Aug. 14, 2001
— An appeals court Monday overturned a death sentence because of false
and misleading testimony by Oklahoma City police chemist Joyce
Gilchrist. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 that Alfred
Brian Mitchell should not be executed for the 1991 murder of college
student Elaine Scott in west Oklahoma City. The judges also denounced
prosecutors for hiding evidence favorable to Mitchell and for
deliberately misleading jurors. Scott's father, Bruce Scott of Tulsa, told The Oklahoman in a
telephone interview that he was upset with the appellate court's
decision. "I'm not angry with Joyce Gilchrist," he said.
"I am angry with the narrow-minded, pin-headed people in the
judicial system that would make us wait 10 years to put up with this.
And now we have go through the sentencing phase again, and it's
conceivable we will have go through 10 to 12 years of appeals if we are
successful in getting the death penalty again." The murder of Scott, 21, at the Pilot Recreation Community Center
where she worked was highly publicized. Mitchell was 19 when he was
convicted in 1992. The FBI has accused Gilchrist of shoddy forensic work in 5 criminal
cases. A critical FBI report recommended a review of all cases in which
the 21-year police chemist's forensic work was significant to a
conviction. The FBI and a multiagency task force are investigating.
Gilchrist denies any wrongdoing. She remains on paid administrative
leave. The appellate judges ruled Monday that Mitchell's death sentence
could not stand because jurors may have based their decision on
Gilchrist's testimony that falsely implicated Mitchell for raping and
sodomizing Scott before killing her. In 1999, U.S. District Judge Ralph
Thompson in Oklahoma City upheld Mitchell's death sentence but
overturned his convictions on lesser charges of 1st-degree rape and
forcible anal sodomy. Mitchell had been given a 100-year sentence on the
rape conviction and 20 years for sodomy. There was evidence, which
jurors did not know about, that the victim had not been raped or
sodomized, the judges said in Monday's 59-page decision. "We simply
cannot be confident that the jury would have returned the same sentence
had no rape and sodomy evidence been presented to it," they
wrote. As part of Mitchell's court challenge of his sentence, his attorney
obtained handwritten notes by Gilchrist that "completely undermined
(her) testimony," the judges said. She knew her testimony was false
because of other evidence that was withheld from the defense, the judges
said. The appellate judges said the prosecution's conduct in misleading
jurors "strikes a heavy blow to the public's trust" of
prosecutors. Their duty is not to win a conviction, but to see
"that justice is done," the judges said. They did not identify
which prosecutor or prosecutors they were criticizing, but Steve Deutsch
and Don Deason, now an Oklahoma County special judge, prosecuted
Mitchell. The appellate judges cited the earlier decision by Thompson,
who concluded that the prosecutor's closing argument was "entirely
unsupported by evidence and (was) misleading." Deutsch refused to
comment on Monday's ruling. Oklahoma County First Assistant District Attorney John Jacobsen said,
"We won't comment until we receive and study the opinion."
Deason was given a copy of the ruling by The Oklahoman. "I think
with the status of this case where it is right now, it wouldn't be
appropriate for me to comment," Deason said. Monday's decision upheld Mitchell's murder conviction, but requires
him to be re-sentenced. The staff of Attorney General Drew Edmondson is
reviewing the ruling "to determine what our next step will
be," spokesman Gerald Adams said. Edmondson's staff argued that the
appeals court should uphold Mitchell's death sentence. Mitchell's
lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender Randy A. Bauman of Oklahoma
City, was unavailable for comment. Federal Public Defender Susan Otto
did not respond to a request for comment. Adams said prosecutors
probably have the option of seeking the death penalty again for
Mitchell. But the appellate judges said the false testimony about rape and
sodomy "first and foremost" influenced the jury's decision
that Mitchell be executed. Monday's decision was the 1st to overturn a
death sentence involving Gilchrist's testimony since allegations against
her reliability flared in April, Adams said. Appellate judges have
criticized Gilchrist since the 1980s. In 1988, the Oklahoma Court of
Criminal Appeals overturned the 1986 murder conviction of Curtis Edward
McCarty because judges said Gilchrist testified improperly. McCarty was
retried and received the death penalty again. Monday's ruling was made
for the 6-state court by Judge Stephanie K. Seymour of Tulsa and judges
from Colorado and Utah.
November, 1, 2002
Jury urges death for woman's killer
Convicted murderer Alfred Brian Mitchell stood at the jail elevator Thursday
night smiling at the younger brother of the woman he killed nearly 12 years ago.
A 2nd Oklahoma County jury minutes earlier had recommended Mitchell, 29, be
sentenced to death for the Jan. 7, 1991, bludgeoning death of Elaine Marie
Scott, 21, at the Pilot Community Recreational Center in Oklahoma City. David
Scott, the victim's brother, said, "He smiled as big as he could, showed teeth
and the whole 9 yards. "All that shows he is the same person he was 10 years
ago. He hasn't learned his lesson. As far as the death penalty goes, ... I'm not
going to pray for a man's life, but I will pray for his soul. He needs a lot of
help right now." Ann Scott, the victim's mother, said, "I just want him gone.
