Convicted family killer Alex Murdaugh is hoping for a new murder trial, but even if things go his way, the 56-year-old won’t be getting out of prison anytime soon.
A disgraced South Carolina lawyer is serving a lengthy 40-year federal sentence and 27-year state sentence for theft, fraud and embezzlement, among other financial crimes.
The charges stem from Murdaugh stealing money from his law firm and its clients over several years.
“He’ll die in prison,” quipped one former law partner at the Parker law firm (formerly Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick).
“Even if he is ultimately acquitted of murder, which I don’t think he will, he will spend the rest of his life in prison for the money he stole and the lives he destroyed.”
Murdaugh was given two life sentences for the shocking murders of his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, who were shot dead at their country home on June 7, 2021.
The eldest son, Buster, was not charged because he was not at the mansion, and prosecutors said he committed the crimes to deflect attention from his own numerous financial misdeeds.
Murdaugh appealed the verdict shortly after, alleging that former Colleton County Clerk Rebecca Hill pressured the jury into convicting him.
On Tuesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear Murdaugh’s appeal. The decision means the case will go directly to the state’s highest court, skipping a lengthy appeals court hearing. The Supreme Court could overturn a lower court’s earlier decision to deny Murdaugh a new murder trial.
But even if there is a retrial, there is no guarantee that Murdaugh will be acquitted of the murder charges for which he has already been convicted.
“The evidence remains the same. In my opinion, any jury would reach the same conclusion,” the former law partner said.
But Murdaugh’s lawyers, Dick Harportrian and Jim Griffin, are seeking to have the verdict thrown out, arguing that publicity surrounding the case gave Hill an incentive to rig the jury for his own personal gain.
“There is substantial public interest in whether the verdict reached in Mr. Murdaugh’s internationally televised murder trial should be overturned due to unprecedented jury tampering by a state official, the former Colleton County Clerk of Court,” the lawyers said in their July filing.
The South Carolina Supreme Court will hear arguments on the pros and cons of a new murder trial before issuing a ruling.
