Emotions erupted in the courtroom where Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were acquitted of murdering Meredith Kercher on Monday.
An Italian court overturned the murder conviction from 2007, when Seattle-native Knox and Italian Sollecito were convicted for murdering Knox's British flatmate, Kercher, while studying abroad in Italy. Knox was sentenced to a fine for defamation, after already serving four years in prison though she maintained her innocence. Both Knox, 24, and Sollecito, 27, were released from a Perguria prison on Monday evening.
Knox appealed to the court in a passionate, emotional speech, speaking fluently in Italian. As the verdict was announced, 24-year-old Seattle-native Knox collapsed in tears with sister, Deanna Knox, and mother, Edda Mellas.
We're thankful that the nightmare is over, Deanna Knox said. She has suffered for four years for a crime that she did not commit. We are thankful to the court for looking for the truth. We now respectfully ask you to give her family the privacy to recover from this horrible ordeal.
Following the verdict, some people in the crowd were cheering while others shouted murderer.
Earlier in the day, Meredith Kercher's family made a statement to Perugian media that they will never forgive Knox.
We respect the decision of the judges but we do not understand how the decision of the first trial could be so radically overturned, the statement said. We still trust the Italian judicial system and hope that the truth will eventually emerge.
U.S. student Amanda Knox react as she listens to the verdict during her appeal trial session in Perugia October 3, 2011. An Italian court cleared 24-year-old Knox and her former boyfriend of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in 2007 and ordered them to be set free on Monday after nearly four years in prison for a crime they always denied committing. Seattle native Knox and Italian computer student Raffaele Sollecito, had appealed against a 2009 verdict that found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Kercher during what prosecutors said was a drug-fuelled sexual assault four years ago.U.S. student Amanda Knox reacts after hearing the verdict during her appeal trial session in Perugia October 3, 2011. An Italian court cleared 24-year-old Knox and her former boyfriend of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in 2007 and ordered them to be set free on Monday after nearly four years in prison for a crime they always denied committing. Seattle native Knox and Italian computer student Raffaele Sollecito, had appealed against a 2009 verdict that found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Kercher during what prosecutors said was a drug-fuelled sexual assault four years ago.REUTERSAmanda Knox's sister Deanna (R) and her mother Edda react as they hear the verdict during her appeal trial in Perugia October 3, 2011. An Italian court cleared 24-year-old American Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in 2007 and ordered them to be set free on Monday after nearly four years in prison for a crime they always denied committing. Seattle native Knox and Italian computer student Raffaele Sollecito, had appealed against a 2009 verdict that found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Kercher during what prosecutors said was a drug-fuelled sexual assault four years ago.REUTERSFamily members of murdered British student Meredith Kercher, brother Lyle (L-R), sister Stephanie and mother Arline, attend a court session announcing the verdict on Amanda Knox of the U.S. and Raffaele Sollecito of Italy in the killing of Kercher in Perugia October 3, 2011. The Italian court cleared Knox, a 24-year-old Seattle native, and Sollecito, Knox's former boyfriend, of the 2007 killing of Kercher and ordered they be freed on Monday after nearly four years in prison for a crime they always denied committing. The verdict came after independent forensic investigators sharply criticised police scientific evidence in the original investigation, saying it was unreliable.REUTERSAmanda Knox's mother Edda Mellas cries in Perugia's court after the verdict was read October 3, 2011. An Italian court cleared the 24-year-old American and her former boyfriend of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in 2007 and ordered them to be set free on Monday after nearly four years in prison for a crime they always denied committing. Seattle native Knox and Italian computer student Raffaele Sollecito, had appealed against a 2009 verdict that found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Kercher during what prosecutors said was a drug-fuelled sexual assault four years ago.REUTERSRaffaele Sollecito smiles after the verdict was read during his appeal trial in Perugia October 3, 2011. An Italian court cleared 24-year-old American Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Sollecito of murdering British student Meredith Kercher in 2007 and ordered them to be set free on Monday after nearly four years in prison for a crime they always denied committing. Seattle native Knox and Italian computer student Sollecito, had appealed against a 2009 verdict that found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Kercher during what prosecutors said was a drug-fuelled sexual assault four years ago.REUTERSAmanda Knox's mother Edda reacts after hearing the verdict in Perugia October 3, 2011. An Italian court cleared 24-year-old American Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend of the 2007 killing of British student Meredith Kercher and ordered they be freed on Monday after nearly four years in prison for a crime they always denied committing. Seattle native Knox and Italian computer student Raffaele Sollecito, had appealed against a 2009 verdict that found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Kercher during what prosecutors had said was a drug-fuelled sexual assault four years ago.
