American girl gets 26-year jail term for roommate's murder

Amanda Knox has been sentenced to 26 years of prison after being declared guilty for the murder of a British student Meredith Kercher. The 22-year-old American had cut her roommate's throat with an 8inch kitchen knife in Perugia, Italy, in November 2007.

Knox's ex-boyfriend Italian IT graduate Sollecito has also been convicted for being a partner in the drug-fuelled crime. He has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Sollecito had sexually assaulted Kercher.

A jury of eight people including two judges gave the verdict 13 hours after they began deliberating. The trial lasted for 11 months, reports the Sun. The convicted have also been ordered to pay 4.5million pounds for damages to the Kercher family.

Meredith was killed Nov. 1, 2007 in the cottage she shared with Knox in the medieval Italian town. Prosecutors argued that Knox was filled with vengeance, a "coiled spring," because her "prissy roommate" Meredith criticized her cleanliness and her sexual habits.