Amanda Knox is heading back to Italy for the first time since being convicted and imprisoned—and then ultimately acquitted—of the murder of her British roommate.
Knox, 31, will be a guest speaker at a June conference on the miscarriage of justice.
The conference in Modena on June 14-15 is organized by the Criminal Chamber of the northern city and the Italy Innocence Project, which seeks to help people who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit.
“The Italy Innocence Project didn’t yet exist when I was wrongly convicted in Perugia,” Knox wrote in a tweet on Tuesday, May 7. “I’m honored to accept their invitation to speak to the Italian people at this historic event and return to Italy for the first time.”
Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were initially found guilty of killing Meredith Kercher in the Italian town of Perugia in 2007.
Citing a lack of evidence to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, Italy’s highest court eventually overturned their convictions in 2015.
The European Human Rights Court ordered Italy to pay her $20,000 in damages in January 2019, saying she wasn’t provided proper legal aid.
The Italian court upheld a damaging conviction and a three-year sentence for falsely accusing a Congolese bar owner of the murder, leaving a cloud over her acquittal.
Knox is now heading to Italy speak at an event on “trial by media,” and the role of the media in judicial errors.
“Trials these days are often conducted outside the courtroom, by television networks, radio stations, and newspapers, without consideration for the objective facts.
“We didn’t expect her to accept but we’re very happy because she’ll have a chance to speak about her experience in a way she has not done before, at least in Italy.”
In a follow-up tweet, the 31-year-old Seattle native made reference to her high-profile presence in the media: “Here we go! Anyone know a thrift shop where I can find some of this paparazzi resistant clothing?”
Knox’s decision to come back to Italy was criticized by the Kercher family’s lawyer.
“This young woman should accept the verdict that she received, which was extremely positive for her, and stop embarking on initiatives, which seem designed to garner publicity and attention,” Maresca added.
Knox was studying in Italy when Kercher, her roommate, was killed.
Kercher was found nude under a blanket in her locked room, with her throat slit and having been sexually assaulted.
The only person to have been convicted for Kercher’s murder is Rudy Guede, a petty criminal born in the Ivory Coast but adopted by an Italian family in Perugia.
Guede is serving a 16-year sentence for the murder.
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