Death Penalty News

The South Carolina Supreme Court has unanimously ruled to overturn the 2023 double murder conviction of disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh. In its 27-page, 5-0 ruling issued on Wednesday, the court determined that jury tampering by former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill denied Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.  Murdaugh’s case will now return to circuit court, where he is eligible for a new trial. He stands accused of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, at the family’s rural estate in Colleton County on the evening of June 7, 2021.

The Attorney General's office cites the complexity and length of the case as reasons for needing an extension until August 8th The South Carolina Attorney General's Office is seeking more time to respond to convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh's Supreme Court appeal brief, but Murdaugh's attorneys are strongly contesting that request. On April 3, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson's office filed a motion for a second extension in Murdaugh's state Supreme Court appellate case, and the same day, Murdaugh's legal team promptly responded in opposition.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to hear convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh’s jury tampering appeal. The order, issued Tuesday, means the case will go straight to the high court, skipping the lengthy Court of Appeals process. The state Supreme Court could overturn a judge’s decision from earlier this year that denied Murdaugh’s attempt to get a new murder trial.

“Mr. Murdaugh’s right to have his appeal heard by an impartial judge will be violated if Judge Newman proceeds to hear his motion for a new trial,” a new motion says. As Alex Murdaugh’s legal team pushes for a new murder trial, they have a bold request for the South Carolina Supreme Court: ban Judge Clifton Newman from having anything to do with the case. In a Wednesday filing, defense lawyers argued that Newman should be removed from future hearings related to Murdaugh’s double homicide case, claiming that the judge who presided over the murder trial cannot be impartial.

Oct 17 (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.