theodore simon. >> thank you for coming. as david told you, my name is theodore simon.lphia lawyer. i've been a criminal defense lawyer for 37 years in philadelphia. it has been a trying and grueling four-year nightmarish marathon that no child or parent should have to endure, but amanda and her parents, kurt, etta, chris and cassandra and family -- [ cheers ] as i was saying, kurt, etta, chris and cassandra and family have demonstrated unquestioned and unparalleled patience, steadfast courage, dignity, resilience and fortitude, but most of all, they have relied upon their faith that this unjust conviction would not stand. they have persevered with unusual grace and under extremely difficult circumstances. given those circumstances, the significance and severity of the charges and the unrelenting pressure they faced, they have been and continue to be deserving of our support, admiration and prayers. we are appreciative, thankful and ever so grateful to the appellate jurors for their willingness to reopen and re-examine the facts, to conduct a thorough and searching inqu

that was the interesting interview from theodore simon talking about how strong she is.rised she did come to the podium last night. we've seen from her release just in the courtroom in perugia how emotional that was for her. then the flight back overnight must have been draining just physically. but i think what the family wants to do is really evaluate -- this is almost like -- not akin to. i don't want to make this bigger than it is, but almost like coming back from war for a soldier. you have to really figure out what really did happen to amanda knox mentally in prison? is she physically able to handle this. >> probably a good reason for them to do that, a lot of loved ones near her. let's hope for the best for her and her family. drew, thanks very much for your reporting. >>> republican presidential candidate herman cain is surging in the polls right now. what does his rival, newt gingrich speak about that. newt gingrich is coming up. congresswoman gabrielle giffords is headed to washington. you'll find out why. that and a lot more news happening live in "the situati

attorney, theodore simon, he expects they will also be victorious in the next appeal process.ine. >> i never read the contract. >> attorneys told her that is not what she testified at a previous hearing. >> you were curious, looked at it, and that's how you knew details about the contracts. you would agree that you told the truth? >> absolutely. but as of this moment, i don't recall that specific moment. there has been a lot going on over the past two years. things do become very blurry. >> reporter: alvarez admitted receiving packages at her home addressed to murray. >> did you have any sense of what these packages contained? >> no. >> did you open them? >> no. >> reporter: the last witness was a pharmacist. he told the court he shipped propofol, the powerful anesthetic that killed jackson to murray's home and other locations. >> can you provide the total number of propofol vials shipped to conrad murray? >> i can confirm. >> is the number 255? >> yes. >> abc news learned that jackson's fingerprints were not found on a single bottle of propofol in his home, a crushing blow to

attorney, theodore simon, he expects they will also be victorious in the next appeal process.tanya. >> denise, we heard about extraordinary legal bills, had to take second mortgages out on home, maxed out the credit cards to a tab almost $1 million. how will they make ends meet with that kind of tab? >> they have certainly stretched themselves as far as they can. the family has right now. and already this week, yesterday, today, there have been a lot of talk amongst supporters and amongst strangers who may not personally know the knox family people in the seattle area and imagine other parts of the country perhaps the world that will probably start coming up with fundraisers, nothing organized yet. all in talks now. rob, tanya? >> denise whitaker reporting live from seattle. thank you. >>> you can stay with abc news as we cover the amanda knox homecomi homecoming. look for more updates later today on "america this morning" and later on "good morning america" as well. >> a man wrongly convicted of murder in texas is free this morning after spending nearly 25 years in prison. mi

attorney, theodore simon. thank you both. so emotional. what kind of impablgt will that statement have? >> she did what she needed to o do. whether you like it or not, it won't have much impact. they've said it will be a relatively quick deliberation process. it's hard to believe that suddenly, her statement will change everything for them. i think it is a situation where if she said the wrong thing, it could have hurt her. she did not. >> what do you make of her statement? >> it was expected. i think she delivered a heart-felt, impassioned plea. it's what she said and how she said it. it was right on target. it expressed condolence in the only way she could to meredith kercher and her family, with how they were friends. and she was very, very clear she was not responsible. >> let's get more on what could happen. what the judges and jury are deciding. what are the options? >> the most severe is to increase the sentence to life. most people believe that to be the least likely scenario. then the judges and the jurors could uphold. they could

