The family of murdered teenager Jodi Jones have slammed a planned demo in support of Luke Mitchell as “despicable and delusional”.
Their comments come as more than 100 Luke Mitchell supporters are planning to attend a protest in support of the convicted murderer.
The event, set up on Facebook, is to be held in George Square in Glasgow on May 3.
An initial protest was due to be held outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh at the end of this month but was cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions.
Mitchell was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Jodi in 2005 and was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years behind bars.
There has been renewed interest in the case following a Channel 5 documentary which questioned Mitchell’s conviction.
A member of Jodi’s family, who asked not to be named, said: “People are just delusional if they believe a one-sided documentary over the evidence presented in court.
“The continued campaign to free him is just despicable and people are jumping on the bandwagon because it seems the trendy thing to do right now.
“Social media does not help with its lies, half-truths and downright outrageous slurs on Jodi’s grieving family.
“I hope the demo falls flat on its face with very little turn out.
“You’d have to hope that sensible people have much more going on in their own lives than to turn out in support of a convicted killer.”
Mitchell was convicted of the brutal slaying of 14-year-old Jodi near her home in Easthouses, Midlothian, in 2003.
He was also aged just 14 and was snared following a 10-month investigation by police.
Mitchell supporter Sandra Lean and his mother Corinne played a vital part in a two-part documentary which aired in early March.
Ex-detectives John Sallens and Michael Neill carried out their own investigation into the murder and suggested another five suspects could have been responsible.
Mitchell, who cannot apply for parole until at least 2025, has lost several appeals on evidence he has presented to overturn his conviction. He said he will never admit to killing the teenager.
In the show, Sallens and Neill queried a lack of forensic evidence linking Mitchell to the crime and said they’d identified a suspect who they could not name for legal reasons.
Channel 5 was forced to pull the show temporarily when a man’s name was seen on a list of suspects on the screen.
They removed the second part from its streaming platform after a complaint over the
identity of a man being visible in one scene.
In response to the show, Police Scotland said it did not need to trace anyone else in connection with the murder.
