Honor Bound: My Journey to Hell and Back With Amanda Knox (32 page)

A
manda praying at a crucial juncture in our appeals trial in September 2011, when the prosecution made a last-ditch attempt to maintain the credibility of its deeply flawed DNA evidence.

P
rosecutor Mignini looking sour as it becomes apparent that the appeal is not going in his favor, March 2011.

T
he media frenzy outside the court house on the night of our appeals court aquittal, October 3, 2011.

I
receive a rare hug from Giulia Bongiorno as the appeals court sets me free.

M
y father wiping away a tear with a tie given to him by his own mother as Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann orders our release.

A
manda is overwhelmed by the good news as she is escorted out of the courtroom.

M
y father punches the air for joy. From left to right, Perugia policewoman Lorena Zugarini; my uncle on my mother’s side, Michele Palmiotto; my father; his wife, Mara; and my uncle Giuseppe.

V
isiting the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, March 2012.

M
y reunion with Amanda, Seattle, March 2012.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank everyone who stood by me during my long and difficult journey. Many people’s lives were changed by the horrific miscarriage of justice that Amanda and I went through, and while we and our loved ones went through hell, the experience also led to many friendships and associations between people who might never have met otherwise. All of them helped me keep my desire for truth and justice alive. The list is long, so I apologize in advance to anyone I may inadvertently have left out.

I want to offer my deepest thanks to my family, who always stayed close to me in mind and heart and spirit, who fought for me and encouraged me never to give up hope. Foremost among them is my father, Francesco Sollecito, who always listened to me and fought from the beginning to stand by what I was saying, which was the truth. Even in my darkest moments I could always count on the moral support of my aunts, Magda and Dora Sollecito, my stepmother Marisa Papagni, my uncles Alfonso Colamaria and Enrico Errico, and my cousins Stefania, Giuseppe, and Carmela. Then there are those who, beyond that support, worked tirelessly on the case: my father, my sister Vanessa, my uncle Giuseppe Sollecito, my aunt Sara Achille, my cousin Annamaria, and my cousin Raffaele Sollecito. I also want to thank you, Mamma, for watching over me and protecting me always. I love you.

I’ve been blessed with many dear old friends who also stood by me, corresponded with me and shared my emotional ups and downs: Corrado Tridente and his family, Paolo Genovese and his family, Milko Desantis, Mariano Demartino and his family, the Marrano family, Marika Galizia, the Mastroviti family, Damiano Stefano, Rita Bonserio, Andrea Gennaro Palmieri, Angelo Cirillo, Teresa D’Angelico, Francesca Amatulli, Gabriele and Francesca Traverso and their family, Mario Mastropasqua, Valeria Degennaro, Francesca Murolo, Gianfranco Chetta, Claudia Quercia, Fabrizio Siffredi, Ana Gomèz Cortèz, Maite Olmos Ureta, Silvia Parenti, the staff of the newspaper
La Piazza di Giovinazzo,
Paolo Coppa and his family, Francesco and Roberto De Robertis, Enrico Tedeschi, Lillino and Mariateresa D’Erasmo, and Don Michele Fiore.

Some friends not only corresponded with me but found ways to come and visit me in prison. They include Saverio Binetti, Corrado Decandia, Francesco Marrano, Antonella Petruzzella, Giovanni Stufano, Erica Milillo, Miriam Massari, Marta Marianna Modugno, Raffaele Mastroviti, Silvia Musarò, Bishop Luigi Martella, Don Raffaele Gramegna, Sergio Pisani, and Gabriella Marcandrea.

Along the way I acquired many supporters who, over time and many exchanges of letters, have become true friends themselves. Among them: Gilbert Baumgartner, Michael Krom, Maria Luigia Alessandrini, Joe Santore, Jessica Nichols, Chris and Edda Mellas, Madison Paxton, Cassandra Knox, Deanna Knox, Elisabeth Huff, Shirley Anne Mather, J. Tappan Menard, Martin Speer, Jason Leznek, Eric Volz, Steve and Michelle Moore, Leslie Calixto, Laura Buchanan Kane, Larry Kells, Jerry and Sue Alexander, Steven David Bloomberg, Eve Applebaum-Dominick, Francisco di Gennaro and Anna Rella, and Nigel Scott. Other supporters I’d like to acknowledge include Angela Benn, Karen Pruett, Judge Michael Heavey,
Sunshine Tsalagi, Janet Burgess, Alexander Jackson, Maria Alamillo, Candace Dempsey, Paul Smyth, Patrick King, Joe Starr, Mario Spezi, Douglas Preston, Mark Waterbury, Bruce Fisher, David D. Kamanski, Jerry Morgan, Bruce Locke, Jodie Leah, Michael Scadron, Pawel Bukowski, Michael Smith, Jake Holmes, Michael Rabold, Bern Vogt, Joe Bishop, Kate Lee and Willie Grey, Diana Navaro Botero, June Easterly O’Brien, Margaret Ralf, Werner Gompertz, Anthony Giorgianni, Terrie Connell, Colin Connaughton, Dave Tupper, Dale Gridalt, Hayes Whitt, Hilde Conradi, Charlotte Olson, Rebecca Springer-Seeman, Raymond and Betty, L. Schwab, Jim and James Rocca, and Colleen Conroy.

I was lucky to have a crack legal team who showed their devotion to the truth and, in some cases, did not even request payment. The team of lawyers and consultants included Adriano Tagliabracci, Francesco Vinci, Bruno Pellero, Francesco Introna, Giulia Bongiorno, Maurizio Parisi, Daniela Rocchi, Luca Maori, Donatella Donati, Marco Brusco, Aldo Poggioni, Delfo Berretti, Tiziano Tedeschi, and Antonio D’Ambrosio.

A special thank-you goes to Professor Alfredo Milani, who is not only a wonderful person but also a great friend and was a key part of the defense on computer-related issues.

Heartfelt thanks, finally, to my literary manager, Sharlene Martin of Martin Literary Management and everyone at Simon & Schuster—in particular, Louise Burke, Jennifer Bergstrom, Tricia Boczkowski, and Alexandra Lewis—who made this book possible and gave me the vehicle to tell the world what really happened.

*  *  *

Andrew Gumbel would like to thank Dana Newman, who made a crucial introduction at the start of this project, the indefatigable
Sharlene Martin, the ever gracious Gail Ross, the boundlessly generous Steve and Michelle Moore, my favorite
pugliese
Anna D’Elia, Peter Popham, Robert Adams, and of course the rocking, super-talented team at Simon & Schuster/Gallery who were never less than a pleasure and kept me sane against a tight deadline. Thank you, Jen Bergstrom, for believing in this book from the get-go, thank you Lisa Rivlin and Alex Lewis, and thank you, Trish Boczkowski, for your brilliant editing and infectiously good company. That’s amore!