Amanda Knox Retrial Verdict Imminent, Vows To Remain A ‘Fugitive’ If Guilty
Amanda Knox will learn the outcome of her retrial for the murder of Meredith Kercher when it is delivered in Italy on Thursday.
26-year-old Knox, who has remained in Seattle as the Italian judge reaches her verdict, has insisted that she will remain a “fugitive” in the United States if she is found guilty. Knox was previously convicted of her roommate’s murder in 2007.
Knox is standing trial alongside 29-year-old Raffaele Sollecito, her former Italian boyfriend who was also previously charged with Kercher’s death. The pair have denied any involvement in the brutal murder.
The 21-year-old’s death still remains mysterious. Kercher was found stabbed to death in her bedroom, which she shared with Knox as they were both studying abroad at the time, in Perugia, Italy. However, despite six years of investigation and trials, Italian detectives are still no closer to identifying her killer.
Back in 2009, Knox and Sollecito were found guilty of Mercher’s murder, and they went on to spend four years in jail. In 2011 the pair were released after these verdicts were overturned and Knox immediately took advantage of her new found freedom and returned to the United States.
Since then Knox has sought to build a new life for herself, and she is currently a student at Seattle’s University of Washington.
But Knox isn’t completely free yet. Last year, Italy’s highest court quashed the appeal ruling stating that there had been “contradictions and inconsistencies” during their appeal. They then ordered a retrial.
Carlo Dalla Vedova and Lucian Ghirga, Knox’s lawyers, told reporters at the recent hearing that the American “cannot wait to end this nightmare.” Knox has been “very worried” about the outcome of the trial, which she has followed “step by step” from the safety of her home.
However, prosecutor Alessandra Crini wants Sollecito and Knox to be sentenced to 26 years in prison for Kercher’s murder.
Ryan Ferguson, a close friend of Knox who recently served 10 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, has revealed that she is “doing incredibly well considering the circumstances.” He continued, “She is very positive and we all believe that justice will prevail and the facts that have proven her innocence will set her free.”
Alessandro Nencini, the judge overseeing the case, has made it clear that the decision reached will be based on the arguments and evidence from all of the previous trials. Whatever the ruling on Thursday, the trial is set to continue for several more months at least as the decision will almost certainly be appealed, which could ultimately lead to Knox’s extradition.
