Amanda Knox is getting a final shot to clear her name completely. Italy’s highest court is considering her appeal of a slander conviction for falsely accusing a bar owner in the 2007 murder of her roommate.
What happened?
Knox, an American, and her Italian ex-boyfriend were convicted and then acquitted of the murder of 21-year-old British student Meredith Kercher. Both were exonerated by the highest cassation court in 2015.
The slander conviction is the last legal stain on Knox’s record. The conviction survived multiple appeals before Knox was re-convicted on the slander charge in June 2024.
The conviction came after a European court ruled Italy had violated her human rights. The ruling cleared the way for a new trial.
Knox’s defense team said she accused the bar owner of Kercher’s murder during a long night of questioning and under pressure from police. The defense team claimed the police also fed Knox false information. The European Court of Human Rights found police had deprived her of a lawyer and provided a translator who acted more as a mediator.
What’s next?
Even if Italy’s high court upholds the conviction and the three-year sentence that comes with it, Knox won’t face any more jail time. She already served nearly four years during the investigation, initial murder trial and first appeal.
On her podcast, Knox said that she ultimately just wants to clear her name of all criminal wrongdoing.
