Jodi's killer Mitchell cites human rights in new appeal bid

Mitchell is trying to take advantage of a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in London, in the case of Peter Cadder, which outlawed evidence from the questioning of suspects without access to a solicitor.

In 2008, Mitchell lost an appeal against his conviction for murdering Jodi Jones, and earlier this month he lost an appeal against the length of his sentence - a minimum of 20 years under a life term.

However, his lawyers applied yesterday to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh for permission to argue a "Cadder" appeal. The prosecution insisted that the move was incompetent because the appeal procedure had been exhausted.

The judges, Lord Hamilton, the Lord Justice-General, sitting with Lords Osborne and Kingarth, said they wanted time to consider their decision, and it would be issued in writing at a later date.

Were the new ground of appeal to be admitted, and were Mitchell to go on to satisfy the court that he had been denied a fair trial and had suffered a miscarriage of justice, his conviction would be quashed and he would be freed or allowed a retrial.

As at past hearings in the case, Mitchell's mother, Corinne, and Jodi's mother, Judith, sat as far apart as possible in the public benches.

Mitchell, 22, was aged 14 when he murdered girlfriend Jodi, also 14, in June 2003 at woods near the Roan's Dyke path, between their homes in the Newbattle and Easthouses areas of Dalkeith, Midlothian. Her throat was slit with between 12 and 20 blows by a knife, and extensive cuts to the face and body were inflicted after death.

Jodi had failed to return home after going to meet Mitchell. He claimed she had not arrived as planned, and he spent the evening with friends. Later, he said, he learned from Jodi's family that she was missing and joined in a search.

He claimed he was alerted by his dog jumping up at Roan's Dyke, and went over the wall to discover Jodi's body.

Others who were there maintained he had gone straight to a break in the wall and made the discovery. The prosecution at his trial asserted that, as the killer, he had known the body was there and that he had pretended to find it by accident.

During the police investigation, Mitchell had been interviewed by detectives. At his appeal in 2008, the appeal judges fiercely criticised the "overbearing and hostile interrogation" of the teenager in an attempt to break him into a confession. The questioning was branded "outrageous", but the judges noted Mitchell was not cowed and had not submitted to pressure.It was ruled that he had not suffered a miscarriage of justice, and his conviction stood.

The Cadder ruling has sparked serious concerns among MSPs who fear criminals will now be freed or claim compensation.

However, John Scott, criminal vice-president of the Society of Solicitor Advocates, said: "The sad reality is that until the Cadder decision Scotland was effectively out of line with the way police interviews were handled in the vast majority of western European countries.

"The system in Scotland has now been put right."

Lawyer must be present

The UK Supreme Court ruled that Scottish police can no longer question suspects without their lawyer.

Judges in London upheld an appeal by teenager Peter Cadder, whose assault conviction was based on evidence gained before he spoke to his lawyer.

His lawyers argued this was a breach of his human rights.

In 2009, he was convicted at Glasgow Sheriff Court of two assaults and a breach of the peace following an incident in May 2007.

Until the ruling, suspects could be questioned for six hours without a lawyer present.