Rudy Guede, the man convicted of the murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007, has been released from jail.
Guede's conviction was one chapter in the long-winded road to justice for the Kercher family. Guede was originally charged alongside Meredith's roommate, Amanda Knox, and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
At the time, Guede feared the couple would turn against him and requested a separate, fast-tracked trial. Though all three were convicted, Knox and Sollecito had their convictions overturned after a series of appeals in 2015.
After serving much of his 16-year sentence for the murder of Meredith Kercher, Rudy Guede is free. Guede was granted release ahead of his anticipated January release date, attorney Fabrizio Ballarini announced. Guede will continue his work in the library at the Viterbo-based Center for Criminology Studies, according to the email release.
Guede had already been enjoying certain privileges, such as working at the center during the day, which he was allowed to leave the prison for. Now he will return to civilian living as he moves forward from his 13-year imprisonment.
"My initial thoughts are with Meredith Kercher's family who've been confronted by this painful affair," Ballarini told Italian media outlets, per People.
Guede has maintained his innocence.
The Kercher family, who has been through an emotional ordeal with the legal saga around Meredith Kercher's death, has yet to comment on the release. Amanda Knox has said she is no longer in contact with the family.
She did, however, share some words for Guede on Twitter on November 23. "Rudy Guede, the man who killed Meredith Kercher and falsely accused me, just had his sentence reduced yet again," she tweeted.
"He is now free, and his relationship with the Italian justice system is definitively over. How do you imagine I feel?"
"When I was wrongly convicted of his crime, I was sentenced to 26 years. Guede, whose fingerprints were found in Meredith's blood, whose DNA was on her body, and who immediately fled the country while I was helping the police, was sentenced to 30 years, reduced to 16 on appeal," she continued.
"In 2020, after serving 13 years of that 16 year sentence, Guede was granted work-release to serve the remaining 3 years outside a prison wall," she added, noting a few different articles and podcasts she'd released on the subject.
"What I will say here is this: Guede holds a tremendous power to heal others harmed by his actions. He has the power to tell the truth, to take responsibility, to stop blaming me for the rape and murder of Meredith Kercher, which a wealth of evidence shows he committed alone," she later continued.
"Were he to actually acknowledge his responsibility, it would bring closure to the Kercher family, it would end the murky speculation around this case, it would restore my wrongly damaged reputation, and that of Raffaele."
"His honesty would also end the slanted media coverage, which endlessly repeats the phrase 'the only person who remains convicted of killing British student Meredith Kercher' which is true, but implies that there were multiple responsible parties," Amanda added.
"There were not. Guede acted alone. And if he were to admit to his actions, then the media could simply refer to him without this convoluted phrasing: 'Rudy Guede, the man who killed Meredith Kercher and blamed an innocent American girl.'"
"Guede could do all that right now. He could ask for forgiveness. And if he did, if he showed true remorse and signs that he was committed to an honest life and to making amends for his terrible crimes, I would applaud him, wish him well, and urge others to see his humanity," she concluded.
"People change. Has Rudy? They say the truth will set you free. Today he's free, and he has yet to tell the truth, allowing others to continue bearing the burden of his guilt."
