Alex Murdaugh bid for new murder trial denied

"Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh's request for a new murder trial was denied, after jurors' improper comments were ruled to be insignificant."

A South Carolina judge recently ruled against convicted killer Alex Murdaugh's request for a new murder trial. The judge determined that a clerk of court made improper comments to jurors, but they did not have any effect on their guilty verdict.

Murdaugh, a prominent South Carolina attorney, was convicted in March 2023 of gunning down his wife and son in 2021. His attorneys requested a new trial, alleging in September that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca "Becky" Hill made references to Murdaugh's guilt to members of the jury and pressured them to reach a verdict quickly.

The jurors were called back to court to answer specific questions from Judge Jean Toal, the retired chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. One of the jurors, identified as "Juror Z," testified that her decision had been influenced by Hill. However, in a previous affidavit, she said that the pressure she felt came from other jurors.

Toal characterized Juror Z's testimony as "ambivalent" and said that any pressure from fellow jurors is a "normal give-and-take of jury deliberations."

Hill, who testified after the jurors, denied having any conversation with jurors about the case. Toal said that she didn't find Hill's account "completely credible" but didn't believe "fleeting and foolish comments" warranted a new trial.

The judge suggested that Hill's judgment might have been clouded by her plans to write a book about the case, and she was attracted by the "siren call of celebrity."

Toal's patience was tested early in the proceedings when she learned that some jurors were playing a livestream of the proceedings on their cellphones in the jury room and could hear Juror Z's testimony. She addressed it in her brief questions to each juror, who all said it did not affect their testimony.

In addition to the jury tampering allegations, Hill is being investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) for potentially using her office for personal gain. She also admitted to plagiarizing part of a post-trial book, "Behind the Doors of Justice."

Murdaugh is facing decades in prison after pleading guilty to numerous financial crimes. Regardless of the outcome of any appeals to his double murder conviction, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said, "It is time to move on from Alex Murdaugh."