An Italian court reportedly reconvicted Amanda Knox of slander Wednesday after being exonerated in the 2007 murder of her roommate when they were exchange students in Italy.
The ruling handed down by a Florence appeals court is the sixth time that a court determined that Knox falsely blamed the murder on Patrick Lumumba, the owner of the bar where she was employed at the time, according to The Associated Press.
Knox previously argued that her statements about the bar owner were coerced by law enforcement during questioning. She explained that police had bullied her into making the statement and took advantage of her flawed grasp of the Italian language, the report noted. (RELATED: Man Convicted Of Killing Meredith Kercher Released From Jail)
The two-judge and six-juror panel reaffirmed the three-year sentence that she had already served during her four years in custody while the Italian authorities investigated the murder.
Knox had appeared in the Florence court to clear her name “once and for all” with her husband, Christopher Robinson.
Carlo Dalla Vedova, Knox’s attorney, said she “is very embittered” by the ruling and that they “are all very surprised at the outcome of the decision,” according to The Associated Press.
Luca Luparia Donati, another attorney representing Knox, said they plan to appeal the ruling to Italy’s highest court.
As a result of the verdict, Knox is ordered to pay legal costs to the bar owner, which could amount to at least €10,000, according to The Telegraph. Lumumba celebrated the verdict as “just and deserved” and claimed Knox “stabbed” him “in the back.”
“I hail the court in Florence with much respect and honour for their professionalism,” he told reporters.
