Amanda Knox prosecutor Giuliano Mignini plans to appeal not guilty verdict
(CBS/AP) PERUGIA, Italy - Giuliano Mignini, the prosecutor in the Amanda Knox appeal case, is disputing yesterday's not guilty verdict, which overturned the American student's conviction for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher and set her free.
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Expressing disbelief at the verdict, Mignini has vowed an appeal to Italy's highest criminal court.
"Let's wait and we will see who was right. The first court or the appeal court," Mignini told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "This trial was done under unacceptable media pressure. The decision was almost already announced; this is not normal."
Knox headed home to the United States a free woman Tuesday, the morning after an Italian appeals court dramatically overturned her conviction of sexually assaulting and brutally slaying her British roommate.
The Italy-US Foundation, which has championed Knox's cause, said she departed shortly after noon from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport on the way to London, from where she will catch a connecting flight to the United States.
The 24-year-old Knox, who is returning to Seattle, arrived at the airport in a Mercedes with darkened windows and waited for boarding inside a private waiting area, out of public view.
Back in Perugia, the family of slain British student Meredith Kercher remained stunned by the verdict.
"It was a bit of a shock," said Stephanie Kercher, the victim's older sister. "It's very upsetting....We still have no answers."