It’s been more than seven years since Amanda Knox was convicted by an Italian court in the 2007 murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher — a crime that she has always maintained she didn’t commit.
Almost two years ago, Knox was definitively acquitted and allowed to return home to the United States to resume her life. But after the huge ordeal of being imprisoned for so long, is that even possible? From the looks of things, yes. Knox seems to have moved on to lead a fulfilling life — and hasn’t shied away from the public eye, even though she pretty much remains guilty in the court of public opinion.
More: If You Think Amanda Knox Is Guilty, You’re Not Seeing the Injustice
We could ramble on all day about the ins and outs of her case, but it’s 2017 and you probably have Netflix and already streamed the documentary about her. So, we’ll just fill you in on some interesting stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with her legal dramas.
1. She was deeply interested in the relationship dynamics in prison
In a recent open letter published in Broadly, Knox sought to shed light on the way same-sex relationships work in prison. Although there are a million headlines going around right now sensationalizing Knox’s “same-sex” relationship in prison, it all just seems to be clickbait. Knox did write about a special connection she had while doing time, though it wasn’t sexual in nature.
“At least initially, Leny might not have been trying to seduce me, and was actually just in need of someone kind to distract her from her loneliness. This is common,” Knox wrote of her “almost-friend,” who she called Leny. “Contrary to what you might guess, many prison relationships aren’t about sex — just like most relationships outside of prison.”
Knox also wrote about what she observed about real romantic relationships while she was inside.
“Inmates had crushes on one another. They passed love letters through the bars. They gave each other presents: drawings of flowers or little crocheted satchels for holding a Walkman,” Knox described in the article. “There were tearful breakups and sometimes fistfights between new partners and exes. But for all the couples who acted like teenagers, there were as many as unshakably self-contained as if they had been married for 20 years. Many of these women will have identified as heterosexual — colloquially, they were ‘gay for the stay.'”
2. She was engaged
In 2015, the same year she was officially exonerated, Knox announced that she was engaged to Colin Sutherland, a member of New York-based band The Johnny Pumps. Knox and Sutherland had actually known each other since middle school and maintained a friendship throughout Knox’s imprisonment by writing letters.
3. Now she’s in another partnership
According to her official website, Knox now lives in Seattle with her partner, Christopher Robinson (pictured above), and the two celebrated their one-year anniversary in February 2017. Robinson is a novelist who co-wrote a book titled War of the Encyclopaedists.
4. She was an LGBTQ advocate in high school
In her Broadly open letter, Knox revealed that she got politically active as a teenager because people thought she was gay.
“When I was 14, a rumor went around my Catholic high school that I was a lesbian, alienating me from everyone but a small group of my classmates,” she wrote. “Later, I became an LGBTQ ally and helped found the Gay-Straight Alliance at my high school.”
5. She knows that people hate her
The woman is not dumb. In fact, if you take the time to read her blog — or anything else she’s written — it’s obvious that she’s really fucking smart. And she’s not ignorant of the fact that people who have never met her hate her guts and still think she’s a murderer. But Knox uses the hate as motivation to help other people who have been released from prison after an overturned conviction.
“I was at peace with the idea that people would never treat me as a human, and that was one of the main motivations I’ve had to bring attention to other exoneree stories,” Knox told the Seattle Times. “It’s not as simple as treating me like a little doppelgänger cultural reference point that you can just throw and project anything you want onto. It’s more difficult when you’re right in front of me, and I’m clearly not that.”
6. She also knows she’ll never be president — but not for the reason you think
Knox said on her blog that she’ll never be commander in chief — and it’s not because she’s a woman, or even because many people think she’s a criminal. It’s because of her religious beliefs.
“I was reminded of the disheartening reality that someone like me will likely never hold the office of presidency — not from my generation, at least,” she wrote of the recent election. “What disqualifies me, or someone like me, is not the fact that I’m a woman. To our country’s credit, I think the U.S. is ready and willing for our first Madame President. No. What disqualifies me, or someone like me, is the fact that I’m atheist. I don’t believe in God.”
She concluded the post by writing, “I look at my leaders, at my fellow citizens, at their religions, and I see culture, I see history, I even see hope. But I don’t see truth. And I don’t see myself.”
7. Being accused of murder isn’t the only thing she and O.J. Simpson have in common
O.J. Simpson and Knox are often put in the same category. Their lives and criminal cases are obviously completely different (and we’re in no way saying we think Knox is guilty), but at the same time, there are some similarities. They were both accused of killing someone with a knife, they both went through lengthy trial processes that were splashed all over the media, and they were both (ultimately) found innocent and allowed to walk free.
But that’s not all. Knox and Simpson were both born on July 9. Kinda weird, right?
More: Khloé Kardashian’s Negotiating With O.J. Simpson, But We Don’t Believe It
Before you go, check out our slideshow below.
Originally published February 2015. Updated February 2017.
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