Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh was handed a major legal victory on Tuesday, sending his case back to the circuit court to consider his lawyer’s allegations of jury tampering, thanks to a South Carolina appellate court.
In a one-paragraph decision, the South Carolina Court of Appeals stayed Murdaugh’s murder convictions and double life sentencing until a lower court hears his lawyers’ argument for a new trial. Murdaugh was convicted in March for the murder of his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and their son, Paul Murdaugh, who prosecutors said were fatally shot in June 2021. Murdaugh maintained that he was innocent of the charges throughout his trial.
In September, Murdaugh’s defense team requested a new trial, claiming that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill tampered with the jury. The lawyers wrote in a 65-page filing that Hill had asked jurors about their opinions of Murdaugh’s case and “instructed them not to believe evidence presented in Mr. Murdaugh’s defense, including his own testimony.” The defense team also accused Hill of telling a juror “that everything Mr. Murdaugh has said has been lies.”
South Carolina Dept of Corrections
Murdaugh’s attorneys, Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian, told Law&Crime in a statement Tuesday that the appeals decision was “welcomed news.”
“We intend to proceed expeditiously and will seek a full blown evidentiary hearing addressing the serious allegations pertaining to improper jury communications by the Clerk of Court,” the attorneys added. Newsweek reached out to Murdaugh’s defense team for further comment.
An 11-person jury reached a guilty verdict in Murdaugh’s case in less than three hours in March. Over the course of the six-week trial, prosecutors argued that the disbarred attorney had killed his wife and son as a way to distance himself from his past financial crimes. Murdaugh had also testified that he lied to police officers regarding his whereabouts on the day that his family members were found shot.
In September, Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 federal counts of financial fraud and money laundering related to allegations that he stole millions of dollars from his personal injury clients. The plead deal could lock in years if not decades in prison even if his murder conviction is reversed.
Murdaugh told the judge during his plea deal in September that he wanted to be held accountable for his crimes and do right by his surviving son, Buster.
“I want to take responsibility. I want my son to see me take responsibility. It’s my hope that by taking responsibility that the people I’ve hurt can begin to heal,” Murdaugh said, according to AP’s report.