Murdaugh can ask judge to toss out murder conviction, appeals court rules

Brad Brooks
·2 min read
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Richard Alexander Murdaugh is seen in a mugshot taken after his arrest, in Columbia

By Brad Brooks

(Reuters) - The South Carolina court of appeals on Tuesday ruled that Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, a lawyer found guilty of murdering his wife and son, can ask a lower court judge to toss out his conviction due to allegations of jury tampering.

Lawyers for Murdaugh, who has maintained his innocence, said in a statement that they would now seek "a full blown evidentiary hearing" in a lower court on their allegations that the Colleton County Clerk of Court, Rebecca Hill, improperly communicated with jurors as they weighed Murdaugh's case.

The lawyers allege in court filings that Hill told jurors not to be "fooled by" Murdaugh's defense, among other comments.

Hill did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the South Carolina Attorney General's office, which prosecuted the case, said that the office would "respond through the legal process at the appropriate time."

A hearing on Murdaugh's allegations of jury tampering and request for a new trial has not been scheduled.

Even if he were eventually cleared of his murder conviction, Murdaugh would likely remain in prison - he pleaded guilty last month to federal financial crimes charges and is awaiting sentencing, expected to be several years in jail.

Murdaugh, 55, a member of a powerful South Carolina family, was found guilty on March 2 on two counts of shooting his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, on their family estate on June 7, 2021. He was sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.

During his trial, prosecutors said Murdaugh fatally shot his wife and son to distract from an array of financial misdeeds, including the theft of millions of dollars from his law partners and clients, money used to feed a years-long addiction to opioids and support an expensive lifestyle.

Murdaugh's lawyers tried to paint their client as a loving family man who, while facing financial difficulties and a drug addiction, would never harm his wife and child.

For decades until 2006, Murdaugh family members served as the leading prosecutor in the area. Murdaugh was a prominent personal injury attorney in the state.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks; Additional reporting by Joseph Ax and Rich McKay; editing by Donna Bryson and Jonathan Oatis)