We've not had a normal life since Elaine was murdered. "I don't know how much
more normal our life will be when he is gone. But at least I won't have to worry
about it anymore and I can just remember Elaine as the beautiful, wonderful
daughter that she was without worrying about getting justice for Elaine." Jury
forewoman Melissa Pearcy said at first the panel was split 10-2 for the death
penalty. Jurors deliberated just over 5 hours before reaching their verdict
about 9:15 p.m. "Our decision was unanimous," Pearcy said. "It was a tough
decision." Assistant District Attorney Richard Wintory said, "It has been a
terrible tragedy for this family to relive the horror of Elaine's murder just to
convince an appellate court a jury would again find the same conduct of the
defendant ... deserves death." Assistant Public Defender Gina Walker said, "We
are saddened by the verdict and the loss of both families involved." Rebecca
Cass, a longtime family friend of Mitchell, said, "From the beginning, we have
been sorry for the loss suffered by the Scott family. Still, we are devastated
by the jury's decision and its impact on Alfred Mitchell's family and loved
ones." District Judge Susan Caswell set sentencing for Nov. 18. Mitchell in 1992
also was convicted of robbery and larceny of a motor vehicle for stealing Elaine
Scott's purse and car. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison. That sentence was
upheld. In 1992, Mitchell was convicted of 1st-degree murder and sentenced to
death. He was granted a new sentencing trial because appellate judges ruled in
August 2001 that jurors may have been swayed by improper testimony from
now-fired Oklahoma City police chemist Joyce Gilchrist. Elaine Scott, a senior
education major at the University of Oklahoma, drove 40 miles a day and earned
$4.15 an hour to work at the inner-city center because she loved her job, her
family members testified. She was killed 17 days after Mitchell got out of a
state reform school. He had served three years for a rape conviction as a
juvenile. He was 18 when he beat and stabbed Elaine Scott to death while she
worked alone at the center. Earlier Thursday, Wintory stood glaring at Mitchell
after the defendant smiled at the prosecutor when Walker demanded to go before
the judge to argue her objections during closing arguments. Walker didn't like
the way Wintory was yelling at Mitchell and pointing his finger in the
defendant's face. The judge allowed Wintory to continue with his closing
argument. "You killed her in a way that was heinous, atrocious and cruel,"
Wintory loudly said to Mitchell as he pointed at him and walked toward him. "She
consciously suffered." Walker told jurors during her closing argument, "All 12
of you collectively have an opportunity to do something most never have ... save
the life of an individual. We are asking you for mercy. Keep him in the
penitentiary where he can't hurt anyone else." Defense attorneys argued that
Mitchell's home life while he was growing up taught him violence was the way to
solve problems. They said he has grown and matured into a person who has taken
responsibility for what he did. Mitchell has told at least a dozen different
stories about the killing since he was arrested in 1991. He testified at his
first trial that he stood by helplessly, fearing retaliation against his family,
and watched a gang member named "C Ray" kill Elaine Scott. A California
psychiatrist hired by the defense testified that Mitchell told him two months
ago he was alone when the victim was killed. The psychiatrist said Mitchell told
him he staged the crime scene to look like she had been sexually assaulted.
Mitchell was originally convicted of raping and sodomizing Scott and sentenced
to 120 years in prison. In 1999, U.S. District Judge Ralph Thompson in Oklahoma
City ruled Gilchrist gave misleading testimony about DNA evidence and tossed out
the rape and sodomy convictions against Mitchell. But because Gilchrist's
testimony pertained only to the alleged sexual assault, Thompson left Mitchell's
murder conviction and sentence.
November 1, 2002
Law to allow photos in court of victims while alive
Ann Scott sat on the front row of the courtroom Thursday, hiding her murdered
daughter's picture beneath her blue and tan sweater vest. Jurors couldn't see
the smiling face in the picture of 21-year-old Elaine Marie Scott before she was
bludgeoned to death Jan. 7, 1991, at the Pilot Community Recreation Center in
Oklahoma City. Instead, they saw her nude body, face-down in blood, and the
holes in her head where she was beaten with a wooden coat tree. Today, the
Kristie LeGrange law takes effect, allowing photos of homicide victims when they
were alive to be shown in the courtroom during trials. Oklahoma is the eighth
state to adopt such a law, which here is named for LeGrange, a slain mental
health counselor. Judges previously would not allow the photographs in the
courtroom, saying jurors might be influenced and possibly cause the verdict to
be overturned on appeal. Ann Scott said she had hoped the Oklahoma County
resentencing trial of Alfred Brian Mitchell would be the 1st time the new law
was used, but Mitchell's nine-day trial ended Thursday. Betty and John LeGrange
pushed to have the law changed after their 26-year- old daughter, a home-based
family therapist with North Care Behavioral and Social Services, was killed July
17, 2000, by patient Jack McCall Chance, 17, during a counseling session at his
mobile home. Chance pleaded guilty March 28 to killing LeGrange and was
sentenced to prison for the rest of his life without possibility of parole. He
was given an additional 20 years for stealing her car. He was driving her car
when arrested hours after the slaying. LeGrange's body was found in the trunk.
The LeGranges have been at Mitchell's trial this week, hoping the proceedings
would last until today so Elaine Scott's family could be the first to use the
new law. "We thought this was a small step that we could do to honor our
daughter and help victims of violent crimes and their families to be able to
represent that victim so the jury can see that person as they were alive," John
LeGrange said. "We feel this is just a small step toward making a more level
playing field in the courtroom." Betty LeGrange said, "Hopefully, this will have
a positive effect on the jury." The LeGranges said they hope the other 42 states
will follow, and allow photos of victims while they were alive to be seen in the
courtroom.
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