Panettiere: 'Knox should live normal life'

Hayden Panettiere has expressed her hope that convicted murderer Amanda Knox will eventually be able to live a normal life.

Knox is currently serving a 26-year prison sentence in a Perugia, Italy prison for her alleged role in the murder of college student Meredith Kercher.

Panettiere, who portrayed Knox in a Lifetime telemovie, told the Los Angeles Times: "[The network] was like, 'Don't say whether you think she is guilty or innocent'. But I couldn't even tell you, because I haven't decided.

"The approach I had to take was that even if she was guilty, she had convinced herself she was innocent. I had her voice recordings on my iPod and I'd listen to her intonations as close as I could. I wasn't sleeping during production because I was nervous."

The actress added: "I've lived a very different life than her. She went to normal school and worked at a coffee shop and was just going over to Europe, and I grew up acting.

"We're both young girls. And I care about her. To a certain degree, guilty or innocent, I want to see her get out and be able to live the rest of her life. She's someone that I root for."

Panettiere recently suggested that she felt "pressure" to accurately depict the details of the Kercher murder in the TV movie Amanda Knox: Murder On Trial in Italy.