ZARAIYAH MITCHELL - 6 months - Lebanon PA

Lebanon County judge denies child-killer's appeal

A Lebanon County judge has denied an appeal by Kevin C. Mitchell of Lebanon, who was sentenced in April to spend the rest of his life in prison for the death of his 6-month-old daughter.
Judge Bradford H. Charles recently ruled that 22-year-old Mitchell understood what he was doing when he pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and other offenses.
Mitchell and his girlfriend, Miriam Nebot, took their unresponsive daughter Zaraiyah to the Good Samaritan Hospital emergency room on May 23, 2008. The staff there was unable to revive her. They found numerous injuries on the child, which included bite marks and bruises.
Prosecutors contended that Mitchell was largely responsible for the injuries that led to the infant's death. An autopsy revealed the child died from "abusive head trauma." Authorities said Mitchell and Nebot got involved in a tug-of-war with the child during an argument.
Twenty-two-year-old Nebot received a sentence of 17 to 39 years in state prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder and other offenses.
In his appeal, Mitchell sought to withdraw his no-contest plea. He contended he was coerced by his defense attorney to plead no contest, and he wanted to stand trial.
Mitchell entered his plea on April 9 this year - the third day of jury selection for his trial. The district attorney's office was seeking the death penalty against Mitchell if he was convicted of first-degree murder.
"So that this, Mr. Mitchell, is a final decision on your part and that you will never again be able to undo that final decision. Do you understand that?" Charles asked Mitchell on the day he pleaded no contest.
"Yes," Mitchell replied.
In addition to telling the judge he understood the charges against him, Mitchell also signed a document that declared, among other things, his no contest plea meant he had no defense to the charges filed against him.
"Mitchell acknowledged under oath on multiple occasions that he understood the charges, the possible consequences of those charges, and the implications of entering a nolo contendre plea to those charges," Charles stated in his ruling. "Mitchell even stated that he understood that his nolo contendre plea was a 'final decision' and that he could not later change his mind. ... For us to conclude that Mitchell's plea when proffered was anything other than voluntary would be a gross misperception of the record that was created."