COLUMBIA, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh has admitted he is a thief, a liar, an insurance cheat, a drug addict and a bad lawyer. But even from behind bars he continues to adamantly deny he is a killer.
Murdaugh’s attorneys argued Wednesday before the South Carolina Supreme Court, asking the justices to overturn the two murder convictions and life sentence Murdaugh is serving for the shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, outside their home in June 2021.
The defense argues the trial judge made rulings that prevented a fair trial, such as allowing in evidence of Murdaugh stealing from clients that had nothing to do with the killings but biased jurors against him. They detail the lack of physical evidence — no DNA or blood was found splattered on Murdaugh or any of his clothes, even though the killings were at close range with powerful weapons that were never found.
And they said the court clerk assigned to oversee the evidence and the jury during the trial influenced jurors to find Murdaugh guilty, hoping to improve sales of a book she was writing about the case. She has since pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did to a different judge.
Prosecutors argued that the clerk’s comments were fleeting and the evidence against Murdaugh was overwhelming. His lawyer said that didn’t matter because the comments a juror said she made — urging jurors to watch Murdaugh’s body language and listen to his testimony carefully — removed his presumption of innocence before the jury ever deliberated.
“If only the people who may be innocent get a fair trial, then our Constitution isn’t working,” Murdaugh’s lawyer Dick Harpootlian told the justices.
Murdaugh won’t leave prison
The case continues to captivate. There are streaming miniseries, best selling books and dozens of true crime podcasts about how the multimillionaire Southern lawyer whose family dominated and controlled the legal system in tiny Hampton County ended up in a maximum security South Carolina prison.
Even if Murdaugh wins this appeal, he isn’t going anywhere. Hanging over the 57-year-old’s head is a 40-year federal prison sentence for stealing more than $12 million from clients intended for their medical care and living expenses after they or their relatives suffered devastating and even deadly injuries in accidents.
“He said he deserved to go to prison for what he did financially, but he can’t accept the fact that he was convicted of murdering his wife and son, for which he constantly proclaimed his innocence,” attorney Jim Griffin said after the hearing.
Wednesday’s state Supreme Court arguments featured the same lawyers who squared off at Murdaugh’s 2023 murder trial, although Murdaugh was not there.
Did the court clerk influence jurors?
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter photographs that were sealed as court exhibits and then lying about it.
The justices pressed prosecutor Creighton Waters to say whether the trial judge, who initially rejected Murdaugh’s appeal for a new trial, was right to ignore testimony from a few jurors while believing the 11 who did not accuse the clerk of misconduct.
Waters agreed there were problems, but said they were so isolated in the six-week trial that they had no impact. Murdaugh’s lawyers said that is impossible to figure out because jurors could be influenced subtly, without realizing it.
“It was improper. Perhaps not improper to the point of reversal, but it was improper,” Chief Justice John Kittredge observed.
There will be no immediate decision. Rulings usually take months to be handed down.
“We understand the gravity of the situation and the entitlement of every individual to a fair and impartial trial,” Kittredge said.
Prosecutors reiterate evidence for conviction
Prosecutors have said in court papers there is no reason to throw out the guilty verdicts for murder against Murdaugh.
They carefully recounted the case for the first 34 pages of their brief. Murdaugh’s financial situation was crumbling as he stole from clients to repay his mounting debts from his drug habit and expensive tastes. He was financially vulnerable when Paul Murdaugh caused a boat crash that killed a teen.
The brief recalls evidence that helped convict Alex Murdaugh, who told investigators for months he hadn’t seen his wife and son for about an hour before they were killed. That story went unchallenged until investigators cracked the passcode on Paul Murdaugh’s phone and found a video with a barking dog and Alex Murdaugh’s voice admonishing it five minutes before the young man stopped using his phone.
Defense says court allowed an unfair trial
To establish Murdaugh’s motive at trial, prosecutors presented more than a week of testimony about his dire financial situation, including how he had stolen a multimillion insurance settlement from the son of a longtime family employee who died in a fall at the Murdaugh home. Waters said it was all critical to the big picture of a unique crime.
“You can’t understand the boiling point if you don’t understand the slow burn that led up to it,” Waters said. “The jury could not understand the full weight of the pressure if they didn’t understand the entre criminal and financial history.”
The chief justice asked why prosecutors piled on so much financial evidence, including pointing out the family employee also had a disabled son.
That could have caused the jury to think “not only is he a thief with the motive for murder but he is a despicable, low-life character,” Kittredge said.
In the insular world of South Carolina, the state Supreme Court’s decision could have impacts well beyond courtrooms. Sitting at the prosecution table on Wednesday with the case’s chief litigator was Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a candidate in November’s election for the open governor’s seat.
