I’m an innocent lad condemned by lies and errors, claims Luke MitchellSaturday 21 July 2012 LUKE Mitchell, the killer of Scots teenager Jodi Jones, has claimed that his conviction for her murder was down to “lies, deceptions and a fully flawed murder investigation”.
Mitchell issued his statement as his mother, Corinne, 53, delivered a 300-page dossier to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) in Glasgow yesterday in an attempt to have the 23-year-old’s case returned to the courts.
Mitchell was jailed in 2005 for the murder of his teenage girlfriend in 2003.
“I was let down by the people we are meant to trust” Luke Mitchell
The file includes claims that someone who looked like him may have confused eyewitnesses, and that he did not receive a fair trial.
Mitchell has already lost one appeal, in 2008, over his conviction of killing of 14-year-old Jodi, who was found stabbed to death in a wooded area close to her home at Easthouses, Midlothian. He was sentenced to at least 20 years.
Outside the SCCRC building, Ms Mitchell, accompanied by her lawyer, Sandra Lean, who has led the case review application, issued a statement written by Mitchell in his prison cell.
He wrote that next week would mark nine years behind bars.
“Another one spent without my family and friends. Over the last nine years, I have lost so much – my girlfriend, my beloved grandmother, my dog and, of course, my freedom – the one thing we all take for granted.
“This was down to lies, deceptions and a fully flawed murder investigation. I was let down by the people we are meant to trust – the police and lawyers. This led to an innocent lad locked up in prison, and a guilty one allowed to go free.
“Now I am getting the chance to put the real facts and the real evidence to the real body of people who will be able to see my case for what it is – a true miscarriage of justice.”
Mitchell thanked supporters who set up a website and campaigned for his release, adding that he was grateful to the “few legal professionals who still understand and practise integrity.”
Mitchell and his mother must now wait to see if an appeal will be allowed.
Ms Mitchell said it was a “big day” for her son.
“Luke is happy that it’s finally got to this stage, but he is fed-up that he is where he is,” she said. “My son’s life is passing him by in there. It’s been a very tough journey … hopefully this document will help the case get back to the courts.”
Asked about the emotional pain being inflicted on Jodi’s family by continuing to appeal against the conviction, Ms Mitchell replied: “At the end of the day, Jodi’s family haven’t got justice. The killer hasn’t been locked up – the killer is still out there.”
Ms Mitchell said she did not know how long it would take for the SCCRC to arrive at a conclusion. But Ms Lean was upbeat.
“This is a vital new step in our fight to clear Luke’s name,” she said.
“The commission will have the opportunity to review the case in its entirety and come to a view on the botched investigation, which we believe resulted in a terrible miscarriage of justice.”
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-scotsman/20120721/282024734382667
