Matthews v. Commonwealth

KELLER, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellant William Vernon Matthews was convicted of First-Degree Rape, found to be a Second-Degree Persistent Felony Offender (“PFO”), and sentenced to life in prison. He claims that the trial court abused its discretion when it (1) refused to grant a mistrial after a witness referred to his prior incarceration, (2) admitted evidence of a prior misdemeanor charge, and (3) admitted the victim’s hospital records into evidence. We hold that the trial court did not commit reversible error in any of these instances, and we affirm the final judgment of the Rowan…