Amanda Knox has returned to an Italian courtroom, seeking to overturn a slander conviction. This marks a significant moment in a long legal saga that began over a decade ago. Knox, now 36, is fighting to clear her name once and for all from the false charges against her (CNN, NBC, New York Post).

The slander conviction stems from Knox falsely accusing her then-boss Patrick Lumumba of the murder of Meredith Kercher. Kercher was found dead on November 2, 2007, with stab wounds to the neck in the apartment she shared with Knox (CNN, NBC). Lumumba was arrested for the murder in November 2007 but was released within two weeks due to a lack of evidence (CNN).

In 2009, Knox, Raffaele Sollecito, and Rudy Guede were all convicted of Kercher's murder. Guede's DNA was found in the murder room, and he admitted to being in the house but denied killing Kercher (CNN). Guede served 13 years of a 16-year sentence and was released in 2021 (CNN, NBC).

Knox and Sollecito's murder convictions were overturned by a Perugia appellate court in 2011. However, their acquittal was overturned by Italy’s supreme court in 2013, leading to their reconviction in 2014. By then, Knox had returned to the United States (CNN). In a definitive ruling in 2015, Italy’s supreme court cleared Knox and Sollecito of Kercher’s murder (CNN, NBC, New York Post).

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2019 that Knox's human rights were violated during her questioning (CNN, NBC, New York Post). In 2023, the Italian supreme court reopened and overturned her slander conviction, ordering a new trial in Florence that began on April 10, 2024 (CNN, NBC, New York Post).

Now a mother of two, Knox has campaigned for better awareness of forced confessions. She posted on X that she hopes to clear her name from the false charges against her (CNN, NBC, New York Post). Despite the ongoing legal battle, Knox will not face additional jail time regardless of the outcome of the new trial (CNN, New York Post).

The final hearing will take place in the same courtroom as Knox’s 2013 conviction. This adds a historical resonance to the proceedings, as it was in this very room that Knox had faced earlier judgments (CNN).

Rudy Guede, the Ivorian man whose DNA was found at the crime scene, was released after serving 13 years of his sentence (CNN, NBC, New York Post). His involvement adds another layer to the complex narrative that has surrounded this case for years.

As Amanda Knox steps back into the courtroom, the world will be watching closely, awaiting the next chapter in this long-running legal drama.