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Knox was emotional as she briefly addressed the appeals court in Perugia at the end of the session, her voice breaking at times and her eyes tearing up. She was convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting and murdering British student Meredith Kercher, and sentenced to 26 years in prison.
"I've spent more than 3 1/2 years in prison as an innocent person, and this for me is very frustrating and mentally exhausting," Knox said. "But nothing is more important that finding the truth after prejudices and many mistakes."
"I don't want to spend my whole life in prison as an innocent," the 23-year-old said.
Knox and her co-defendant, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, were arrested on Nov. 6, 2007, a few days after Kercher's body, her throat slit, was found in the apartment she and Knox shared as exchange students in Perugia.
Sollecito, who was Knox's boyfriend at the time of the slaying, was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The two have always denied wrongdoing. Their appeals trial is under way in Perugia and a lot hinges of an independent review of DNA evidence used to convict them.
On Saturday the court gave independent experts carrying out the review until June 30 to finish
-- over a month after the original May 21 deadline. The two experts sought and were granted more time to collect all information and documents on the forensic tests originally conducted.
They are to report their findings to the court on July 25 in what will be a crucial hearing.
The court also allowed new witnesses sought by the defense.
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