Convicted murderer Luke Mitchell has lost a legal bid to overturn a parole board decision not to free him from prison.
Mitchell, 36, claimed the board acted unlawfully in how it decided to keep him in jail last April.
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.
Mitchell is serving life for murdering his girlfriend Jodi Jones in 2003. He was 14 when he stabbed Jodi, 14, to death near her home in Dalkeith, Midlothian.
He was jailed for a minimum of 20 years and was denied parole last year after being deemed a ‘risk’ to women.
Yesterday Lady Haldane rejected Mitchell’s claims and ruled that the parole board had acted lawfully.
In a written judgement, she wrote: ‘No doubt the petitioner feels aggrieved at their conclusion. That is unsurprising from his perspective and may well lead to feelings of resentment.
‘However it is to be expected that the petitioner may well resent any outcome which is not the one that he hopes for. That does not mean that the process itself, considered from a “360” perspective, was unfair.’
Mitchell was jailed in February 2005 but became eligible for parole last April because the time he spent on remand ahead of his trial is taken into account.
Legal papers lodged during the action told of how Mitchell thought parole board members were ’more concerned’ about the feelings of a “victim” of his offending than his battle to win freedom.
The papers tell of how he wanted the hearing adjourned as panel members had access to a report about him which he possessed only in redacted form.
Mitchell was still given a chance to consult with a lawyer by phone.
However, he was aware that a ‘victim of the offence’ was observing proceedings and he got the impression that the panel was more concerned about the impact the adjournment would have on them than the fairness of his hearing.