ROME — Amanda Knox faces her final opportunity to clear her name from the remaining shadow of a slander conviction stemming from a tragic 2007 incident involving the murder of her British roommate. On Thursday, Italy’s highest court will listen to her appeal concerning a conviction for wrongfully accusing Congolese bar owner Patrick Lumumba of the crime.
Outside the Cassation Court, Lumumba expressed his desire for the conviction to remain intact, suggesting that it should follow Knox, claiming, “It should stay with her for the rest of her life.”
During a hearing that lasted approximately two hours, both parties delivered their arguments. The court will begin its deliberations later, although it remains uncertain when a ruling will be made.
This verdict is set to conclude a dramatic 17-year legal ordeal surrounding the case of Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old who was brutally murdered. Throughout the years, Knox, along with her former Italian boyfriend, experienced a series of guilty and not-guilty verdicts before ultimately being exonerated by Italy’s Supreme Court in 2015.
Knox’s slander conviction was the last remaining blemish on her legal record. Despite multiple appeals, her conviction was reinstated after a European court determined that her human rights had been violated, paving the way for a retrial that took place earlier this year.
Knox remains at home awaiting the outcome, with her attorney Carlo Dalla Vedova stating she is “confident and respectful of the justice system.” He further asserted that Knox believes this chapter would come to a close soon. Recently, on her podcast “Labyrinths,” Knox lamented, “I hate the fact that I have to live consequences for a crime I did not commit.”
Her legal team emphasizes that Knox only implicated Lumumba under significant stress during a lengthy police interrogation, asserting that law enforcement provided misleading information and prevented her from having proper legal counsel. The European Court of Human Rights criticized the police tactics, noting the absence of adequate representation for Knox, who was also not fluent in Italian.
Knox shared her anxieties about potentially receiving an unfavorable verdict, stating, “I’ve been having nightmares about getting a bad verdict and just living the rest of my life with a shadow hanging over me. It’s like a scarlet letter.”
In the event that the conviction and accompanying three-year sentence are upheld, Knox would not face additional time in prison since she has already spent close to four years incarcerated during her initial murder investigation and trials. Her ultimate goal is to eliminate all traces of criminal charges against her. She described living with a false conviction as “horrific, personally, psychologically, emotionally,” reiterating her determination to fight for justice.
Since her release in 2011, Knox has returned to the United States and has become a prominent advocate for those wrongfully convicted. She has a podcast in collaboration with her husband and plans to release a memoir titled “Free: My Search for Meaning.”
Knox traveled back to Italy in June for the slander trial verdict and was reported to be “very embittered” by the conviction. She was just 20 when the tragic murder of Kercher occurred on November 2, 2007, in the apartment they shared with two other Italian roommates.
The case attracted worldwide media attention as suspicion rapidly focused on Knox and her then-boyfriend, Rafaelle Sollecito. After enduring a protracted judicial process that included eight years of trials and two high-court appeals, they were finally exonerated in 2015.
Rudy Hermann Guede, an individual from the Ivory Coast, was convicted of the murder based on DNA evidence found at the scene. He served most of his 16-year sentence before being released in 2021.
The European court mandated that Italy compensate Knox for the mishandling by police, labeling her especially vulnerable as a non-Italian-speaking student. Following this ruling, the Supreme Court mandated a new trial regarding the slander charge, dismissing two signed statements provided by police that incorrectly implicated Lumumba. The court clarified that the only permissible evidence was a note Knox wrote later, which attempted to retract her earlier accusations.
Despite this, the appellate court argued that her handwritten memo supported the contention of slander. Lumumba was subjected to interrogation based on Knox’s statements despite having a confirmed alibi, leading to significant repercussions for his bar business and ultimately causing him to relocate to Poland with his wife.
Upon arriving at the court, Lumumba emphasized that Knox “has never apologized to me.”
