Amanda Knox Reacts to Second Murder Conviction

Amanda Knox was declared guilty once again by six jurors and two Italian judges. This is the newest wrench in a Knox retrial that began in 2007.

Meredith Kercher is the slain victim and the former roommate who lived in Perugia, Italy. The co-defendant, Raffael Sollecito is Knox's ex-boyfriend. He is 29 years of age and was also found guilty of murder and pronounced with a 25 year sentence.

Knox was given 28 years of prison time, a sentence she hopes she will never serve. The initial court sentence of 2009 was a term of 26 years in prison. The court prosecutor requested 26 years of prison time for Knox and Sollecito, plus an additional four years for Knox for another libel conviction.

She has faced an Italian court four times on Kercher's murder. She was convicted in 2009 and was imprisoned for four years until she was released in 2011 after her murder determination was tossed out on appeal. However, the supreme court of Italy retried on a second appeal.

This last verdict was viewed by Knox, 26 years of age, from her home in Seattle. Her family viewed the live broadcast together. She declared openly, "I am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict. Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system."

Knox blames her resulting conviction upon "overzealous and intransigent prosecution, prejudiced and narrow-minded investigation, unwillingness to admit mistake, reliance on unreliable testimony and evidence, character assassination, inconsistent and unfounded accusatory theory," as reported by The Guardian.

Luciano Ghirga, Knox's attorney, concluded after the reading of the verdict, "We have not lost our courage. We respect this judgment. We will appeal."

Before the reading of the verdict, Knox stated that if the court found her guilty, she hoped the United States government would disallow her extradition. She further explained, "My family and I have suffered greatly from this wrongful persecution," she surmised that despite the stern judgment it, "...is no consolation for the Kercher family" and that, "This has gotten out of hand."

"I'm definitely not going back to Italy willingly. They'll have to catch me and pull me back kicking and screaming into a prison that I don't deserve to be in. I will fight for my innocence," Knox declared, which was broadcasted by Good Morning America.

Upon the opening day of the trial, Knox apparently instructed the Italian journalist that is writing the Amanda Knox book about the case to give a letter written by her to the Kercher family if they were ready to receive it.

Roberto Costantini reported in Corriere della Sera on the day of the reading of the verdict that he did speak to Meredith Kercher's sister, Stephanie, a few days back in regards to the letter. Her response to the offering of Knox's letter was quoted in his story, "I will have to think. I don't know, but today I don't want to read it because I do not feel the need to speak with her now."

Italian officials explained that Sollecito, will not be presently arrested but his passport will be taken to prevent him from leaving the country. Knox is not currently in custody nor has she been arrested again.