Former Inmate Florisbela Inocencio de Jesus Writes of Prison Life With Amanda Knox

(Sept. 15) -- Prison has quickly transformed Amanda Knox from a fresh-faced girl to a hardened convict.

That's according to Knox's former prison friend, a Brazilian woman named Florisbela Inocencio de Jesus, who has self-published a book about her time behind bars with the 23-year-old American student. Knox is serving 26 years in an Italian prison for the 2007 assault and murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher.

A Brazilian woman who used to be a cellmate of Amanda Knox has written a book about the American imprisoned in Italy on charges of murdering her British roommate

Alessandra Tarantino, AP

Amanda Knox reacts during a court hearing in Perugia, Italy, last November. A former prison friend has self-published a book about her time behind bars with the 23-year-old American student.

In an interview about her book, titled "Walking With Amanda," de Jesus tells The Daily Beast that Knox seemed lonely and afraid when she met her in Capanne prison in 2009.

"Behind her eyes was a profound sadness. She gave off the impression that she needed a maternal embrace. I had the impression that the look on her face meant something, but it was not the face of an assassin," she told The Daily Beast.

De Jesus said Knox was ignored by the other prisoners, who were jealous about the American's celebrity status.

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Over time, however, Knox began to fit in, de Jesus said, and joined other convicts as they challenged a limit on library hours and protested against prison officials who wanted to change dinner time from 5:30 to 4 p.m.

"The girl with the angelic face was gone. I found an adult Amanda who looked many years more than her age," de Jesus said.

Knox is appealing her conviction this fall, and her supporters in the U.S. say she was wrongly convicted. Bernardina di Mario, director of Capanne prison, called the American a "model prisoner," according to a Newsweek report today.