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The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and ordered a new trial in the killing of his wife and son in June 2021, saying the trial was marred by the “improper” influence of the county clerk, Becky Hill.
In a 5-0 ruling, the court said Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”
“Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have 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 and remand for a new trial,” the justices wrote.
With its ruling, the court also vacated the two life sentences Murdaugh had received for the murder charges. Still, he separately pleaded guilty to dozens of financial crimes and will remain behind bars on concurrent state and federal sentences of 27 and 40 years.
Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office plans to retry Murdaugh on the murder charges.
“While we respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision, my Office will aggressively seek to retry Alex Murdaugh for the murders of Maggie and Paul as soon as possible,” he said.
Murdaugh’s attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, praised the ruling in a statement.
“The Supreme Court’s decision today affirms that the rule of law remains strong in South Carolina,” they said. “We look forward to a new trial conducted consistent with the Constitution and the guidance this Court has provided.”
