Free at last

After already serving four years in prison for the murder of Meredith Kercher, 24-year-old Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito went free Monday evening in Perugia, Italy. The appeals court's not-guilty verdict came hours after an emotional plea by Sollecito and Knox to be given back their liberty.

Fighting back tears, Knox told jurors and judges that she was paying with her life for something she did not do. "I am not the person I've been portrayed to be," Knox had said. "The perversion, the violence, the lack of respect for life - I did not do the things they are saying I did."

The jury, made up of two judges and six jurors, acquitted Knox after independent experts said the small amount of DNA evidence linking the former couple to the murder of British student Meredith Kercher was not reliable.

An Italian friend of Kercher's, Rudy Guele, has already been found guilty of the murder in a separate trial and been sentenced to 16 years in prison. His DNA was found at the site of the murder.

Guilty of slander

The jury could have upheld the previous sentences of 26 and 25 years' prison for Knox and Sollecito respectively, reduced or increased them.

During the appeal, prosecutors depicted Knox as a "she-devil" with "an angel face" and asked for a life sentence. The defense said she was the victim of a character assassination, both in court and by the press who had dubbed her "Foxy Knoxy."

After 11 hours of deliberation, the court found Knox not guilty of Kercher's murder, but ruled that she had committed slander against her former employer, Patrick Lumumba, whom she incriminated days after the 2007 murder.

Knox was sentenced to pay Lumumba compensation, as well as to time already served.

Headed home

After the verdict, Knox was escorted out of the court and driven back to the Capanne prison near Perugia to collect her belongings. She was discharged shortly after.

Local lawmaker Rocco Girlanda, who befriended Knox and published a book of interviews with her last year, told reporters outside the prison gates that she would take a commercial flight to the United States on Tuesday.

Sollecito drove away from Terni prison with his father, headed for his home town in southern Italy.

In the United States, the State Department reacted to the acquittal, saying it appreciated the court's "careful consideration" of the case.

Not over yet

However, the case against Knox and Sollecito may not be over, according to Italian legal expert Maurizio Bellacosa.

"For sure we will have a third trial for this case," he told Deutsche Welle.

Under Italian law, both the prosecutor and civil parties can file an appeal to a not-guilty verdict with the Supreme Court. The court can then back up the appeal court decision or it could order yet another trial.

"If the Supreme Court reopens the case, there is a possibility of a new decision in court of appeal. Supreme Court can cancel the case or have a new trial in the court of appeal," Bellacosa said, adding that even if the Supreme Court ordered another trial, it could be difficult to extradite Knox from the United States to Italy.

"Amanda Knox is totally free, so she can go back to the US. If the case is opened again and [there's a] new sentence in the next year, in theory Italy could ask for extradition. But on the other side, there are technical arguments against the extradition request."

If the prosecution were to appeal the acquittal, it is unlikely Knox would return to Italy.

Author: Megan Williams, Rome / dm

Editor: David Levitz