Timothy Wilson Spencer v. Commonwealth of Virginia

Summary

The Court affirmed Spencer’s convictions for capital murder, rape, and burglary and his death sentence. It held that the temporary locking of a courtroom door did not impair the public-trial right, that highly distinctive similarities and scientific evidence justified admitting evidence of Spencer’s other crimes, and that the PCR DNA evidence was sufficiently reliable for admission. The Court also found no reversible error in jury selection, mistrial rulings, circumstantial-evidence rulings, or the capital sentencing and proportionality review.