i wasn t there. i wasn t present in that crime. cnn s matthew chance was in the courtroom. matthew, walk us through this morning s hearing, will you? reporter: yeah, martin. it was very emotional. amanda knox came in escorted by the guards and looked very stressed indeed, very pale. her head was hung down. she didn t even look at her family, who were gathered in one corner of the courtroom to give her support. her former boyfriend also serving a lengthy prison sentence for the murder of meredith kircher, spoke first. he said they were both innocent. then the big moment came. perhaps the biggest speech of amanda knox s life. she turned to the jury and managed to compose herself because she was in tears, and, you know, make this impassioned plea for them to set her free. she said she wanted her life back. she was tired of being punished for something she didn t do, she said. and so she said it all as well in fluent italian. over the past four years since she s been in priso