Supreme Court rejects final appeal by Mitchell and rules: Case closed

The Supreme Court yesterday backed judges in the High Court in Edinburgh who had previously refused Mitchell the right to appeal again.

Mitchell was ordered to serve at least 20 years in 2005 for the “truly evil” murder of his girlfriend, Jodi Jones, in Dalkeith, Midlothian, when he was 14.

Maggie Scott QC said the Crown had relied on evidence of Mitchell’s comments and demeanour during the interview, resulting in “a fundamental unfairness amounting to a denial of justice”.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that evidence taken from police interview where a suspect was not first offered access to a solicitor was unreliable and could not be used in court.

However, in yesterday’s ruling it said it respected the “finality” of the rejection of Mitchell’s appeal against conviction in May 2008 and did not believe there were any live matters that would lead the court to re-open his case.

The ruling follows a series of high-profile cases in which the Supreme Court has disagreed with decisions taken by Scotland’s highest court, including quashing the conviction of Nat Fraser for the murder of his wife Arlene. Fraser has since been charged again by the Crown and faces a new trial.

The Scottish Government reacted furiously following the Supreme Court’s decision on Fraser, with First Minister Alex Salmond saying it had “no role” in Scotland’s legal system.

In June 2003, Mitchell murdered Jodi in woods near Roan’s Dyke path, between their homes in Dalkeith. Her throat was slit between 12 and 20 times with a knife, and her face and body were mutilated after her death. Jodi had failed to return home after going to meet Mitchell.

Mitchell claimed she had not arrived, and he spent the evening with friends. He said he later 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 find Jodi’s body. But other people who were there said 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.

Mitchell was found guilty by a jury and given a life sentence. He was ordered to serve at least 20 years before applying for parole.

At an appeal in 2008, the appeal judges criticised the “overbearing and hostile interrogation” by police of the teenager during the investigation in an attempt to gain a confession.

However, the judges noted Mitchell had not been cowed nor submitted to the pressure.

It was ruled that he had not suffered a miscarriage of justice, and his conviction stood.

The Supreme Court said that verdict marked the end of the case. “Permission to appeal be refused because the appeal against conviction in this case is closed, for the reasons given by the High Court of Justiciary,” it said.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We do not comment on individual cases.

“Our position on issues relating to the Supreme Court is about general principles and is reflected in our support for the recommendations of the recent report by Lord McCluskey’s expert group, including the referral of criminal cases from Scotland being on an equal footing with similar cases from England and Wales which require the certification of their apex court.”