By Jhoo Dong-chan
Arthur John Patterson, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of the murder of a Korean student in 1997, has lodged an appeal.
According to the Seoul Central District Court, Monday, Patterson’s lawyer submitted an appeal petition to a higher court Friday, immediately after the ruling.
“Patterson is not guilty,” his lawyer said after the trial. “There is no solid evidence that Patterson committed a murder 19 years ago. He will lodge an appeal.”
The high court hearings are expected to be shorter than the lower court one, which lasted for four months, as the lower court had already summoned all available witnesses.
In the "Itaewon murder" case, Korean student Cho Joong-pil was stabbed to death in a Burger King restroom in Itaewon, Seoul, in April 1997.
Patterson and his friend Edward Lee were the only two at the scene and accused each other of the murder. The prosecution indicted Lee for the case but the Supreme Court acquitted him in September 1999 due to a lack of evidence, while Patterson was indicted for possessing an illegal weapon and released on Aug. 15, 1999, after serving eight months in prison.
Patterson immediately left for the U.S. but was extradited to Korea last September.