Amanda Knox is speaking out after Rudy Guede, the man who was convicted of the 2007 killing of her study abroad roommate Meredith Kercher in Italy, was released from prison.
In a blog post, which she also recorded as a bonus episode of her podcast Labyrinths, Knox stated that although the "evidence of Guede's guilt is overwhelming, as is the lack of evidence implicating any other suspect," he still has not "faced appropriate consequences" for his "horrific crime."
She pointed out that Guede, who was convicted of sexual assault and conspiracy to commit murder, was sentenced to just 16 years in prison, and was granted day release after 10 years. Three years later, he will now serve the rest of his sentence outside prison.
"And, of course, Guede's name is not the one associated with his atrocity," Knox shared. "Few people even know his name. Instead, they know mine. The only reason most people know I exist is because of what he did."
Knox and her boyfriend at the time, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted of killing Kercher in 2009 and served four years in the Italian prison system. Guede was convicted of Kercher's murder in a separate trial in 2008. His DNA was the only one found at the crime scene.
"I am not upset that Rudy Guede is free. I'm not upset that journalists who continue to vilify me to this day are instead humanizing him, quoting his lawyers who claim he is 'calm and socially well-integrated.' I'm not upset that he is being given a second chance. I believe, as Bryan Stevenson has said, that everyone is more than the worst thing they've ever done. I believe that even Rudy Guede deserves a second chance. But I am upset," the 33-year-old wrote. "I'm upset that he's never acknowledged his crimes, that he's never been held fully accountable, and that I continue to bear the burden of his infamy."
Knox, who has become an advocate for criminal justice reform since leaving prison, added that she does not believe Geude is beyond redemption, nor that harsh punishment should be the goal.
"I would not wish an unreasonably harsh sentence on anyone," the exoneree wrote. "I would wish them only true rehabilitation. Guede's lawyers say he's well along that path. Maybe so. But I do know one thing: so long as he refuses to admit his crimes, to show true regret, I will continue to unjustly bear his infamy, be held accountable for the Kercher's grief, be shamed for not showing remorse for Guede's crime. He could end all that in a second. I doubt he ever will, but the day he does, I will celebrate his rehabilitation and wish him the best on a new and honest chapter of his life."
You can read Knox's full essay here.