Oldhorn may be released

POLSON — Clifford Oldhorn, the only person convicted in connection with the brutal 2005 murder of former CSKT council member and chairman Harold Mitchell Jr., may be released from prison this week, depending on the outcome of an appeal filed in Lake County District Court.

The Wednesday court appearance comes amidst a dizzying back-and-forth through the legal system, as Oldhorn’s case has bounced between the Montana Supreme Court and the Lake County courthouse in recent weeks. Last month Lake County Judge C.B. McNeil determined that Oldhorn was entitled to a new trial after ruling that a prior confession regarding his involvement in the murder was involuntary. McNeil’s ruling was then upheld by the state Supreme Court.

In response, prosecutors are appealing McNeil’s decision to disregard Oldhorn’s earlier statements, in the hope that some justice will be served in the high-profile murder case.

In 2011, homicide charges facing three other individuals whom Oldhorn had supposedly implicated in the incident were dropped.