At 9:51 p.m. local time in Perugia, Italy, American student Amanda Knox had her 2009 conviction of murder overturned by an Italian appeals court. The court had heard a review of DNA evidence by 3rd party forensic specialists that contradicted previous testimony from the original decision.
Knox, along with her that time boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, was accused of murdering her then roommate, English national Meredith Kercher. They were convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison in Italy.
However, upon hearing the testimony of the experts during the appeal, a jury sited insufficient evidence linking the two to the crime scene and ordered the sentences suspended and the conviction dropped. Knox had a charge of defamation upheld and was ordered to pay 22,000 Euros for court related costs, but was also ordered to be released immediately.
Knox will be taken back to jail to fill out paper work, but will be set free within hours.
Outside the courthouse were a mixture of cheers and jeers, but the conviction was overturned not just because of a lack of evidence, but that the appeals jury felt she was innocent of the charges brought against her.
