8- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, July 19, 1995

MiTCHELL
Continued from page 1
for his premeditated violence. "If you are
never again free, what we have done here
today will have accomplished some-
thing," he said.
Many of the victims could not be
present in the courtroom, including the
48-year-old victim of the 1992
Eberwhite Woods assault, who still ex-
periences difficulty walking as a result of
Mitchell's attack. Coates read statements
from the victim and from Gailbreath's
husband, David.
"Ispent a third of my life with my wife
and now I have only memories. Ervin
Mitchell took the most important thing out

of my life," Gailbreath wrote.
In her statement, the Eberwhite
Woods victim spoke of her physical and
emotional difficulties.
"I can never jog as I did through
Eberwhite Woods again, and jogging
was one of my more enjoyable activities.
But I never will again jog without the
feeling of fear," the victim wrote. "I
never will feel safe again.
"Eberwhite Woods was always a
safe place. My kids used to play there,
we watched the changing of the seasons
there. But now everything has changed.
"If Ervin Mitchell is ever allowed out
of jail, there is no doubt in my mind that
he will brutally rape and murder again."
As the court listened to these words,

Public Defender David Lankford shielded
Mitchell from view of the audience and
the single camera in the courtroom, but
not from the photographers. Mitchell
winked at members of the press as they
observed him.
When asked to make a statement,
Mitchell himselfcalled upon the guidance
of God. He quoted briefly and unintelligi-
bly from the Bible. "O Lord, You are my
strength and my redeemer," he said.
Mitchell betrayed no emotion during
Shelton's pronouncement. He remained
stoic as Lankford announced the
defense's intention to appeal.
"I didn't expect (Shelton) to be par-
ticularly light on any of the counts,"
Lankford said. "It's always difficult for a

lawyer to stand next to a guy you know
is going to be sentenced."
Both Lankford and Mackie admitted
there is a possibility that the life sentence
might be overturned in appellate court. If
that occurs, the concurrent sentences on
the sexual assault charges will keep
Mitchell incarcerated.
Mackie was not concerned about the
possibility of a reversal in either the ap-
pellate court or in the Michigan State
Supreme Court, even though the defense
will raise several doubts, including the
validity of the DNA evidence.
"As long as (Mitchell is) locked up
and separated from the rest of us that's
fine," Mackie said. "(Mitchell) can do all
the appealing he wants."



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PROTEST
Continued from page 1
picion and distrust in the system that wit
continue to escalate and divide the com-
munity."
CCU said that it is likely that the
samples, now held at the Michigan State
Police crime lab, will remain in police cus-
tody until Mitchell's appeal is resolved.
AAPD refused to comment.
CCU member ValerieAckerman said
there is a larger issue atastake -the police
should look at its method of investigatio
"About 1,000 men in Ann Arbor t
the physical description used by the po-
lice of'Black male age 25 to 35,"' she said.
Ackerman said she felt like it was
old-fashioned police work and a tip that
led to Mitchell's arrest, not the use of
high-tech methods like DNA testing.
"Mitchell was brought in before his
arrest, polygraphed and released. If he
had been taken into custody, then Chris-
tine Gailbreath's life could have been
saved," she said.
Larry Hunter, CCU member and
former City Council member, said those
police tactics would jeopardize coopera-
tion in other criminal investigations.
"We are glad justice has been done,"
he said,"But our main concern are the in-
nocent who are still on file with the police."
Neither Washtenaw County Pros-
ecutor Brian Mackie nor Public De-
fender David Lankford could be reached
for comment.
Spend the Fall '95
Semester in
Zimbabwe, Madrid,
London, Florence,
or Strasbourg
/ m,.
email:
dipa@suadmin.syr.edu

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