Two of the jurors who delivered the guilty verdicts on Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito said yesterday that no one believed the pair were evil or "cold-blooded killers".
And they praised the dignity of the family of murdered British student Meredith Kercher throughout the trial. At a press conference yesterday, Meredith's brother said there was no room for celebration after the court in Perugia sentenced American student Amanda Knox to 26 years in prison for stabbing her in a drunken sexual assault, and Sollecito to 25 years. The jurors said they were all "emotionally drained" and in tears after their 13-hour deliberations.
"Knowing what happened to Meredith, combined with having Knox and Sollecito sat in front of us every day made this psychologically tough," said Anna Maria Artegiani.
Angela Irene Ceccarini added: "No one on the jury slept the night before the verdict was handed down, and I think we were all – judges included – in tears before the verdict was announced."
Neither woman accepted that Knox and Sollecito were evil, which may explain sentences of 26 years for Knox and 25 years for Sollecito, rather than the life terms demanded by the prosecution.
"It was hard to see Knox doing this, but it is possible. People can let things get out of control, we can all drink too much then get in a car and drive," said Ceccarini.
"I don't see them as evil people, not like some of the mafia killers on trial for massacring people," added Artegiani. "What mattered was the evidence, which you can't ignore."
Artegiani said no one on the jury had been influenced by the lurid newspaper headlines during the trial.
Both Knox and Sollecito's lawyers have said they will appeal.
At one of the few press interviews given by the the Kercher family in the two years since Meredith was found dead in the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia, Lyle Kercher said his family were happy with the verdicts. "Ultimately, we are pleased with the decision, pleased we got a decision."
But he said: "It's not a time for celebration, it's not a moment of triumph. We're all gathered because our sister was brutally murdered and taken away from us, and not only does that affect all our lives and everybody who knew her and a lot of people who clearly didn't know her around the world and have been touched by her, but yesterday two young people were sentenced to a long time behind bars, as well as the other gentleman [Rudy Guede] who went down 12 months ago, so I think that is as much as we can say in terms of feeling happy about yesterday's verdict."
The family have lodged a compensation claim of £22m, which Lyle Kercher defended as "part of a very complex legal process". He said: "This has never been a case of us seeking money, which is why we've been reluctant to do media stuff throughout."
The Knox family also spoke yesterday. Amanda's mother Edda Mellas said it had been "a really hard night" for her daughter but that guards and inmates at the jail had supported her.
She was speaking after a visit with other relatives to the prison where Knox is being held outside Perugia. "We told Amanda that she would be getting out very soon but that it would take a bit of time," she said. "Amanda is very disappointed by the court's decision, but we encouraged her and said she had our support and the support of people here and all around the world."
Yesterday the family called the verdicts a failure for the Italian judicial system. Amanda's father Curt Knox said: "This is a failure for the city of Perugia and the community around it, as well as Italy as a whole."
Senator Maria Cantwell has promised to raise Knox's trial with both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Italian embassy in Washington.
But for the Kercher family, the time has come to draw a line under the case. Her sister Stephanie said: "We can only be as satisfied as we can be, and it does bring that bit of justice to us for her. That's all we can say."