Amanda Knox was awarded $55,000 by the Italian court Thursday, March 18, for the theft of her personal notebooks and unauthorized photographs by Corriere Della Sera journalist Fiorenza Sarzanini. Her step-father, Chris Mellas, told the West Seattle Herald the family wanted ten times that amount and may appeal. Corriere Della Sera is Italy's most widely read newspaper.

"We will probably appeal the amount," Mellas told the Herald. "The big thing is the decision, not the money. I can't stress that enough. The materials had already been looked at deemed no evidentiary value in the trial. This was just her private property. The journalist had zero right to publish this, much less read it. How did she go about doing it?"

Amanda Knox's family wants to know how the journalist got the notebooks in the first place, as very few officials had access to it. The notebooks were looked at by investigators, then returned to her in prison. The paper also ran photographs of Amanda without authorization, Mellas said. He said they published her personal information extensively.

"This was a full front page story for two days including Sunday, then in their magazine, on their website, then their own book publishing company," said Mellas. The book was called "Amanda e gli atria" (Amanda and the Others).

"That book is not allowed to be published," he said.

Amanda Knox's family is currently in the appeal process of her Dec. 4 guilty verdict for the murder of roommate Meredith Kercher.