>>> but we begin with that emotional homecoming for amanda knox . nbc's stephanie gosk is in seattle. stephanie , good morning.
>> reporter: good morning, ann. amanda knox spent 1,450 days in an italian jail cell. it took just 30 hours to get her back here to seattle. she sat next to her mother on the british airways flight that landed just after 5:00 in the evening. the last time that amanda knox was in this city, she was just a kid with her bags packed, heading off for a school year abroad. walking out into a sea of cameras, after an unimaginable four years. [ cheers and applause ]
>> reporter: cheers broke out for amanda knox , and the 24-year-old sobbed. finally, home. her family was at her side, now able to grab her hand whenever they wanted to. after several deep breaths, she spoke.
>> they're reminding me to speak in english. because i'm having problems with that. i'm really overwhelmed right now.
>> reporter: how could she not be? just over 24 hours before, she stood in front of an italian court, visibly shaking. her life in their hands. [ speaking in italian ]
>> reporter: the murder verdict overturned, she was whisked away in cars, through airports, on to planes. at times during the journey, moments of relief were clearly visible on her face. her family wasted no time getting her home.
>> i was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed like everything wasn't real. what's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who has believed in me, who has defended me, who has supported my family.
>> reporter: her parents also thankful and emotional to finally have their daughter back.
>> this has been a very long four years. but we couldn't have made it through it without all of you people out here that have supported us. and especially amanda .
>> reporter: amanda knox has been given her life back. the prosecutor says he will appeal to italy 's supreme court , leaving open a small possibility that the italian government may try to extradite knox. but legal experts say the chances of that are slim. amanda 's father described the moment just after they won the appeal when he first hugged his daughter.
>> i mean, she pretty much squished the air out of us when we were hugging her.
>> reporter: back at the family's home, his biggest concern now was trying to regain some of the normalcy they have lost.
>> it's extremely surreal. it's something that we kind of feel like we're just regular people in a neighborhood, and then all of this happens.
>> reporter: he would not say where amanda was going, only that she needed time to adjust.
>> a lot of it is just going to be talking to friends, you know, being able to, you know, touch and hold your friends and, you know, to be able to just kind of reconnect.
>> reporter: and spending time with her family.
>> i just want -- my family is the most important thing to me right now, and i just want to go and be with them. so thank you for being there for me. [ cheers and applause ]
>> reporter: for the first time in four years, nothing is stopping her. amanda is in an undisclosed location with family and friends . a local paper says that the 24-year-old is now planning the 21st birthday party that she never had. and her father said she has another priority, matt. that is that after four years in a concrete prison, she is looking for some grass to lie down in.
>> stephanie gosk, thank you very much. theodore simon is the american attorney for amanda knox . he had a private meeting with amanda after that press conference and was with her and her family last night. mr. simon , good to see you. good morning.
>> good morning, matt.
>> before we get to the emotional side of this, take me through the choreography, if you will, of the arrival at the airport, how the speech occurred, all of that sort of thing.
>> sure. this was very carefully planned , with great concern for amanda and her welfare, as well as her security. basically, everyone at british airways helped, and is all of the people at the airport helped. it was arranged for a private meeting, just myself and david mer, the family's press relations person. everyone came off the runway. amanda , her mom, chris, curt and the rest of the family. it was truly amazing. it was emotional.
>> had she always planned to speak, mr. simon , or was that more spontaneous?
>> no, this was a question that was going to be put to her. it was going to be her decision. she either was not going to say anything, say a few words, or as much as she wanted to. and she, despite the fact that she was very worn and tired, felt a great obligation to thank everyone and said she would do it. she did it spontaneously and of her own accord. i can tell you, just before she spoke, she had a very emotional embrace with her father that was -- it was just tearful. and powerful.
>> do you think -- she talked about the fact that as she flew in, she looked down from the plane and nothing seemed real to her. and then she landed, there was this huge outpouring of supporters and a crush of media. even though she has been somewhat kept aware of the interest level, do you think she fully grasped the level of interest in her story?
>> i believe she has a great appreciation of how worldwide this story is. but when you know amanda , you really get to see what a sweet, kind, generous, charitable person she is. i mean, she's joyful, and incredibly thoughtful. she is just a sweet, nice person. and this is what i think dominates her character. she has indomable strength. she clearly gets that from her parents.
>> right.
>> and it's much more about everyone else and less about her. the way she interacts with her family, the way she interacts with her cousins. i mean, after we left the airport, we left in two cars. and fortunately, we were able to manage a way in which to go in one direction and avoid the this wrongs of press.
>> i'm glad you bring that up because there is this huge interest level. the press wants to see her, they want to hear from her. it would seem very unfair to keep her locked behind the door of her house. what kind of freedom is that after all these years? so how do you intend to get her the space she is going to need?
>> well, you know, i would have to disagree with you, matt. this was anything but being locked away.
>> no, i'm talking about in the near future.
>> well, she is going to make these decisions as things go forward. but i can tell you, and i've been a criminal defense lawyer for more than 37 years, i am amazed how strong she is and how healthy she seems.
>> as you know, ted, the prosecution in italy has already said they will appeal this to the supreme court . so is there any trepidation on amanda 's part that, in fact, it's not quite over?
>> that was not discussed. but legally, we feel fairly strong. as you know, the first appellate process permits a review of the facts, a reopening of the facts, a redetermination of the facts. and that's what caused this case to be reversed, and a recognition that she was wrongly convicted. but on the further appeal to the supreme court of italy , they don't have the same broad scope of review. it's really just very narrow, simply was there an error of law? we don't think there was. so we remain pretty confident that this will hold.
>> all right, ted simon , who spent time with amanda and her family over the last several hours. mr. simon , good to see you. thanks for your time.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44797388/ns/world_news-europe/
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