We must, of course, bear in mind that Knox was relatively immature and no doubt intimidated by the situation. But the prosecution case is not one to be lightly dismissed: as the Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz put it, the factors that led to Knox’s initial conviction included an admission that she was at the crime scene, her false accusation of an innocent man, an inconsistent alibi and evidence of her DNA on the alleged murder weapon. Those things would not be dismissed as negligible, either in the UK or the US.

I don’t pretend to know exactly what happened, of course, nor the degree of Knox’s innocence or involvement. Yet I do know that the case, as it stands, defies the simplification that flows from prejudice about a pretty American girl caught up with allegedly untrustworthy foreigners. The Italian legal system might be complicated and prolonged, but it does not appear to be routinely unfair.

The public regularly makes all sorts of assumptions about innocence and guilt based on factors that have nothing whatsoever to do with the evidence. Yet crimes frequently defy expectations: as any criminal barrister could tell you, you don’t have to look like a monster to be involved in a murder.