I don’t want parole af ter 15 years in prison, says Mitchell
He rejects chance to go free as it would mean admitting guilt
LUKE Mitchell has turned down the chance to apply for parole as he continues to try to clear his name.
Mitchell, who was jailed for life aged 16 for the murder of his girlfriend, is preparing to launch a fresh appeal against his conviction.
After serving 15 of his minimum 20-year jail term, he is now eligible to apply for parole.
However, supporters say he has no interest in doing so and is refusing to take part in courses to help him address his reasons for offending, part of the process of applying for parole.
Mitchell, convicted in 2003 of killing 14-yearold Jodi Jones, whose naked and mutilated body was found near her home in Dalkeith, Midlothian, is instead focusing on a new submission to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).
A previous referral in 2014 failed when judges ruled that while police, in their original investigation, failed to follow proper procedures and that his human rights were breached, it did not amount to a miscarriage of justice.
Mitchell has always maintained his innocence, and his supporters claim new physical and eyewitness evidence raises significant questions about his conviction.
In 2016, a kitchen knife with a six-inch blade was discovered concealed under stones, yards from the murder scene.
Dr Sandra Lean, a criminologist who has worked to help Mitchell clear his name, said: ‘Luke is as strong as ever. It’s remarkable given that he went in there at 15 and has kept his head high. He’s been absolutely resolute in his innocence.
‘Technically, he should be starting to come up for parole or preparing for parole. But because he will not admit guilt and he won’t take any of the courses about offending behaviour, he won’t progress. He will never say he did it just to get out or to allow him to move on through the prison system – never.’
Dr Lean likened the case against Mitchell to the Netflix series Making a Murderer, in which two men – Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey – fought a decades-long battle to prove they were victims of miscarriages.
She said: ‘There’s a standard of thinking in any judicial system that you need to maintain confidence in it.
‘To admit to making a mistake of that size, the way they look at it, would undermine the public’s confidence in the system.’
Dr Lean, under instruction from Mitchell, is gathering a team of forensic and legal experts to help present his case to the CCRC.
Mitchell, who was 14 at the time of Jodi’s murder, has made four previous attempts to overturn his conviction. Two were rejected on appeal, while a bid to have his case referred to the UK Supreme Court was denied at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Another appeal was refused by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Professor Allan Jamieson, founder of the Glasgow-based Forensic Institute, has previously offered advice to Mitchell’s supporters. He said: ‘From a scientific perspective, there was no evidence against him.
‘The other complication, of course, is that with things like DNA or fingerprints, the two people were known to one another and therefore the presence of DNA from him on her or her on him doesn’t really take you that much further. The important thing is trying to establish when the evidence was deposited.’
‘He will never say he did it’