 Mitchell's legal team say they are convinced he is innocent |
An appeal has been lodged against the conviction and sentence passed on Luke Mitchell for the murder of Midlothian teenager Jodi Jones. Mitchell's solicitor Nigel Beaumont confirmed the move, which came six months after the 17-year-old was found guilty of killing his girlfriend. Judges sitting in private will consider the case submitted by Mitchell's legal team led by Donald Findlay QC. Mitchell was ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years for the murder. He had denied killing Jodi in June 2003, but was found guilty after a 42-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. Mr Findlay told the court: "So long as that young man maintains to me he did not kill Jodi the fight to clear his name will go on."  |  Convinced as I am of my client's innocence, I hope it will be overturned |
Mr Beaumont did not go into the detail of the grounds for appeal but said they hoped to apply for bail at some stage in the process. "It was always intimated that our client was going to appeal," he said, "and we lodged that appeal against conviction and sentence on the grounds it was unfair. "The next stage is that judges will consider the note of appeal. They could reject it sitting in private but hopefully they will pass it over for a public hearing." Principle options Mr Beaumont said there were three main possibilities; there could be a retrial, the conviction and sentence could be set aside or it could be sustained. "Convinced as I am of my client's innocence, I hope it will be overturned," he added. Jodi, 14, was stripped, tied up and stabbed to death in woods near her Dalkeith home. The judge described it as the worst murder case he had ever seen. The trial heard that Mitchell, a heavy cannabis user, was obsessed with the cult icon Marilyn Manson.
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