OAN’s Brooke Mallory
2:31pm – Monday, March 25, 2024
Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial comes nearly two months after a judge questioned the credibility of Colleton County, South Carolina, officials but ruled the charges were insufficient to grant Murdaugh a new trial. A court clerk accused of tampering with the jury in a trial resigned Monday.
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At a press conference, Rebecca “Becky” Hill announced that she would not seek re-election. She expressed her pride in the work she did during her four-year term, including overseeing “one of the largest trials in South Carolina history.”
The trial, in which Murdaugh was sentenced last year to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering his wife and 22-year-old son, “caused me to reflect on my decision to remain in the clerk’s office. ,” Hill said. .
“As we look forward, I would also like to announce that my resignation as Clerk of the Court is effective immediately,” she added.
Hill resigned after South Carolina Judge Jean Toal denied Murdaugh and his lawyers’ request for a new trial in late January. Lawyers argued that Hill inappropriately discussed the issue with jurors. However, the clerk vehemently refuted their claims.
Ultimately, the judge concluded that Hill’s comments did not influence the jury. But she remains highly critical of Hill, who co-authored a book published several months after the trial, calling her a clerk who was “attracted to celebrity calling” and “influenced by publicity.” That’s what I decided.
At Monday’s news conference, neither Hill nor his attorney Justin Bamberg addressed Toal’s decision. Nevertheless, Bamberg told reporters that Hill’s statement “is not in response to anything that’s going on with the investigation or anything of that nature.”
Representatives from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division confirmed to reporters that Hill was the focus of two ongoing investigations as of January. One of them concerns her “alleged interactions with jurors” in Murdaugh’s murder trial, and the other “that she used her elected position for her personal gain. It was about a suspicion that
Books, videos and podcasts have been produced about the Murdaugh case, bringing international attention to the former personal injury lawyer whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather all served as prosecutors in parts of southern South Carolina from 1920 to 2006. collected.
Murdaugh and his defense team asked for a new trial, arguing that Hill not only pressured jurors to finish their deliberations quickly, but also lied to the judge about jurors who were ultimately released. . Murdaugh’s attorneys argued that the purpose of these alleged activities was to obtain “a book deal and media appearances that would not occur in a miscarriage of justice.”
Their arguments were considered during a hearing in which Toal questioned each of the 12 jurors. Several jurors acknowledged hearing Hill’s story and forming their own opinions. But the only juror to admit it influenced her decision did so, even as she stood by her affidavit claiming she was under pressure from other jurors.
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