Sitting Dock

Addendum

2005-02-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Luke giving his harassed Sky interview

Having been to the Edinburgh Sheriff courts at the weekend I was informed that the majority verdict is of course unknown, contrary to previous reports, and that out of the 15 jurors it could have been as many as 7 that found Luke innocent.

Lawyer claims Luke trial unfair

2005-02-15T03:13:00.000-08:00

Extract.

Prosecutors in the Luke Mitchell trial used tactics which went “completely against the concept of fairness” to secure the teenager’s murder conviction, his lawyer has claimed.

In a scathing attack on the conduct of the prosecution team, which was led by Alan Turnbull QC, Nigel Beaumont claimed the Crown had “sprung a whole chapter of evidence on the defence by surprise” to discredit the 16-year-old and his mother, despite a pre-trial agreement to share all information with Mitchell’s lawyers.

He said: “The Crown’s position at the beginning of the case was that they were going to be disclosing everything to us. What they did disclose was everything except the things they wanted to keep secret.”

End.
http://www.sundayherald.com/47729

Luke's satanic tendencies debunked

2005-02-15T02:52:00.000-08:00

The press have hung on to that quote Luke wrote on his school jotter so as to make out a satanistic tendency, as too have the prosecution. As it turns out, the quote,

"I've tasted the devil's green blood."

Is in fact from a popular computer game called Max Payne. Here's the full quote,

(Character called Lupino) "I have tasted the flesh of fallen angels. I've tasted the Devil's green blood. It runs in my veins. I have seen beyond the world of skin, the
architechture of blood and bone marrow."

What worries me is that it took only seconds of google time to work out that those words weren't Luke's own, and merely some script from a computer game, yet the press and prosecution have consistently led the public into believing that this was the work of a satanist.

Luke was no satanist. He merely protrayed an image to the world as do thousands of other goths; evidenced surely by the superficial source of his quote.

Luke's fan mail

2005-02-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Update.

Reports of Luke receiving hundreds of letters from young goths have been met with disdain by a press it seems committed only to chastise him. Concern of Luke's innocence and ambiguous circumstantial evidence have still not been reported.

Luke Mitchell sentenced

2005-02-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

Update.

Luke was sentenced today for 'no less than 20 years'. Word of his appeal has yet to be released however counsel said that for as long as Luke maintains his innocence the fight to clear his name will continue.

Luke Mitchell and the forensic psychologist

2005-02-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

Below is an interview with Professor Vincent Egan, a forensic psychologist from Glasgow Caledonian University, a 'specialist in offenders with personality disorders'. He gives the following reasons for detecting Luke's guilt.

1) Mitchell regularly looks to the floor when answering: Prof. Egan said: 'He looks down regularly throughout the interview but it doesn't appear to be him trying to suppress tears. He is trying to avoid the gaze of the interviewer, he is being explicitly evasive. It is a way of him keeping in control over the pace of the interview.'

2) Mitchell is 'wide-eyed' when telling how he found the body. Prof. Egan said: 'He is trying to look innocent but people who find their dead girlfriend would give a less controlled reaction.

'When people are describing dramatic events in real life they are vivid but Mitchell suddenly becomes very vague.

'I would expect a rich narrative. His lack of upset is remarkable.'

3) Mitchell plays with his dog on camera: Prof. Egan said: 'He comes across as a very happy lad. There is no thought about the awfulness of what has happened. You might expect an adolescent to be full of hyper-expression but there is none of that here. Psychopaths often have brief episodes of anger but for the rest of the time they have very little emotion.'

4) Mitchell looks repeatedly to the right when questioned: Prof. Egan says: 'When people look to the right hemisphere of their vision it indicates emotional processing. But at the same time there is not much spontaneity to what he is saying, it is all quite measured. I would not expect that from a 14-year-old boy, particularly one whose girlfriend has been murdered in such a violent way.'

5) Mitchell's mum continually strokes Luke's shoulder and hair: Prof. Egan said: 'The stroking is more about the mum's need. Most 14-year-olds would not want their mum doing that. It is inappropriate and just too intimate. It is an indication of the mother being anxious and she is trying to give reassurance.

'It is a form of communication to say to Luke he was doing well.'

6) Mitchell smiles after finishing his story about finding Jodi: Prof. Egan said: 'He makes a smile to convey closure. He gets to the end and perhaps the smile is his own satisfaction at getting through. There is a lack of gravity when he talks about finding the body. If it was the true it would have been the most incredibly difficult thing to talk about and I would expect shock and alarm.'

7) Mitchell stares into the camera when the interview ends: Prof. Egan said: 'Mitchell stares into the camera as if to say 'did you get all that?' One of the characteristics of a psychopath is a very glib interpersonal manner but he is too trite to be totally believable. He thinks the interview will get the scent off him. He didn't appreciate that the police follow-up every little detail.'

