Amanda Knox saddened by 'unjust' verdict Amanda Knox has lamented what she called the "unjust" verdict handed down by an Italian court that reconvicted her for the 2007 murder of her British housemate Meredith Kercher. I am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict. Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system," the former US student said in a statement from her home in Seattle on Thursday. The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt... Knox's lawyers have vowed to appeal to Italy's highest court. Knox reacted after a Florence court sentenced her to 28 years and six months in prison, reinstating her conviction in the latest dramatic twist in the high-profile case. "Clearly, a wrongful conviction is horrific for the wrongfully accused, but it is also terribly bad for the victim, their surviving family and society," Knox said. First and foremost, it must be recognised that there is no consolation for the Kercher family. Their grief over Meredith's terrible murder will follow them forever. They deserve respect and support. Sollecito, whose lawyers said they would appeal the verdict, was sentenced to 25 years. Reached by telephone, Knox's father, Curt Knox, said he had no comment. While Sollecito was in court Thursday morning, he didn't return for the verdict. His lawyers said they were stunned and would take their appeal to Italy's top court. "There isn't a shred of proof," said lawyer Luca Maori said. Knox's defence team gave its last round of rebuttals earlier in the day, ending four months of arguments in Knox's and Sollecito's third trial for the 2007 murder of Kercher, in the Italian university town of Perugia. Knox's lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, had told the court he was "serene" about the verdict because he believes the only conclusion from the files is "the innocence of Amanda Knox." "It is not possible to convict a person because it is probable that she is guilty," Dalla Vedova said. The penal code does not foresee probability. It foresees certainty. Knox had returned to Seattle after spending four years in jail before being acquitted in 2011. In an email to this court, Knox wrote that she feared a wrongful conviction.