Amanda Knox Appeals for Freedom in Prison Letters and Legal Briefs
PERUGIA, Italy Nov. 24, 2010— -- Amanda Knox returned to an Italian court today hoping to convince a new Italian jury to overturn her murder conviction and set aside her 26 year prison sentence, but new prison letters obtained by ABC News show the strain of her life in prison.
Letters written from her prison cell to a member of the Italian parliament who has visited her in jail and has written a book about her suggest the Seattle woman is battling a bad case of the blues after more than three years in prison, but is trying to keep up her hopes.
In a poem included in a letter to Italian MP Rocco Girlanda, Knox writes that her life "has a rainbow running through it" and talks about a "winding road home through the wind and rain."
"I'm singing through the blues and the violet/ Until the day when I'll be home again," she writes.
The view of Knox came as she returned to court today in a first step of the appeal of her conviction for murdering her English roommate Meredith Kercher on Nov. 1, 2007, and overturning a 26 year prison sentence.
Prosecutors also appealed her sentencing today, asking that it be increased to life in prison.
After a brief court appearance, the appeal trial was delayed until Dec. 11.
Knox's family said it was particularly difficult since it was the day before Thanksgiving.
"Every holiday is just, it's painful," Knox's mother Edda Mellas told "Good Morning America" today. "There's always an empty seat... The holidays are always tough."
Mellas acknowledged that her daughter was struggling with the appeal. "I know that she's obviously nervous. I mean she's facing an appeal, she's been wrongly convicted. So all of this is really hard for her," she said.
In letters to Girlanda, Knox thanks him for "the means to come alive intellectually." She tells Girlanda that he has "given me the gift of your hopes" and "shown me friendship, respect and understanding when I needed it most."
Knox ends some of her letters by quoting a line from an Italian pop song, "I know I am not alone even when I am alone."
The letters are adorned with peace signs. Next to her signature on one letter is a heart and inside the heart is a peace sign.
