Alex Murdaugh's Attorneys Ask for New Trial

Facts

• Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina attorney who was convicted of murdering his wife and son, filed an appeal with the South Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday, requesting a new trial and accusing the Colleton County clerk of jury tampering.¹
• Murdaugh was convicted in March for the 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, after a six-week trial in which he testified in his own defense. He was sentenced to life in prison but has denied any involvement in the killings.²
• Attorneys Richard Harpootlian and Jim Griffin say that court clerk Rebecca Hill 'tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense.' They allege that she pressured the jury to reach a rapid guilty verdict.³
• In a 65-page motion demanding a new trial, the attorneys said that Hill misrepresented “critical and material information” to the trial judge to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense. The lawyers say they spoke with three jurors and have sworn testimony by two of them regarding Hill’s inappropriate behavior.⁴
• The defense says that Hill told jurors “not to be fooled” by Murdaugh’s testimony and even told six smokers on the panel that they could not have a smoke break until they finished deliberations. They say Hill’s actions were driven by her desire to secure a book deal, go on tour, and personally profit from the trial.⁵
• After Hill published her book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, in July, jurors came forward to the defense attorneys to detail their uncomfortable experiences with the county clerk. The attorneys say that Hill breached a South Carolina code of conduct prohibiting a public official from using their office to obtain an economic interest.⁶

Sources: ¹CNN, ²CBS, ³NBC, ⁴ABC News, ⁵FOX News and ⁶Daily Mail.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Daily Beast. Rebecca Hill completely violated her duty as clerk of court by trying to pressure jurors into ruling against Alex Murdaugh and even disqualifying a juror who she believed might rule in his favor. She obviously was interested in pushing a quick trial and a guilty verdict so that she could rake in cash on a book deal. Hill’s actions disgraced South Carolina’s justice system and completely violated Alex Murdaugh’s civil right to a fair trial.
• Narrative B, as provided by Independent. Rebecca Hill has an outstanding sense of ethics and would never disgrace her elected position just to profit off a book deal. Murdaugh’s attorneys have ignored key facts about Ms. Hill’s book and the context behind it. This is a reckless legal move.