Amanda Knox, known globally for her prolonged legal battle in Italy, has revealed a recent encounter with law enforcement at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that brought her past back into sharp focus.
Knox, now an author and advocate, was en route to Dublin to promote her new memoir Free: My Search for Meaning, which reflects on her reintegration into society after years behind bars. While preparing to board her flight, she said she was stopped by police officers at the airport and subjected to a series of probing questions.
According to her account, officers inquired about her travel plans, prompting her to explain that she was flying to Ireland for a television interview centered on her latest book — a deeply personal narrative about life after wrongful imprisonment. When asked what had led to her incarceration, Knox responded, “Actually, I didn’t do it,” and explained she had spent four years in prison before being found innocent.
The conversation reportedly turned more personal when one officer remarked, “That long? You probably don’t like police that much.” Knox said she replied candidly, “They make me uncomfortable.”
She noted that as the exchange continued, dozens of other passengers passed by while she remained held up on the jet bridge. Officers allegedly asked her about her livelihood, prompting Knox to mention her podcast Labyrinths with Amanda Knox, which explores topics such as wrongful convictions and coercive police interrogation methods. She said it was only after revealing that detail that the officers ended the questioning with a simple “Safe trip.”
Knox has not disclosed when the incident took place but said the officers did not provide a reason for stopping her or initiating the conversation.
Her story remains one of the most complex legal sagas in recent international history. In 2007, Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were arrested for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy. After nearly two years in custody and a lengthy trial, both were convicted. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, while Sollecito received a 25-year sentence.
In 2011, an appeals court overturned their convictions, citing critical errors in the handling of DNA evidence. Despite a brief re-conviction in a retrial, Italy’s highest court definitively cleared Knox of the charges, highlighting severe flaws in the investigation.
The only individual ultimately convicted in connection to the case was Rudy Guede, who was found guilty of murder and sexual assault in a separate trial and sentenced to 30 years.
In Free: My Search for Meaning, Knox reflects not only on her time in prison but also on the lasting impact of public scrutiny. Despite her legal vindication, she says she continues to live under a cloud of judgment.
“There’s always this subtext, like ‘Look at Amanda living her life while Meredith is dead,’” she writes. “Any expression of life in my life is seen as an offense to the memory of my friend who got murdered.”
Knox now uses her platform to raise awareness about wrongful convictions and advocate for criminal justice reform, as she continues to confront the shadows of a case that defined her public identity.
