve prison time, since she served four years in prison for Kercher’s death. Knox and Sollecito’s convictions were overturned in 2011, and were exonerated by Italy’s highest court in 2015 after back-and-forth legal battles.