. >> also in seattle, theodore simon, amanda knox's attorney here in the u.s. i understand when amanda got off that plane, you met privately with her. what did she say to you? what did you do talk about before she walked into the press conference? >> that is true. the security was full at the airport as was everyone at british airways and made special arrangements for david march i don't think, the family press person and me to meet with her. we met privately. she wasn't sitting with her father and after she got off the plane, it was a very emotional embrace between her father and she. after a long period of time, we explained throngs of reporters out there, many cameras and she had the option of speaking or not. she made the decision completely on her own. she felt compelled to express her strong feelings and heartfelt feelings of thanks and appreciation for so much support so she made that statement and i think it wasn't so much what she said, but how she said it and it started to give america a sense of what a kind, generous, caring person she really is. she

attorney, theodore simon. thank you both. so emotional. what kind of impact will that statement have? >> she did what she needed to do. whether you like it or not, it won't have much impact. as elizabeth pointed out, these are jurors and a judge who have been deliberating throughout the process. they've indicated it's going to be a relatively quick deliberation process, so it's very hard to believe that suddenly, amanda's statement is going to change everything for them. i think it is a situation where if she said the wrong thing, it could have hurt her. she did not. and as a result, the case moves forward. >> what do you make of her statement? >> yes, this was expected. i think she delivered a heart-felt, impassioned plea. it's not only what she said, but how she said it. i think it moved the entire courtroom. it was perfect. it was right on target and expressed her condolence any way she could to the meredith kercher and her family, with how they were friends. as well as was very, very clear that she was not responsible for this. >> let'

attorney theodore simon does not think that will happen primarily because the appeals court in italyhat amanda knox was innocent, not just that there wasn't enough evidence to uphold the conviction. it was a very relieved and emotional amanda knox that showed up here yesterday in seattle touching down at 5:30 local time. it was a made for tv event with ael over a hundred journalists from all over the world here, all wanting to hear what she would say now that her four-year ordeal is over. >> 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. [applause] [cheering] >> reporter: amanda also thanked all of the people who believed in her innocence and then she disappeared. the family had a plan to divert the media by having as many as four, five limos leaving the airport all at the same time. there were cameras staked out at her mom's, dad's and grandma's houses. we know she didn't end up at any of them last night. a friend of hers said amanda and her family will probably get out of seattle. they are republica

. >> reporter: attorney theodore simon spent hours with knox, as she related strange rituals by inmateslian jail where she was held for four years. >> when arriving in court, when one is about to receive a final verdict, it's required that you keep both of your fists clenched. >> reporter: after she was acquitted, there were more traditions. >> when you know you're about to be released, you take your toothbrush, you break it in half, carry it out. and once you are actually beyond the walls of the prison, you throw your old toothbrush away. >> reporter: knox lost so much weight in prison, she dropped from a size 6 to a 0. she filled her days with everything from exercise and learning italian, to cooking, painting and a steady focus on writing in a journal she kept. this could eventually turn into a book. >> my family's the most important thing to me right now. i want to go and be with them. thank you for being there for me. >> reporter: home, four years after leaving. amanda knox's new life is just beginning. >>> and joining us live, now. you see him there in seattle, her very grateful f

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 anythi

. >> theodore simon joining us from philadelphia today. thank you very much.ow for more of the headlines, let's head about six feet -- ten feet, 12 feet -- >> i say close by. >> betty nguyen at the news desk. >> good morning to you. nato has just announced another victory in the war against terror. the alliance says coalition forces captured a senior leader of an afghan crime family, the hakani network. the terror group has worked with al qaeda and the taliban. the u.s. says they staged last month's attack on the u.s. embassy in kabul. president obama says the strategies remain on track for u.s. forces to withdraw from afghanistan by next year. the u.s. has 33,000 troops in afghanistan. >>> and that drone strike that killed two top al qaeda years in yemen appeared to have paid an extra dividend. it may also have killed a top al qaeda bombmaker. u.s. officials believe he was responsible for making the explosive hidden in underwear during the foiled attempt to blow up a plane over detroit two years ago. it's also believed he is tied to last year's attempted bomb