Amanda Knox has insisted she is a “victim” and did not slander anyone after she lost her bid to overturn the conviction in Italy this week.
In an exclusive interview with Sky TG24, Sky News’ sister channel in Italy, Knox said she had “nothing to hide”, adding: “I’ve had to spend my whole life fighting and defending myself.”
Knox has been cleared of the brutal murder of her then British roommate Meredith Kercher, 21, in the town of Perugia in 2007, after a legal saga that has taken years.
But a court in Florence on Wednesday found the 36-year-old American had wrongly accused an innocent man, Patrick Lumumba, of Ms Kercher’s killing.
Lumumba was the Congolese owner of the bar where Knox, then a 20-year-old university student, had worked part-time.
Knox, who was dubbed “Foxy Knoxy” by some media outlets, and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty of the murder in 2009.
Both were acquitted of the fatal stabbing of the London exchange student in 2011 and then fully exonerated by Italy’s highest court in 2015.
Knox had spent four years in jail before being released in October 2011 when an appeals court overturned the guilty verdict.
Amanda Knox was speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky TG24
Speaking to Sky News’ producer Simone Baglivo, Knox, who was originally convicted of slandering Mr Lumumba in 2011, said: “I’m not Foxy Knoxy, I’m Amanda Knox.
“I am a victim.”
She said that aged 20 she became the “most hated girl accused of murder in the whole world” and “I had to spend my whole life fighting and defending myself”.
“I just wanted to live my life. I survived,” she said.
Knox, from Seattle, called Wednesday’s court’s verdict “unfair” and “not correct” as she vowed to appeal to Italy’s supreme court.
Patrick Lumumba. Pic: AP
She said she was “really disappointed” and “upset” but was “determined”, adding she “will never stop telling the truth”.
Lumumba spent two weeks behind bars as a result of Knox’s comments during a police interrogation in the aftermath of the killing.
Knox said: “I didn’t slander Patrick; I didn’t kill my friend [Meredith]. I will come back here as many times as I have to fight against this injustice”.
She claimed that during her initial police questioning over the killing, she was “psychologically tortured, abused and mistreated” by officers.
“It was the worst experience of my life. They made me think I was crazy.”
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Amanda Knox loses bid to overturn slander
Knox had accused Lumumba of Ms Kercher’s murder during an interrogation, and she had argued in court in Florence this week that her slander conviction should be overturned because of her treatment by officers.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2016 that this interrogation had violated Knox’s rights because she was questioned without a lawyer or official translator – and last November, Italy’s top court threw out the slander conviction and ordered a retrial.
She continued: “I have been unjustly accused for 17 years, that is, my entire adult life. I spent four years in prison as an innocent. From the beginning, I just wanted to do the right thing and tell the truth.
“Sometimes I think there’s nothing I can do but I’ll try forever.”
Read more:
Raffaele Sollecito gives rare interview on being wrongly accused
Amanda Knox jokes about time she was accused of murder on Instagram
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‘I love Italy’
Knox is now a mother of two small children who advocates for criminal justice reform and campaigns against wrongful convictions.
She said: “When I raise my children, I hope they see my strength. I am lucky to have a family and friends who support me in a fight that will perhaps continue throughout my life.
“My message to those who are unjustly incarcerated is: you are not alone. There are very difficult days, but there are those who want to help you.
“I love Italy and I hope that one day we can truly understand each other. I’m trying.”
Knox will not serve any more jail time as the three-year sentence for slander counts as time she has already served in prison.
Knox cried and hugged her husband Christopher Robinson after the verdict was read out in court.
Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was convicted in 2008 of the sexual assault and murder of Ms Kercher. His DNA was found at the scene. Guede was released from prison in 2021 after serving 13 years of a 16-year term.