- Title: ITALY-KNOX/VERDICT-REACTION Italy's top court acquits Amanda Knox of murder
- Date: 27th March 2015
- Summary: ROME, ITALY (MARCH 27, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF COURT OF CASSATION SHADOWS OF PEOPLE WALKING PAST ON STAIRS IN FRONT OF COURT ENTRANCE VARIOUS OF MEDIA AT COURT ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMANDA KNOX'S DEFENCE LAWYER CARLO DALLA VEDOVA SAYING: "As we said from the beginning we shouldn't have waited all these years and we could have done it perhaps at the first grade, but we have today a good decision, so we are happy." REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERA: 'Did you have the chance to speak with Amanda?" DALLA VEDOVA SAYING: "Yes, she's very happy. She is released and she's with the family, so she is very happy." REPORTER ASKING OFF CAMERA: "What did she say exactly?" DALLA VEDOVA SAYING: "She was crying because of happiness." POLICE (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) AMANDA KNOX'S DEFENCE LAWYER LUCIANO GHIRGA SAYING: "It's a great page in the history books. At this level the judges of the cassation court ruling like this means they have very wide shoulders and the courage of lions, and a great sense of justice." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) BAR OWNER INITIALLY ACCUSED BY AMANDA KNOX OF MURDER, PATRICK LUMUMBA, SAYING: "I am disillusioned. I just can't believe it. In my opinion this is a judicial error when it comes to Amanda. I don't believe the slander (she made towards me) was just because she was under stress. I think she did it because she committed a crime. For me this is a judicial error." VARIOUS OF MEDIA OUTSIDE COURT HOUSE
- Embargoed: 11th April 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVADMOI8191VXUV96U6HHY6YX04M
- Story Text: Italy's top court on Friday (March 27) annulled the conviction of American Amanda Knox for the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher and, in a surprise verdict, acquitted her of the charge.
The Court of Cassation threw out the second guilty verdict to have been passed on Knox, 27, and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the lethal stabbing.
Leaving the court after the verdict, defence lawyer for Knox, Carlo Dalla Vedova said he had spoken to Amanda and she was very happy about the decision.
"As we said from the beginning we shouldn't have waited all these years and we could have done it perhaps at the first grade, but we have today a good decision, so we are happy," Dalla Vedova said, adding that Knox was at her home with her family in Seattle when she was told the news.
"She is very happy. She is released and she is with the family, so she is very happy" he said.
"She was crying because of happiness," he added.
The relief on the faces of her defense lawyers was clearly visible after waiting for over 10 hours for the verdict.
"It's a great page in the history books. At this level the judges of the cassation court ruling like this means they have very wide shoulders and the courage of lions, and a great sense of justice," said another defense lawyer for Amanda Knox, Luciano Ghirga.
But not everyone was happy with the verdict.
Congolese national Patrick Lumumba, who owned a bar in Perugia at the time of the murder, was falsely accused by Knox of committing the murder of Kercher in 2007 and he was held under arrest for two weeks.
"I am disillusioned. I just can't believe it. In my opinion this is a judicial error when it comes to Amanda. I don't believe the slander (she made towards me) was just because she was under stress. I think she did it because she committed a crime. For me this is a judicial error," Lumumba told reporters outside the court house.
It had been widely expected that, even if the court overturned the previous convictions, it would order a retrial. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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