Alex Murdaugh — the disgraced legal scion who was found guilty of killing his wife and son — had his murder convictions overturned Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court, which claimed county clerk Becky Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice.”
Murdaugh, 57, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole for the grisly 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, following a dramatic, six-week trial that gripped the nation in 2023.
“Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s improper external influences on the jury and remand for a new trial,” the justices wrote in a 5-0 ruling.
Murdaugh’s lawyer’s appealed the prominent attorney’s murder convictions, arguing the trial was affected by Hill, who they allege tampered with the jury during Murdaugh’s trial.
The South Carolina Supreme court said that prosecutors’ efforts get a conviction for Murdaugh “were in vain because Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”
Hill pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice, perjury, and two counts of misconduct in office after admitting she showed sealed crime scene photos to a reporter and lied about it.
She also admitted to promoting her book about the trial through her public office. Hill was sentenced to probation.