COMMENTARY | American Amanda Knox has lived a nightmare in Italy for nearly four years after being wrongfully convicted of the November 2007 murder of her Italian roommate, Meredith Kercher. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison back in December 2009, but that verdict was finally overturned Monday.
I don’t know Knox personally, but I had tears in my eyes when I heard the court say her immediate release would take place, giving the young girl her freedom back.
Knox has long proclaimed her innocence, and from the time I first started following the case I felt that she was innocent as well. I can only imagine what she has gone through being in a foreign country, held in prison for something so heinous.
I’m grateful the jury clearly saw what I believed as well, but what will happen to Knox now? Has she been scarred for life after the ordeal that she’s gone through?
The entire fiasco can not be easy for the family of Kercher either. They will likely never have closure as to exactly what happened on the night their loved one was murdered. The injustice that took place in Italy during the last few years has affected many people — the Kerchers, the Knox family, and everyone involved.
Now 24 years old, Knox will hopefully return home immediately to Seattle and be able to move on with her life the best she can. But it will take years, if ever, for her life to return to normal.
Outside the courtroom, the Knoxes said that they respectfully request the privacy needed for Amanda to recover, according to a CBS/AP report. Though it is unlikely she will get that, I hope she can find a place that provides her the comfort as far out of the spotlight as possible.
A group of her supporters in Seattle called “Friends of Amanda,” cheered and burst into applause when the verdict was read, shouting, “She’s free!” Let’s hope the public allows Knox to really be free and heal from one of the worst possible nightmares anyone can imagine.
My thoughts are also with the Kerchers, who will likely never completely heal from the tragedy that took a daughter, sister and friend far too soon.