Italy's high court has upheld the slander conviction against Amanda Knox, a decision that closes a significant chapter in the long-running legal saga. Knox, who was previously jailed and later acquitted for the 2007 murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher, faced allegations of slandering her former boss, Patrick Lumumba, by falsely implicating him in Kercher's murder.
The conviction stems from statements Knox signed during police interrogations in 2007, where she accused Lumumba of involvement in the crime. Although Knox later apologized for not retracting her accusation sooner, she maintained that she was experiencing an "existential crisis" at the time. Lumumba, who was arrested and subsequently released due to a lack of forensic evidence, attributed his arrest to the closure of his nightclub, Le Chic.
In June 2024, a court in Florence upheld the slander conviction, which led to a hearing before Italy's high court. Despite the ruling, Knox will not face additional jail time. Lumumba expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating:
"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 honor." – Patrick Lumumba
Lumumba attended the June hearing but was not present at the high court session on Thursday. He remains resolute that justice has been served. Meanwhile, Knox has expressed her intention to address the decision further:
"I’ll have more to say about this tomorrow, and on Friday, as I process what happens, whether I am finally acquitted or whether Italy will continue to blame me for the abuses of the Perugia police. Stay tuned." – Amanda Knox
Knox has continually asserted her innocence regarding both the murder and slander charges. Her co-defendant and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also initially convicted and later acquitted of Kercher's murder. Both were definitively acquitted in 2015.
Knox's legal battle extends beyond Italy; she petitioned the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in 2023 that her rights were violated during the 2007 interrogation that led to her false accusation against Lumumba.
