Amanda Knox’s latest trial for the murder of her once-roommate Meredith Kercher is under way, though she is keeping her distance, this time, after spending four years behind bars in Italy last time. Though the trial is commencing in Florence at an appeals court, Knox is safe and sound in her hometown of Seattle.
Here’s what she’s missing: Prosecutor Alessandro Crini wants to hit her and her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, not only for the maximum 26-year prison sentence for murder, but she wants to tack on an additional four years to Knox’s sentence for slander.
After all, Knox suggested that a Congolese bartender, Patrick Lumumba, was the true murderer, and he spent several weeks in jail because of this, as CNN reported. He later won a defamation suit against her.
Crini highlighted the evidence against Knox and her ex, emphasizing their suspicious behavior after Kercher was discovered dead.
The new trial will address the problem of “lack of evidence” that a court in 2011 cited in justifying their original conviction in being overturned. The new trial will also address previous discrepancies in testimony.
Though Knox opted out of the opportunity to attend her trial, she won’t have that same option if she is finally convicted to 30 years in prison.