peter van sant is italy this morning. this is a much different amanda knox addressing the court than in the past. >> reporter: this is the day of days for amanda knox. in this courthouse behind me there was high drama today and a lot of tears as amanda spoke from the heart. with her future, her life on the line, a clearly terrified amanda knox. the former student from seattle rose in a courtroom in perugia, italy, this morning, to proclaim her innocence. >> translator: i'm afraid. anywhere i am, i am afraid. >> reporter: amanda gathered her strength and asked the six judges and two jurors for justice. >> translator: i insist i'm innocent and that must be defended. i just want to go home, go back to my life. i don't want to be punished and deprived of life because i am innocent. raffaele is innocent. >> reporter: amanda said she lost a friend and was shocked when her british roommate meredith kercher was murdered on november 2nd, 2007, in the house where the two were roommates. >> translator: i can't explain how i felt whe

tonight she is a free woman. "48 hours" correspondent peter van sant is in perugia. >> reporter: after nearly four years of imprisonment, american amanda knox tonight won her freedom and vindication in perugia, italy, when two judges and a jury ruled she did not murder her british roommate, meredith kercher. amanda's sister, deanna, smoke for the family. >> we're thankful that amanda's nightmare is over. we are thankful to the courts for having the courage to look for the truth and the overturn this conviction. >> reporter: an extraordinary scene outside the courthouse. there's been whistling, great disappointment among people out here that amanda knox has been found not guilty in the murder of meredith kercher. this is one of amanda's attorneys. >> she was extremely scared, she was extremely worried. all the last week has been extremely difficult for her. >> reporter: earlier in the day, there was even more drama. "i am afraid," she said. as a worldwide television audience watched knox address the court in italian, pleading for her life. "i just want to go home and go back to my life.

cbs peter van sant in seattle for us this morning, thanks. n cbs tomorrow night at 10:00, 9:00 central. >>> here is jeff glor at the news desk with a check of today's other headlines for us. >>> recommendations for prostate cancer screening are changing dramatically right now. a key government panel is recommending that healthy men of all ages should no longer get that psa blood test. the panel says trem for the disease, not the test, can lead possibly to serious side effects and complications and it says the psa test does little to save lives. >>> massachusetts senator scott brown is defending himself against comments from a democratic rival over his revealing pictures in cosmopolitan magazine years ago. this began at a debate on tuesday. elizabeth warren took a swipe at brown who paid for law school in part with money from his appearance in cosmo. >> how did you pay for your college education? >> i kept my clothes on. >> yesterday, on a boston radio show, senator brown responded with his own remark. >> you officially responded to elizabeth

peter van sant, cbs news, seattle. in seattle is amanda knox's father, curt knox.nk you for joining us. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. >> you did not have your daughter for four years. tell me what life has been like since she has been back. >> very great, let me tell you. it's a huge relief to have her home and she's actually doing very well, so it's very nice to see. >> did chef any idea just how much attention this case was getting in this country and around the world for that matter? >> in reality, no. i mean, she, obviously, was exposed to, you know, the camera sessions that took place in the courtroom but she really got her first experience of how high profile this case has been during her brief press conference upon her return, but in reality, no. >> what was was the first thing your daughter wanted to do when she got back? >> well, you know, she said it pretty clearly in her press statement and that was really be with her family and friends and that is what she really has been doing the last few days is just kind of reconnecting and that is been

. >> osgood: peter van sant will sum up the amanda nox trial.hony mason remembers norris church. we'll offer a retirement tribute to our long-time colleague andy rooney. but first the headlines for the second of october 2011. the state department has issued a travel warning following the death of al qaeda leader anwar al awlaki. they're concerned his killing has raised the risk of anti-american violence. here in new york hundreds of anti-wall street demonstrators were arrested as they tried to cross the brooklyn bridge yesterday. they were taking part in what was billed as a protest against corporate greed. more than 700 people were detained. bank of america's website has had problems all weekend. the bank, the largest in the u.s. in terms of deposits, has been telling customers that some on-line pages are temporarily unavailable. ferris wheels are better known for views than fear. by try telling that to anyone involved in this plane crash in australia yesterday. they also survived, believe it or not. no injuries. the pilot admits he never saw t

. >> peter van sant, thanks. >>> one of amanda knox's supporters is tom wright co-founder of the group> good morning, sir. >> a two-part question here. a, did you think this day would ever come? and b, your reaction when you first heard about acquittal. >> no, i'll tell you, our reaction was just we were overjoyed and very happy for the family, that they're going to be reunited again and mostly very grateful that amanda is in transit and she's an extraordinary young woman and she'll be welcomed with open arms. >> the words that were used to describe amanda in court, we spoke with her father, kurt, a number of times. and he described what it was like to sit there and have to hear these things to talk about his daughter. how difficult do you think it was for the family in just the last few days? >> i think they have been subjected to a lot of this extraordinary, crazy language of hearing their daughter called a she devil and a witch. i think they've endured quite a bit. i would say these last few days -- well, the entire four years, they've handled things so, so well. they've been so str