Amanda Knox Is Back in Italy for First Time Since Her Murder Conviction

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Arriving in Italy

The star returned to the country that tried to paint her as a true crime villain in order to speak at the Criminal Justice Festival in Modena, which is being hosted by the Italy Innocence Project on June 13, 14 and 15. According to the festival’s program, the event is focusing on wrongful convictions and judicial populism, making Amanda the perfect speaker.

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Staying Strong

But that doesn’t mean that Amanda is emotionally prepared to return to the country that tried her for murder. Luckily, she’s got some time to prepare before she’s scheduled to speak on the 15th.

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Taking a Risk

After the star revealed she was nervous to return on Instagram, her followers fed into those fears. “I think you are taking a huge risk going back. I hope you have thoroughly discussed this with your attorneys,” wrote one.

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Speaking Out

The 31-year-old will be one of a few speakers who are part of a panel on the penal process, or criminal procedure. In 2007, Amanda was accused or murder after her study abroad roommate was found dead.

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Fighting For Herself

After being found guilty and sentenced to 26 years in prison, she was eventually acquitted in 2015. In January 2019, it was determined that the Italian police had failed to protect her rights while investigating her.

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Immoral Investigation

At the time of the murder, Amanda was questioned for days on end until she falsely accused her then-boss, Patrick Lumumba, of the crime. Through she tried to recant, she was found guilty of slander, a conviction that was also overturned.

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Vindicated

“Today, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that my slander conviction was unjust,” the 31-year-old shared in January. “I am grateful for their wisdom in acknowledging the reality of false confessions, and the need to reform police interrogation methods.”

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Unfair Authority

“[In 2007], I was interrogated for 53 hours over five days, without a lawyer, in a language I understood maybe as well as a ten-year-old,” she said. “I trusted these people. They were adults. They were authorities. And they lied to me.”

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Illegal Actions

“They wrote the statements; I signed them. … Within hours, I retracted those statements. … My statements were deemed inadmissible in court because they were produced during an illegal and unrecorded interrogation [but] I was sentenced to three years, time served.”

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Defending Herself

“I never should have been charged, much less convicted, of slander,” she wrote. “Scapegoating the wrongfully convicted for the mistakes and misconduct of the police prevents us from reforming the system, leading to further miscarriages of justice.”

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Damages Due

The European Human Rights Court ruled that Italy owed Amanda $20,000 in damages, legal fees and other expenses. The win was one of many recent triumphs for the now-31-year-old, coming on the tails of an engagement and the news that she’d landed her own true crime podcast.

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Sharing Stories

On the show, the now-host announced in October 2018 that she would be leading The Truth About True Crime, where she aimed to tell “important” true crime stories “with compassion and context.” Since her trial, Amanda has learned how to speak out — both for others, and for herself.