A week after Amanda Knox was cleared of any involvement in her roommate's murder by Italy’s highest court, she vowed Friday to help the wrongfully convicted.
In a short letter published in The Seattle Times Friday, Knox thanked her supporters in her home city of Seattle and those who fought for her exoneration in Italy, where she and her once-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted, then acquitted, then convicted again in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher.
"I am all too aware of how lucky I am to have received such strong support. I am also aware that countless other wrongfully convicted persons do not have such support," Knox wrote. She said, without specifying how, that she would fight to give a "voice" to those who are wrongfully convicted.
"I will do this because I know how a wrongful conviction can destroy one’s life and because we best honor crime victims by ensuring that the actual perpetrators are brought to justice," she said in the letter.
Italy's Supreme Court overturned the convictions for Knox and Sollecito on March 27. The decision is the final verdict in the case.
Knox said that while she is grateful that her more than seven year legal ordeal is over, the family of her slain roommate is not as fortunate.
"I am acutely aware, however, that this story does not have a happy ending. Unlike a wrongful conviction, which can be overturned, nothing will ever bring Meredith Kercher back to her family and loved ones," Konx said in the letter.
Kercher’s mother told the United Kingdom’s Press Association after last week’s verdict that she was "very shocked" by the acquittals.
Rudy Guede, a drug dealer, is serving a 16-year sentence for Kercher's death.
IN-DEPTH
- Amanda Knox's Ex-Boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito Hails 'Air of Freedom'
- Meredith Kercher's Mother 'Very Shocked' by Amanda Knox Decision
- Amanda Knox Case: Italian Court Overturns Murder Conviction
— Elisha Fieldstadt