Amanda Knox is slated to speak on a panel -“trial by media” atthe Criminal Justice Festival, an event that’s to be held in Modena, Italy. This, despite her vow never to return to the country. This will be the first time she is setting foot on Italian soil since the year 2011, which was when she was released from imprisonment.
Knox was accused of murdering 21-year-old Meredith,a British student in Perugia, in the year 2007. After being imprisoned in Italy for four long years, she was finally acquitted in 2015.
The Background
Amanda Knox, was from Seattle, US, and Meredith Kercher wasfrom Surrey in the United Kingdom(a student at Leeds University). They both were language exchange students in Perugia, the university town and shared a house there. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, her then-boyfriend were arrested for Meredith’s murder. The latter had been sexually assaulted, her throat had been slashed and she was found dead in the same house they lived in.
Amanda was found guilty and was imprisonedin an Italian prison for four years. But she and her boyfriend were acquitted via an appeal on the basis ofdoubts that were raised about forensic evidence that had been produced against them. Ultimately, Knoxreturned to Seattle,her hometown, in 2011.
Rudy Guede’s fingerprints were found at the scene of the murder,and he was jailed for 30 years. This sentence was later reduced on appeal, to 16 years. The court also ruled that Guede did not act alone. However, after Knox and Sollecito’s acquittal there were no other convictions.
About The Criminal Justice Festival
This festival is scheduled to be held from 13-16 June and is organized by an association of lawyers- the Camera Penale di Modena and the Italy Innocence Project. The 31-year-old Amanda Knox will sit on a “Trial by Media” panel. She tweeted that she has accepted the invitation and that she is honored to speak at the event.
She said that when she was wrongly convicted for the murder of her friend Meredith in Perugia, the Italy Innocence Project didn’t exist.Guido Sola, the festival organizer is quoted to have told CNN that Amada was invited to speak at the event because she is a classic example of trials that the media conducts even before the case goes to court.
She was a victim of no less than a barbaric media trial then. Though the court has definitively acquitted her, the popular belief is that she is guilty. This perception is an outcome of the media onslaught.
A Family Looking For The Truth
In the year 2014, Meredith’s family said that they were still seeking the truth behind their daughter’s murder. The family lawyer stated to The Telegraph that Amanda’s decision was uncalled for and was inappropriate too. They felt that she should simply accept the positive verdict and refrain from activities such as attending events, which will garner attention and publicity.
When the crime occurred, Amanda and Meredith were both very young and the fact that the latter had been sexually assaultedbefore being murdered, had been pivotal in catalyzing media interest at the time. The media had been extremely cruel and did not shy from labelling her as “Foxy Knoxy.”As a matter of fact, an Italian commentator had also said that Knox looked like an angel but that her eyes looked like a killer’s eyes.
But things now seem to be on track for Amanda and only time will tell whether the media will stop hounding her and allow her to live her life in peace.