Amanda Knox Family Hopes New Book Helps Her Fight for Freedom

Oct. 18, 2010— -- The father of imprisoned American student Amanda Knox said he hopes a new book detailing her thoughts about life in an Italian prison will help change public opinion of his daughter, who has been vilified in the Italian media.

"We have been trying throughout this whole process to portray Amanda the way we know her and now there's somebody actually from Italy who's gotten to spend time with her," Curt Knox told "Good Morning America" today. "We're hoping this will change some minds."

Speaking out for the first time about their meetings, Italian MP and author Rocco Girlanda, who penned "Take Me With You: Conversations With Amanda Knox in Prison," said he met with Knox about 20 times in the last year and that he believes she's innocent.

Knox, he said, has grown more somber and serious over time.

In one exchange, Girlanda said Knox told him, "Everybody tells me, 'You're famous.' And I answer, 'I'm not Angelina Jolie.'"

"How ugly to be famous for this," Girlanda said Knox told him. "I would have preferred to be famous for something I built, I achieved."

Knox is serving a 26-year prison sentence in Perugia, Italy, for the 2007 murder of her British roommate Meredith Kercher. Knox's boyfriend at the time Raffaele Sollecito was also convicted of murder in a separate trial.

The media in Italy have often portrayed Knox as a hard-partying, spoiled American, an image her family has denied is accurate.

Curt Knox said his daughter is aware of all the other books and television movies that have been planned. And she often receives newspapers that detail what is being written about her case.

He gets to speak with her once a week.

"It's very precious," he said. "The ability to hear her voice from 6,000 miles away is just that much better than getting a letter."

Knox has spent the last several months preparing for her November appeal. The appeal will question the validity of forensic testing used on the alleged murder weapon, and question the legality of an all-night police interrogation that Knox has claimed became abusive. Police have denied mistreating her.

Knox Attorney: 'Why is Amanda Still in Jail?'

The Associated Press, who received an advance copy of the book, said Knox discusses not just her thoughts on her life in prison, but also her aspiration to have a family, get married and adopt children. She also discusses the option of adopting children as a single parent.

"She's very much looking forward to coming home," Curt Knox said.

Knox attorney Ted Simon said the only account of Knox's life he's interested in is one from the appellate court, ruling in her favor.

He said her legal team was "hopeful and cautiously optimistic" that Italian officials will finally agree with them that there isn't one piece of compelling forensic evidence that connected Knox to the murder scene.

"The only question is why is Amanda still in jail and when will she be freed?" he said.

In another new book on Knox written by a former fellow inmate, there are claims that Knox refused to take tranquilizers that were pushed on her by guards and that she was initially shunned by other prisoners because of her beauty.