"The devastation you have brought to his life is apparent to everyone who saw him giving evidence in this case," said [Judge Simon]Tonking. "But while he did so there was little or any sign of remorse on your part."
There were cheers and applause from the public gallery as the judge read out his sentence at Stafford crown court.
Judge Tonking said that her offence was "committed wholly or predominantly for gain", adding that her crime fell into the "top of the scale" for sentencing attempted murder cases.He told Knight: "Your first thought about killing your husband may well have been born out of fantasy, which then drifted into a reality."But he said: "You were fully responsible for putting it into effect and for its consequences."
Knight, 28, stood to receive £250,000($500,000) upon her husband's death and was hoping to clear mounting debts.
She had confided in her neighbour, Sarah Johnson, who initially dismissed her talk as attention-seeking. But when Johnson found out Lee Knight had been in intensive care for three weeks she went to the police.
Knight denied murder. She claimed her marriage was an unhappy and violent one.
The court heard she had hoped her husband's death would be blamed on his heavy drinking.
Kate Knight settled on antifreeze as her intended murder weapon after researching poisoning on the internet. She thought about having Lee overdose on Ecstasy or iron pills before choosing her weapon.
Lee Knight was left blind, deaf, and has impaired kidney and liver functions after the attempted murder, and cannot work anymore. He is waiting for a kidney transplant from his brother.
After a jury found his wife guilty last month, Lee Knight said in a statement he had "hardly any independence" and had lost "everything I worked for".
He expressed concern about the impact on their son, saying: "Kate has ruined my life and what she has done will have a big effect on Jack's future."
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