During Michael's trial, a woman who was attacked the same night the girl was found murdered was allowed to testify. She was permitted to say that Michael was the man who attacked her, despite the fact that she had not been able to pick him out of a lineup some two weeks earlier. In fact, she picked an entirely different person from the police lineup. 

Michael did not even fit the description that the witness gave the police. The person she described was three to four inches taller than Michael and 50 pounds heavier. Defense attorneys argued that as a result of this woman being allowed to testify, Michael did not receive a fair trial. 

The other evidence that weighed heavily in the jury's decision to convict Michael Satcher of capital murder was DNA evidence found at the scene of the crime. This evidence was presented in a manner which led the jury to believe there was no possible way Michael could be innocent, when in fact, the DNA was not at all conclusive. The evidence found at the crime scene was compared to around 2,000 other DNA samples taken from the Virginia DNA pool. However, the sampling included only the Caucasian and black populations. In addition, when Satcher's attorney's had the DNA tests redone, two parts of the new test differed by more than 3% from the DNA found at the scene of the crime. 

Michael C. Satcher was executed by lethal injection by the state of Virginia on December 9, 1997. 

The Law in Question: 

Joinder of Offenses.--Two or more offenses, any of which may be a felony or misdemeanor, may be charged in separate counts of an indictment or information if the offenses are based on the same act or transaction, or Rule 3A:6(b) states: on two or more acts or transactions that are connected or constitute parts of a common scheme or plan. 

The DISSENT: 

HASSELL, J., with whom WHITING, J., joins, dissenting. 

HASSELL, Justice, with whom WHITING, Justice, joins, dissenting. 

I dissent because I believe that the trial court committed reversible error which deprived Satcher of a fair trial. 

The trial court erred in failing to grant Satcher's motion for separate trials. Satcher was indicted and tried for crimes against two separate victims. He was found guilty of the following offenses relating to Deborah Abel: attempted rape, assault and battery, and robbery. He was also tried and convicted of the following offenses relating to Ann Borghesani: rape and capital murder. 

*262 The offenses involving Deborah Abel occurred on March 31, 1990, at approximately 7:15 p.m. The record does not establish the time that Ann Borghesani was raped and murdered. Ms. Borghesani was last seen alive on March 31, 1990, at 7:10 p.m. in her apartment. Her body was discovered some time after 6:45 a.m. on the following morning, April 1, 1990. 

There is no evidence in the record which reveals that the offenses committed against Deborah Abel and Ann Borghesani "are based on the same act or transaction, or on two or more acts or transactions that are connected or constitute parts of a common scheme or plan." Id. Contrary to the assertions contained in the majority's opinion, there is no evidence from which a proper inference can be drawn that the acts are connected. 

This is part of what happened to Satcher after he was arrested: 

The police said nothing to Satcher about the Borghesani murder before or during the trip to the station. When they arrived, however, an officer asked Satcher, "What's up?," and he replied that the police were "trying to frame [him] for a murder or something or rape or something." Police later found an awl (a pointed metal tool used for boring holes) in the glove compartment of Satcher's car. Borghesani's wounds could have been made with the awl, although it was never conclusively identified as the murder weapon. 

Satcher voluntarily gave blood, saliva, and hair samples to the police. Tests showed that Satcher's blood type, carried by seven percent of the population, matched the semen sample taken from Borghesani's body. Tests performed on pubic hairs found on Borghesani's clothing were inconclusive: two hairs did not match Satcher's, and the rest could be neither confirmed nor eliminated as coming from Satcher. Virginia's DNA tests, however, showed that Satcher's DNA matched the DN A from swabs taken from Borghesani's body and clothing.