South Carolina Supreme Court Overturns Alex Murdaugh Murder Convictions, Orders New Trial

The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and ordered a new trial, finding that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill’s “improper external influence” on the jury denied him a fair trial.

“Alex Murdaugh murder convictions overturned by South Carolina Supreme Court The court found that the court clerk's actions denied him a fair trial”

ABC News

The court said Hill’s “shocking” interference included suggesting to jurors that they could not trust Murdaugh’s testimony, and it also faulted the trial judge for allowing evidence of Murdaugh’s financial crimes into the murder case.

ABC News

Murdaugh’s wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family’s hunting estate in 2021, and Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 after a six-week trial.

After the ruling, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office would “aggressively” seek to retry Murdaugh for the murders “as soon as possible,” while Murdaugh’s lawyers said they “look forward to a new trial conducted consistent with the Constitution.”

In the appeals record, Murdaugh’s defense argued Hill tampered with the jury by “advising it not to believe Murdaugh's testimony,” pressuring jurors toward a quick guilty verdict, and misrepresenting information to the trial court.

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters countered during the February hearing that Hill made a “few fleeting comments” over a six-week trial with nearly 90 witnesses and almost 600 exhibits, arguing they were not enough to influence the verdict.

AP News

Chief Justice John Kittredge called Hill a “rogue clerk of court” and said he wanted to note that the “overwhelming majority” of clerks in the state are “dedicated, conscientious public servants” who “do not act like this.”

NBC News reported that Murdaugh told a judge during sentencing in March 2023, “I respect this court, but I’m innocent,” and it quoted the judge, Clifton Newman, responding, “It might not have been you.”

The Supreme Court’s decision does not mean Murdaugh will be released, because he is serving a 40-year federal sentence after pleading guilty to stealing some $12 million from his clients and also is serving a concurrent 27-year sentence for state financial crimes.

The ruling remanded the case for a new trial, and the court said it had “no choice” but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s improper external influences on the jury.

PBS reported that the justices said the conduct by the court clerk “egregiously attacked Murdaugh's credibility” by suggesting to jurors his testimony could not be trusted, while also saying the trial judge went too far in allowing evidence of Murdaugh’s financial crimes into his murder trial.

BBC added that the supreme court ordered a new trial in the June 2021 killings, and it quoted South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson saying his office would “aggressively seek to retry Alex Murdaugh for the murders of Maggie and Paul as soon as possible.”