Jodi Jones killer Luke Mitchell loses legal battle over decision to keep him in prison

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Convicted murderer Luke Mitchell has failed to win a legal battle at Scotland’s highest civil court over a parole board decision to deny him his freedom.The 36-year-old killer instructed lawyers to go to the Court of Session in bid to show that the board acted unlawfully in how it decided to keep him in jail last April.Mitchell stabbed 14-year-old Jodi Jones to death in the woods near her home in Dalkeith, Midlothian, in 2003.

They had been dating for four months.His advocate Shaun McPhee argued earlier this month that the hearing was procedurally unfair and failed to consider all of the evidence which was before it.The court heard how Mitchell wanted the hearing adjourned as he wanted to consult his lawyer about a report which detailed the risk assessors thought he posed to public safety.Mitchell had the report in a redacted form - whilst the parole board had it in an unredacted form.Judge Lady Haldane heard that the board decided not to consider the report in its deliberations.It used other evidence to make its findings that Mitchell should remain in prison.The panel board refused to adjourn proceedings.Mr McPhee said the board should have considered the report in its deliberations and his client should have been given access to the unredacted version of it.He said the decision of the board not to consider the report in its deliberations was unlawful - and this was despite the fact that it contained information which would not have assisted Mitchell’s case.Lawyers for the parole board told Lady Haldane that the organisation acted lawfully.Advocate Mark Lindsay KC told the court that the author of the report was a doctor who Mitchell believes to be so “biased” that the killer is reporting him to the General Medical