Amanda Knox 'Frightened' By Kercher Verdict

Amanda Knox has said she is "frightened and saddened" after an Italian court again found her guilty of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.

Her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito also had his conviction reinstated after judges ruled the pair should not have been cleared on appeal in 2011.

Knox, who was in her hometown of Seattle when she learned her conviction had been reinstated, has been sentenced to 28 years and six months.

The 26-year-old described the decision as "unjust".

"Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system," she said.

"The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

"Rather, nothing has changed. There has always been a marked lack of evidence. My family and I have suffered greatly from this wrongful persecution."

The verdicts are delivered

Sollecito, 29, who was not in court for the verdict but had attended lengthy hearings in the morning, was sentenced to 25 years.

Their lawyers have said they intend to appeal to Italy's highest court and a long legal battle for Knox's extradition is now expected.

Miss Kercher's sister Stephanie and brother Lyle were both at the Nuovo Palazzo di Giustizia courthouse in Florence to hear the outcome of the third trial in the case.

Members of Ms Kercher's family were in court

Speaking outside the court, Mr Kercher told Sky News he could never forgive those responsible for his sister's death.

"I think you'd have to be a very strong-willed - arguably religious - person to find that forgiveness," he said.

"I think it is so easily forgotten what happened to Meredith.

"When I read reports even now, I find myself skimming past the paragraphs that refer to what actually happened to her because it is so horrific."

Knox and Sollecito were charged in 2007 after Miss Kercher's semi-naked body was found with her throat cut in the bedroom of the house she shared with Knox in the central Italian city of Perugia.

Exchange student Miss Kercher lived with Knox

The 21-year-old Leeds University student from Coulsdon, Surrey, had been sexually assaulted.

Two years after the pair were found guilty at their original trial in 2009 - and handed jail terms totalling more than 50 years - the verdicts were overturned and both walked free from court, with Knox returning to the US and going on to sign a book deal.

Their acquittals in 2011 came after a damning 100 page report outlined a catalogue of errors and breaches of procedure that had been made in collecting evidence.

The third trial began last September in Florence.

Sollecito is in Italy but was not in court for the verdict

After nearly 12 hours of deliberations on Thursday, the court upheld the 2009 convictions.

In an interview recorded before the verdict, Knox said the court's decision meant she was now technically a fugitive. 

"I'm definitely not going back (to Italy) willingly," she said. "They'll have to catch me and pull me back kicking and screaming."

Speaking to The Guardian, Ms Knox said her memory of what happened on the night the murder was clear.

"I knew what I did that night," she said. "I very clearly remembered what I did that night. That I was with Rafael, we had dinner, we did what we always normally do when we're all the things we do when we're together.

"But they started questioning me about that, making me doubt what I was telling them. I kept telling them, 'look, I don't know what time I was doing things. 

"All I can tell you is I left my house, me and Rafael went to his house, we were hanging out, listening to music, I read some Harry Potter ... I remember reading emails, we talked, we had dinner; that's what we did."

Though Knox has remained in the US, she emailed the court to protest her innocence in a statement read out by her lawyer in which she insisted she ''was not a monster".

Speaking outside the court, Knox's lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, said she will launch an appeal against the decision.

He added: "For those that, like me, are convinced that Amanda is innocent, it is a very difficult time.

"We have to respect the verdict but we will challenge them. We're very sad at the moment."

Sollecito's lawyer Luca Maori said: "There isn't a shred of proof."

Drug dealer Rudy Guede was sentenced to 16 years over Miss Kercher's murder. Investigators said he did not act alone.

:: Watch Sky News live on television on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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