Amanda Knox, acquitted in 2015 for her involvement in the murder of her British housemate, finds her three-year slander conviction upheld by Italy's highest court, disappointing her efforts to clear her name completely.
Amanda Knox's Slander Conviction Reinforced by Italian Supreme Court
Amanda Knox's Slander Conviction Reinforced by Italian Supreme Court
The Italian Supreme Court continues the contentious legal saga surrounding Amanda Knox, maintaining a slander conviction linked to her 2007 murder case.
On January 23, 2025, Italy’s Supreme Court upheld the slander conviction of Amanda Knox, the American previously acquitted in the high-profile murder case of her British housemate, Meredith Kercher. This ruling reinforces a complex legal narrative that has captivated audiences across Europe and America for over 17 years.
Knox's conviction stems from false accusations against an innocent person linked to Kercher's 2007 murder—a crime that shocked the international community. While she received a three-year prison sentence for her slander conviction, Knox will not serve additional time, having already spent four years in an Italian prison from 2007 to 2011. At 37 years old, Knox, who resides near Seattle, was not in attendance for the court's ruling. Her lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, conveyed her profound disappointment, as she had hoped to finally resolve this chapter of her life.
After her originally convicted status in 2009, Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were arrested following the grim discovery of Kercher’s body, which had caused sensational headlines and intensified public interest. Knox was acquitted of murder in 2015 after Italy’s highest court determined prior judgments were flawed, citing insufficient evidence and undue haste. As Knox attempts to wipe away the lasting impacts of this turbulence, the slander conviction remains a lingering challenge to her quest for a clean slate.
