Batchelor brother speaks out on case
3/20/2008 12:58 AM   0 comments on this story E-mail this story to a friend


By MIKE GELLATLY Staff writer
Most residents of Aiken County may see him as a monster who killed his three sons and was sentenced by the state of South Carolina 40 years behind bars, but to one man, he is just his brother.
Dennis Batchelor was born about three years before his brother Michael. The pair have been close all their lives, even as the younger will spend several decades in prison.
In 2002, Michael got drunk with his three minor sons, then drove off in his truck to try to find marijuana. However, after swerving off the road, the intoxicated father had his 15-year-old son drive. Shortly afterward, the unlicensed boy veered into oncoming traffic, collided with another vehicle, flipping the truck and killing the boys. Three other minors in the truck were injured, also.
At trial, Michael was found guilty of one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of causing death while operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, among several other charges.
He received a 40-year sentence that the South Carolina Supreme Court recently upheld, but neither Michael nor Dennis agree with the decision.
"If it was something he had done intentionally, I wouldn't have anything to do with him -- I wouldn't speak to him again," Dennis said. "But there wasn't intent."
In what has been called a landmark case, Batchelor was convicted of charges related to drunken driving even though he was not behind the wheel.
The S.C. Supreme Court ruled that DUI is subject to accomplice liability and, as such, Michael aided and abetted his son in driving.
Dennis said his brother "had his hopes up" before the decision and thought he may get some vindication. A victory would have quashed the DUI convictions and 15 years of his sentence.
"He was devastated by the ruling," Dennis said. "He wasn't driving, he didn't aid and abet them driving; there was some mistakes."
Michael said, through his brother, that he never intended for his sons to drink alcohol, never forced his son to drive and feels he was never given any kind of DUI test.
However, the Supreme Court noted that Michael told investigators he gave the minors beer.
Although he does not believe he is guilty, Michael does have remorse for what happened on that June evening in 2002.
"He's gonna take the beating (from the public), I understand that, but he does feel bad," Dennis said. "When I talk to him and he cries, it's not about being in prison; it's about his sons."
"Michael feels he would have been better off dying with those boys, and he'll tell you that," Dennis continued. "He says, 'They're dead. I wish I wasn't here; I wish I had died with them.'"

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