Amanda Knox, December 1, 2009
American university student Amanda Knox smiles in the courtroom during a break in the murder trial session in Perugia December 1, 2009. Defendants Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are on trial for the November 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher. REUTERS

American student Amanda Knox, who was convicted of murdering her flat mate, is a victim of tragic judicial case and is an innocent girl whose life has been swept away by a tsunami, Konx's defense lawyer told the court on Thursday, during an appeal against the original verdict.

Knox was convicted, along with her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, during a drug-fueled sex game that went wrong. Kercher's half-naked body was found in 2007, in a bloody pool in the apartment that Knox and Kercher shared.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in jail while Sollecito was given a sentence of 25 years.

Speaking at the appeals hearing, Knox's lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova urged jurors to overturn her murder conviction and condemned media coverage of the trial that crucified the Seattle student.

A verdict is expected to come as early as Monday.

Vedova also urged the panel of judges to look beyond the image of Knox as created by the media and prosecution.

She was a girl who was quite different from how she has been depicted, he told the court.

Knox is set to make a statement to the court later on Thursday.

Court Lawyer Tsunami Tsunami