Milwaukee Man to Face Single Trial in Seven Murders Spanning Several Years

In Virginia, prosecutors regularly obtain separate trials when a person is accused of more than one criminal act occurring at different times. This is especially true in homicide cases, the most important criminal trials of all.

The reason this is the standard is clear. By presenting evidence to the jury of one crime, the jury can rmain focused on evidence pertaining to just that one crime. This also removes the ability of the jury to speculate that if the evidence is stronger in one incident, the jury can presume guilt in another, less certain set of facts.

Second, if the evidence is weak in one case, trying the person a second or third time may result in a guilty verdict and a lenghthy incarceration.

However, this is not how it is done in other states. For instance, the Associated Press reported yesterday that a Milwaukee, Wisconsin judge ruled that a man accused of killing seven local women will have one trial covering all their deaths. Forty-nine-year-old Walter E. Ellis has pleaded not guilty to homicide charges in the seven murders that occurred between 1986 and 2007 in Milwaukee.

Ellis' attorney had asked Judge Rebecca Dallet to separate the cases. Separate trials would make it harder for prosecutors to show links between one case and another.

Judge Dallet said Wednesday there are enough similarities between the cases that they can be tried together.