A convicted killer who claimed he was the leading recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan in Scotland is campaigning for Luke Mitchell’s release.
James Mitchell, who nailed his victim to a floor over a debt, has attended rallies in support of Luke’s freedom bid and has become one of his most prominent online supporters.
Jodi Jones, 14, was brutally killed in Dalkeith, Midlothian, in June 2003. Luke was arrested over her death when he was 15 and caged for her murder in 2005.
We can now reveal James Mitchell – who is not related to Jodi’s killer – is among those fighting to have Luke cleared.
He put a picture of himself on Facebook in a T-shirt featuring Luke’s face, saying “zero evidence” and another of a banner hung near his home reading, “Free Luke. End Police Corruption”.
He also shared photos of a mannequin dressed as a prison guard wearing a pro-Luke T-shirt. James, who served time in Carstairs State Hospital after killing his victim, previously claimed to be the Klan’s leading recruiter in Scotland.
He has been linked to the racist organisation for decades and had dealings with the US-based leaders in Alabama.
He claimed his job was to find young Scots who share his ideal of an all-white Britain and that at one point there were 5500 people in Scotland “who are members or are going through the membership process”.
Edinburgh-based James Mitchell, originally from Barlanark, Glasgow, is also an ex-member of violent racist group Combat 18. He survived a knife attack near his home in the 90s which he said was carried out by anti-Nazis.
He was unwittingly hired as an extra on George Clooney movie The Jacket – filmed in Scotland. He spent two days playing a patient with mental health issues.
Luke, who is eligible for parole in 2025, was branded “truly wicked” by Judge Lord Nimmo and jailed for at least 20 years.
Last month, we revealed Jodi’s loved ones called his supporters “deluded” over his freedom bid. Police Scotland and the Crown Office previously insisted there had been no miscarriage of justice.
Luke, now 34, has launched several unsuccessful appeals. His legal team believe he could be exonerated by DNA tests, recently claiming at least 10 samples were on Jodi’s body were never tested.
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