Vincent Egan tells informs the media of commonplace thoughts on lie detection. A quick search on google will produce lists detailing ways to spot a liar. Signs such as 'lack of use of pronouns, and fidgiting. Most of us will easily be able to relate to these signs when we aren't lying, but are under stress, or acting out of habit.

The problem with lie detection through visible physiological signs is simply that for the many of us who don't have English rose personalities, we'd easily be made out as liars under similar circumstances to Luke Mitchell's testimony. Taking Vincent Egan's signals of lying and applying them to people we meet on a daily basis would leave us in a state or paranoia. Yet Vincent, as a professional, who should be acting in the public's best interests as an independant offers no alternative explanation for the phisiological differences between persons arising from their reaction to the same stimuli because of their wildly differing processes of socialization to name but one.

For Vincent Egan to do so was misleading and prejudicial to Luke Mitchell's case. One must also question whether Prof. Egan was paid for his analysis by the Scottish tabloids.

Luke Mitchell: The circumstantial evidence

2005-01-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

Circumstantial evidence is defined as 'evidence of relevant facts' admissible by the judge where it is relevant to prove or disprove some fact which requires proof. Lord Nimmo Smith in the Jodi Jones trial allowed a painting by Marilyn Mansun to be shown to the jury which portrayed the murder of an actress. The prosecution drew parallels between this and the Jodi Jones murder.

The court heard of Luke Mitchell's interest in horror films and of the Marilyn Mansun DVD that Luke Mitchell bought after Jodi died. Luke's cannabis smoking was put to the jury and also that he had once told someone that he 'knew how to slit someone's throat'.

Together with the find of the body and unreliable alibi these circumstances were enough to convince 10 members of the jury that Luke had murdered his girlfriend. A second look however is unsettling; what exactly does the evidence amount to? What facts do they evidence?

Marilyn Manson has sold millions of records in the UK; sell out concerts and merchandise highlight his popularity. That Luke bought Manson's music corroborates the fact that he is one of a large pool of teenagers that enjoy goth culture. The section of the community widens yet again when told that Luke enjoyed horror films, and the same applies to the cannabis smoking. Over 20 percent of people in the UK smoke cannabis, with an even larger number having tried it at some stage in their lives. Surely all the above three pieces of circumstantial evidence can only point then to the fact that Luke is a normal teenager, as was his girlfriend Jodi who shared the same interests.

The recent sexual activity prior to the murder and the romantic engravings, together with no evidence of infidelity on either of the couple's parts portray affection, not murderous intent. There were no prior examples of violent outbursts or fighting from Luke, and that Luke had once as a 14 year old said that he knew how to slit someone's throat is irrelevant. Jodi's throat was intact. It's quite probable that Luke, as do many young boys, repeated morbid information he has seen in the media.

One wonders how much spin the counsel would have had to put on the circumstances over the 41 days to convince the majority that Luke could be guilty without motive. Lord Nimmo Smith should have found the circumstantial evidence inadmissable, however to have done so would clearly have had the effect of the trial collapsing - not necessarily a viable option with mounting public pressure.

Luke Mitchell

2005-01-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

14 year old Jodi Jones was murdered last year near her home in Scotland. Both Jodi and her boyfriend Luke Mitchell also then 14 were associated with the popular goth genre known by it's dark lyrics, moody clothing and ocassional reference to satanism and various occultish practice. Jodi and Luke experimented with drugs and sex and were known to hang out at the well known Blackfriars cemetary in Edinburgh with other gothic teenagers.

On the 30 June 2003 Jodi was making her way to Luke's home taking a shortcut along Roan's Dyke, a wooden path, where she was to be murdered brutally taking numerous stabbings to the chest. Jodi was found later that evening by Luke and the Jones family when out searching for her. Luke's dog was said to have drawn them to the exact spot Jodi's body lay, a claim that the Jones family now deny.

On arrest Luke's knife pouch was found with his girlfriend's initials and the year they were going out on it. A tree in the wood were Luke and Jodi were seen smoking cannabis had their initials carved into it. There were several witnesses who saw a suspicious character near the crime scene on the day none of whom identified Luke, yet Luke was to become the prime suspect in the coming months despite the close relationship and the romantic engravings found on his personal effects and in the woods.

In the absence of any forensic evidence linking Luke to the crime the case fixated on the alternative teenage lifestyle Luke enjoyed. Lyrics from goth music that Luke had scribbled on his school jotters were gathered, and atheist quotations from Luke's school essay on God were reproduced for the jury.

On trial, a forensic psychologist gave his opinion that, that Luke had continued to try and lead a normal state of affairs by going to school, he was admitting to committing the offence. It was on these opinions and a hotchpotch of alternative teen culture representations that the jury, after 41 days of trial found Luke guilty by a majority of 10-2. He awaits sentencing on the 11 February.