Italy’s Supreme Court confirmed on Thursday the slander conviction against American Amanda Knox, concluding nearly two decades of legal proceedings tied to the 2007 murder of her British flatmate, Meredith Kercher.
Last year, an appeals court in Florence sentenced Knox to three years for falsely accusing Patrick Lumumba, a Congolese bar owner, of the murder that occurred in Perugia.
Patrick Lumumba expressed satisfaction with the court’s ruling. “I am very satisfied. Amanda did wrong; this sentence must accompany her for the rest of her life. I had a good feeling about this since the afternoon. I hail Italian justice with great honour.”
Amanda Knox, who resides in the United States, did not appear in court. Her legal team expressed shock at the verdict. “We cannot believe it. An unjust decision for Amanda and unexpected in our eyes. We are incredulous; we take note and will read the motivations,” remarked Knox’s lawyer, Luca Lupària Donati.
Before the hearing, Knox voiced her innocence in a series of posts on social media platform X. “It doesn’t get easier, no matter how many times I’ve been through this,” she posted. “I am not a liar. I am not a slanderer.”
The tragic stabbing of 21-year-old Kercher and the subsequent trials have captivated media attention across the globe, spawning various books and films.
Rudy Guede, who hails from the Ivory Coast, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his involvement in the murder of Kercher. The courts stated that he worked with other unidentified accomplices. Guede received early release in 2021.
