Amanda Knox, an American woman, was reconvicted of slander by an Italian court for falsely accusing an innocent man of killing her British roommate in 2007. Knox wept in court as she was sentenced to three years for falsely accusing a Congolese bar owner of murdering Meredith Kercher. Knox, who was initially jailed for the murder before being acquitted, expressed upset at the outcome of the hearing and may appeal the decision.
Knox and her Italian then-boyfriend were arrested for the killing of fellow student Kercher in Perugia in 2007. The legal saga that followed saw the pair found guilty, acquitted, found guilty again, and finally cleared in 2015. Knox had a previous conviction for slander in 2011 for initially accusing Patrick Lumumba of the murder, which was thrown out by Italy’s highest court last October, leading to a retrial that culminated in the recent reconviction.
In her defense during the final hearing, Knox apologized for naming Lumumba and cited police pressure during her interrogation as the reason for the false accusation. She described being scared, tricked, and mistreated during interrogation without access to a lawyer or official translator. Knox expressed regret for not being strong enough to resist police pressure and claimed she didn’t know who the killer was at the time.
Kercher’s body was found with her throat slit in a pool of blood in 2007, leading to a global murder trial that attracted significant attention. Knox’s accusation against Lumumba resulted in his wrongful imprisonment and being considered the “monster of Perugia.” Knox was ordered to pay his legal fees and compensation following the reconviction. The investigation into Kercher’s murder was criticized for major flaws, and police complaints by Knox led to a separate slander charge that was cleared in 2016.
Knox’s complaints against her treatment during interrogation led to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in 2019 that found her legal representation and interpreter were inadequate, compromising the fairness of the proceedings. This ruling was cited in the retrial ordered in October. Knox testified during the recent hearing that police had hit her during interrogation and pressured her to remember details about the crime. The only person convicted of Kercher’s murder, Ivorian Rudy Guede, was linked to the scene by DNA evidence and sentenced to 30 years, later reduced to 16 years on appeal. Guede was released early in 2021.
