An Italian jury has overturned the 2009 murder conviction of Seattle native Amanda Knox. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007.

The judge ordered that both be released. Knox completed some paperwork and is now free.

Knox was found guilty of falsely accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of killing Kercher and was ordered to pay him 22,000 euros. There is a 3-year sentence for that charge. Knox has already served nearly four years.

The eight-member jury deliberated for 11 hours.

Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict was read. She was not able to be immediately reunited with her family and was led out of court with tears streaming down her face.

Her parents, Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, have said they would try to get their daughter out of Italy and back to Seattle as soon as possible.

KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Monique Ming Laven, who sat behind the Knox family in the courtroom, said after the verdict was read and understood by Knox’s family, their emotion was that of “pure joy” as they hugged their lawyers and cried.

The Kercher family looked on grimly as the verdict was read. The family said they were satisfied with the original verdict.

Outside the courtroom, some in a crowd of hundreds were yelling “shame, shame,” in Italian in reaction to the verdict. There were also cheers from those who agreed with the ruling. Ming Laven's interpreter said there seemed to be an overwhelming sense of anger in the city.

Meanwhile in Seattle, about a dozen Knox supporters were overjoyed that she has been cleared of the murder conviction.

KIRO 7 reporter Deborah Horne was at the Olympic hotel where they watched the court proceedings on TV.

"We freakin' beat 'em, man!" someone joyfully yelled in the background.

During the appeals trial, a court-ordered independent review cast serious doubts over the main DNA evidence linking the two to the crime.

Knox has been in prison since Nov. 6, 2007.

Earlier Monday, Knox fought back tears as she made an emotional plea in an appeals court. She frequently paused for breath and fought back tears as she spoke in Italian to the eight members of the jury in a packed courtroom, but managed to maintain her composure during the 10-minute address.

"I'm the same person I was four years ago. The only thing different about me now is my suffering," said Knox.

"I am paying with my life for something I haven't done," said Knox. She said her friend was killed in the room next to hers and had she been home that night she would also be dead.

Knox insisted that Kercher was a friend who was always nice to her. Gesticulating, at times clasping her hands together, the former University of Washington student said she has always wanted justice for Kercher.

Prosecutors can appeal the acquittal to Italy's highest court. There was no word late Monday if they planned to do so.

Rudy Hermann Guede, a small-time drug dealer and drifter who spent most of his life in Italy after arriving here from his native Ivory Coast was convicted of Kercher’s murder in a separate fast-track procedure. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison but his sentence cut to 16 years in his final appeal.