OU student's killer sentenced to die

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

Alfred Mitchell received Wednesday his third death sentence for the same crime.

Mitchell is scheduled to be executed on April 1 after being convicted of murder in the 1991 death of University of Oklahoma student Elaine Scott.

Scott's family told NEWS 9 they hope the sentence sticks this time.

"It's been horrible," said Bruce Scott, the victim's father. "The Court of criminal appeals and the others that have stepped in and muddied up the waters are the ones responsible and I hope they'll keep their fingers out of it this time and let justice prevail."

Elaine Scott was a student at OU and worked part-time at a center for underprivileged children. Prosecutors said Mitchell attacked and bludgeoned Scott to death at work.

A jury convicted and sentenced him to death twice, but both times it was overturned. The first conviction was overturned because of false testimony by former police chemist Joyce Gilchrist, the second because of alleged prosecutorial and judicial misconduct

Last month, the case was successfully retried by Assistant District Attorney Suzanne Lister.

"It was a very difficult case," Lister said. "It was very long and the subject matter was very unpleasant. Probably the most difficult part of the case was seeing how much the victim's family had been put through."

Authorities said it's unlikely that Mitchell will be executed April 1, but the law requires a date be set within 90 days of a conviction. His lawyers are planning another appeal.