American Amanda Knox is found guilty of defamation by an Italian court

In a case involving the 2007 murder of her British roommate, American Amanda Knox was found guilty of defamation on Wednesday and sentenced to three years in prison by an Italian court.

The sentence is inapplicable because it is equal to the amount of time Knox was incarcerated prior to her conviction for the 2015 annulment of her conviction for the Perugia homicide of British student Meredith Kercher.

Knox, who was present in court for the decision, had previously received a three-year term for falsely charging Patrick Lumumba, the proprietor of a Congolese club, with Kercher’s murder. Knox was incarcerated for four years after killing Kercher.

Luca Luparia Donati, Amanda’s attorney, responded initially by saying, “Amanda feels very bitter,” and that she intended to file an appeal.

The 36-year-old Knox previously accused the Italian police of assault and threats while attempting to clear her reputation in the final case that was pending against her.

The police wanted her to place the blame on Lumumba, she told the court on Wednesday. “The police threatened me with 30 years in prison, an officer slapped me three times saying ‘Remember, remember’,” she said.

She continued, “I’m very sorry that I wasn’t strong enough to withstand the pressure from the police,” in Italian.

Books and movies were inspired by the stabbing death of 21-year-old Kercher, as well as the several trials that followed. The incident also served as copy for tabloids worldwide.

The Italian Supreme Court ordered a new trial in the defamation case last year, while the European Court of Human Rights declared in 2019 that procedural errors had occurred during Knox’s interrogation.

In 2007, Lumumba was detained for two weeks prior to his release.

On Wednesday, Lumumba’s attorney Carlo Pacelli told reporters, “When Patrick was accused by Amanda, he became known everywhere as the monster of Perugia,” arguing that the conviction ought to be upheld. There was no Lumumba in court.

Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede was found guilty along with other unidentified criminals in the killing of Kercher and given a 16-year prison sentence. In 2021, he was given an early release.