Alex Murdaugh May Get New Trial As South Carolina Supreme Court Drops Bombshell Decision
The South Carolina Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it will hear arguments and decide if a judge ruled incorrectly and that former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh should be granted a new murder trial over a claim of jury tampering.
I was all in on the documentaries that came out about this case, so this is interesting to me.
Murdaugh was convicted of the June 7, 2021, killing of his wife and son at their Colleton County, S.C. home. He is currently serving two life sentences for the crimes.
Murdaugh’s attorneys argued that he wasn’t given a fair trial because of jury tampering by the former Colleton County court clerk Becky Hill. Murdaugh’s attorneys argued that he wasn’t given a fair trial because of jury tampering by the former Colleton County court clerk Becky Hill. CNN reports she may have used the trial to promote herself and her book.
The defense released a statement:
“The trial court abused its discretion when finding that the jury’s verdict was not affected by Ms. Hill’s tampering despite a juror’s uncontradicted testimony that her verdict was affected,” the defense said. “And the trial court erred when it held that deliberate jury tampering by a state official seeking a guilty verdict was harmless because, in its opinion, the correct verdict was rendered regardless.”
The defense argued that “there is an irrebuttable presumption of prejudice when a state official secretly advocates a guilty verdict” based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion that jury tampering is “presumptively prejudicial” in criminal trials.
The S.C. Supreme will hear arguments but no date has been set.
