Judge Clifton Newman: A look at the man behind the gavel in the Alex Murdaugh trial

Former South Carolina attorney and now-convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh's trial captured the attention of the true crime world and the nation, but another name made headlines and trended on social media almost as much, Judge Clifton Newman.

Newman won over many people who tuned into the double homicide trial of Murdaugh. But just who is the South Carolina judge and what has made him so popular that people are pondering if he could have his own television show to crocheting his likeness as a doll?

Here's a look at the man on the bench, his rise in prominence and what he has been up to since delivering two consecutive life sentences to Murdaugh.

Who is South Carolina Judge Clifton Newman?

Now a S.C. Circuit Court judge, Newman was born in 1951 in rural Williamsburg County in South Carolina, a little more than 100 miles north of where he presided over the Murdaugh trial in Walterboro, S.C., The Post and Courier reported in a profile of the judge last year. At the age of three, his mother moved to New York to take a job as a domestic worker for a Columbia University professor’s family, leaving him in the care of his grandparents and an aunt.

During his school years, Newman attended racially segregated schools in the 1950s and 1960s. From high school, Newman earned an undergraduate degree from Cleveland State University and graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland, Ohio. He began practicing law in Cleveland before returning to South Carolina in 1982 to start a private law practice.

Newman served as a defense attorney, a civil practitioner and a prosecutor before 2000 when the state General Assembly elected him to serve as a Circuit Court judge.

“To come from a rural community, a farming community, and to go from that scenario to playing the role of a lawyer was quite inspiring,” Newman told the American Bar Association in 2017.

Back to normal:After six weeks of Alex Murdaugh trial ‘circus,’ Walterboro, SC welcomes normality

Heros and villians:Alex Murdaugh trial leaves SC Lowcountry, world with heroes and villains

Clifton Newman's time presiding over the Murdaugh case wins over social media

As the Murdaugh trial went on Newman's name began to pop up in social media posts with people looking for information and praising him for his conduct on the bench while presiding over the double-homicide trial.

Newman's son died before the start of the Murdaugh trial

Newman’s 40-year-old son, Brian, died just weeks before the Murdaugh trial that pulled Newman away from his home for more than a month.

During Murdaugh's sentencing, Newman's statement about Paul Murdaugh was one of many small remarks that resounded loudly with many.

“For the murder of Paul Murdaugh, whom you probably loved so much, I sentence you to prison for murdering him for the rest of your natural life,” Newman said.

Some much-needed downtime for Murdaugh trial judge at USC basketball game

Over the weekend, Newman took some much deserved down time at the SEC women's basketball tournament that the Gamecocks were playing in Greenville, S.C., on Sunday. He was spotted in the crowd by several people who grabbed a photo with the well-known judge.

Love for Newman inspires dolls

Newman's presence on the bench even inspired one viewer to make his likeness in doll form.

The crocheted dolls included Newman; Creighton Water, the lead prosecutor in all of the criminal cases involving Murdaugh; Dr. Kenneth Kinsey, a criminology professor as well as a law enforcement officer; Bubba the dog; and the chicken.

People have gushed over the dolls after they were posted by Stephanie Truesdale.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Murdaugh trial Judge Clifton Newman's rise to fame after sentencing