The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the murder convictions and life sentence of former solicitor Alex Murdaugh for the fatal shootings of his wife and youngest son.
In a united decision, the justices determined the court clerk’s behaviour “egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility” by implying to jurors his evidence was unreliable. They further concluded the trial judge overstepped by permitting evidence of Murdaugh’s financial crimes into his murder trial.
However, Murdaugh won’t be walking free from prison. The 57 year old admitted guilt to embezzling approximately $12 million from his clients and is presently serving a 40-year federal sentence.
Nevertheless, the state Supreme Court decision represents a victory for Murdaugh, who acknowledges being a thief, liar, insurance fraudster and incompetent solicitor, but has consistently refuted killing his wife Maggie and younger son Paul since discovering their bodies outside their residence in 2021.
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The justices determined Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, tasked with managing the evidence and jury throughout the trial, swayed jurors towards a guilty verdict. She aimed to boost sales of a book she was penning about the case.
She has subsequently admitted guilt to lying about her words and actions to a separate judge. Murdaugh’s legal team also contended before the high court that the presiding judge during his 2023 trial delivered rulings which compromised the fairness of proceedings, including permitting evidence regarding Murdaugh’s theft from clients – matters unconnected to the murders yet potentially prejudicing jurors against him.
They highlighted the absence of physical evidence – no DNA or blood was found splattered on Murdaugh or any of his clothes, despite the killings occurring at close range with formidable weapons that remain missing.
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The prosecution maintained that the clerk’s remarks were brief and the case against Murdaugh was damning. His legal representative countered that this was irrelevant, as the comments a juror reported she made – encouraging jurors to observe Murdaugh’s body language and scrutinise his testimony closely – stripped away his presumption of innocence before deliberations even commenced.