Alex Murdaugh will not receive a new trial for double murder, the Associated Press reports, after the judge heard that a court clerk accused him of tampering with jurors during a trial last year. A new sentence was handed down on Monday.
Lawyers for Murdaugh, a former South Carolina lawyer convicted of killing his wife and son, have asked for a new trial on the charges. Colleton County Clerk Rebecca “Becky” Hill told jurors and He spoke about the case and Murdaugh and urged the jury to reach a speedy verdict. .
Judge Jean Toal said all 12 jurors who testified during Monday’s evidentiary hearing said any of Hill’s comments had no direct impact on their decision to convict Murdaugh of murder, according to the Associated Press. Stated.
Ms. Toal said Monday that she was unsure whether Hill was telling the truth about the incident, which she had never told jurors about, and that the county clerk was not “attracted by the siren call of a celebrity.” The news agency added that he thought so.
Toal reportedly reviewed the entire record of the six-week trial and ruled that the verdict could not be overturned on the “strength of temporary and foolish statements by a court clerk seeking publicity.” and noted that the court clerk did not actively influence the court. Jury Decision.
The disgraced lawyer and self-confessed thief was found guilty last March on all charges, including the murder of his wife Maggie Murdaugh, the murder of his 22-year-old son Paul Murdaugh, and two counts of possession of a weapon during an investigation. received. violent crime.
The judge heard testimony Monday from all 12 deliberating jurors and from Hill, who denied discussing the incident or Murdaugh with jurors.
Hill was challenged in court for his veracity after he claimed to have used “literary license” on parts of a book he wrote about the trial, newswires reported.
Following last year’s trial, which concluded in March, Hill and co-author Neil Gordon published a book about the trial titled “Behind the Doors of Justice.”
“I had a certain feeling,” Hill reportedly said Monday.
Murdaugh’s attorneys also called Barnwell County Clerk Ronas McElveen, who assisted Hill during the trial. Mr. McElveen said Mr. Hill suggested writing a book about the case before the trial began. The reason was that “she wanted a house by the lake and I wanted to retire,” and that the book would sell if he was found guilty.
One juror claimed Monday that Hill “made it seem like he was already guilty,” and asked whether that influenced his vote to convict Murdaugh, according to the Associated Press. He said he answered “yes.” The jury later revealed that it was her fellow jurors more than her clerk’s remarks that influenced her guilty vote.
The remaining jurors said their verdicts were not influenced by external factors outside the trial, according to the Associated Press.
“Eleven of them are very powerful people who argued that this sentence has no effect,” prosecutor Clayton Waters said, according to the Associated Press. “The evidence from those involved is overwhelming.”
Murdaugh was sentenced in early March to life in prison without parole.
The Associated Press contributed.
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