The South Carolina Supreme Court is seen in Columbia, S.C. on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Photo by Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously overturned the double murder conviction of Alex Murdaugh, pointing to “shocking jury interference” by the court clerk at his trial.
Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is among six Republicans running for governor, vowed to “aggressively” retry the case that dominated about two years of his more than 15 years as the state’s top prosecutor.
And despite the justices’ decision to throw out Murdaugh’s conviction and life sentence on charges of killing his wife and 22-year-old son, he will remain in prison.
The 57-year-old pleaded guilty in a separate case to bilking clients out of about $12 million, for which he is serving a 40-year federal sentence.
Wilson said that while he and his team strongly disagree with the court’s decision, they respect it.
“Now we must look to the future,” he told reporters. “No one is above the law and, as always, we will continue to fight for justice.”
Wilson said he’s aiming to get the case back on the court calendar before the end of the year, even if it’s after voters determine his replacement in November.
“The decision on whether or not to pursue this case is not going to be built on who the next occupant of my office is,” said Wilson, whose fourth term as attorney general ends in January.
“It’s going to be built on should we seek justice or not,” he said. “And we’re going to seek justice.”
“For six weeks in early 2023, the eyes of the nation focused on Colleton County,” as the disgraced former lawyer stood trial for the killing of his wife Maggie and younger son Paul a year and a half earlier on the family’s sprawling Lowcountry estate, the justices wrote in a 27-page ruling.
The case gripped state and global headlines for months.
And the intrigue of power, corruption, deceit and the downfall of one of the county’s most influential families has resulted in book deals and true crime spinoffs in the months following the trial.
In their ruling, the justices said Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury,” the justices wrote.
“Our justice system provides — indeed demands — that every person is entitled to a fair trial, which includes an impartial jury untainted by external forces bent on influencing the jury toward a biased verdict,” the ruling continued.
Some of the jurors testified Hill, who as clerk oversaw evidence and the jury during the trial, told them to watch Murdaugh’s movements closely as he testified in his own defense and “not to be fooled” by his lawyers.
One juror stated Hill’s comments influenced her verdict because “to me, it felt like she made it seem like he was already guilty.”
“By urging the jurors not to be fooled or convinced by Murdaugh’s defense, Hill essentially implored the jurors to find him guilty, the ultimate issue in the case,” the justices wrote.
The attorney general’s office has maintained that Hill’s conduct, while inappropriate, was ultimately harmless to Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial.
Murdaugh’s lawyers, former state Sen. Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, cheered the ruling in a joint statement saying: “The court rightly described her conduct as ‘breathtaking,’ ‘disgraceful,’ and ‘unprecedented in South Carolina.”
Also, while Murdaugh pleaded guilty in a separate case to lying, theft and insurance fraud, he has maintained his innocence in the murder case.
“Alex has said from day one that he did not kill his wife and son. We look forward to a new trial,” Murdaugh’s lawyers wrote.
The defense attorneys also said the justices’ opinion “made clear that the retrial must look very different from the first,” with the court setting guardrails on what testimony related to their client’s financial crimes might be permitted.
Prosecutors argued Murdaugh, addicted to opioids and facing exposure for stealing from clients and his family’s law firm, shot his younger son, Paul, with a shotgun and his wife, Maggie, with a rifle, at their home in Colleton County in June 2021.
The weapons used in the killings have not been found.
Murdaugh told investigators he hadn’t seen them for at least an hour before he discovered their bodies. However, in a video recording made on his son’s phone five minutes before the shooting, Murdaugh’s voice can be heard.
Meanwhile, Hill has pleaded guilty to lying to the court about making comments to jurors that may have impacted their decision to convict.
At the time, Hill was working on a book she titled “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders” The justices wrote that she was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and ” allowed her desire for the public attention of the moment to overcome her duty.
“As her book’s title suggests, it turns out Hill was quite busy behind the doors of justice, thwarting the integrity of the justice system she was sworn to protect and uphold,” the justices added.
Hill’s lawyer could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Two of Wilson’s GOP gubernatorial opponents took to social media following the ruling.
“South Carolina managed to bungle the biggest murder trial in the state’s history — and allowed a courthouse clerk to blow the whole thing up. Impressive, in the worst possible way,” wrote U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace. “Maggie and Paul Murdaugh deserved a conviction that would actually hold.”
“South Carolina’s justice system just embarrassed itself on the national stage. Victims deserve justice and families deserve a system they can TRUST! Unfortunately, SC is FAILING on both counts,” U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman chimed in.
Both went on to call for judicial reform, even as the justices’ opinion praised the “outstanding trial judge and superbly competent and professional counsel for the State and the defense.”
As for Hill, Wilson said “the system worked” and ultimately led to her conviction for misconduct in office.
She was sentenced in December to three years of probation and 100 hours of community service. The judge also gave her credit for the one day she spent in jail.
“People who have never actually been a prosecutor, been in law enforcement, stepped foot in a court of law, held the hand of the victim as they got a jury sentence read … they can make all the political haymakers they want out of this. But at the end of the day, people were murdered,” Wilson said. “And if people want to make this a political issue that just shows their character or lack thereof.”
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
