Nearly three years after Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life behind bars for murdering his wife and son, the state’s highest court will this week consider granting the former high-profile attorney a new trial.
South Carolina’s Supreme Court justices will hear arguments Wednesday that Murdaugh’s constitutional right to a fair trial was denied because of jury tampering and prejudicial evidence.
“The easiest one for them to give us a new trial on is the jury tampering by the clerk of court Becky Hill,” said defense attorney Dick Harpootlian.
Alleged jury tampering
Harpootlian says jurors shared concerns about former Colleton County Clerk of Court, Becky Hill, when she published a book about the trial four months after it ended.
He says those concerns included Hill telling jurors, “not to be fooled by Murdaugh” before he testified and having private conversations with the jury foreperson in the bathroom. Harpootlian argues Hill wanted jurors to find Murdaugh guilty so she could sell more books.
“I think that issue in and of itself should be enough,” he said.
But it wasn’t enough for former South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal. She heard Murdaugh’s jury tampering appeal in early 2024.
“I’ve not seen a case such as this before,” said Judge Toal at the time.
Murdaugh’s defense team cited a federal case as it argued before Toal that comments Hill made to the jury are presumed prejudicial. But Judge Toal said the comments alone weren’t enough, the defense had to prove they influenced the jury’s decision.
Toal interviewed jurors and Hill under oath. She ruled the comments did not impact the verdict and she would not grant a new trial based on, "some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity influenced clerk of court.”
Judge Toal added that she did not find Hill’s testimony “completely credible.”
A year later, in May of 2025, Hill was arrested on felony charges, including obstruction of justice, misconduct in office and perjury.
The charges stemmed from allegations Hill used her position for financial gain and lied under oath to Judge Toal when she denied releasing sealed evidence to the media.
Hill pled guilty in December.
There is no excuse for my mistakes,” Hill told a judge. “I am ashamed of them.”
Now Hill’s lie will be part of Wednesday’s hearing as the justices decide if Murdaugh should get a new trial.
Prejudicial evidence?
The high court will also consider whether the trial’s presiding judge, Clifton Newman, should have allowed evidence of Murdaugh’s financial crimes to be heard during the six-week long murder trial.
The once prominent attorney stole millions in settlement money meant for clients, as well as his own law firm, for more than a decade.
The defense argued that the evidence was not relevant and painted Murdaugh in a bad light.
But Judge Newman ruled in favor of the state which said the looming exposure of Murdaugh’s financial crimes helped prove motive, that is he killed his wife and son to distract investigators and get sympathy.
The defense has called that motive, “illogical and implausible.”
“He committed horrendous acts,” said Harpootlian.
“But he should have an opportunity to litigate these murder charges without that huge amount of prejudice coming in.”
The state has maintained, the evidence that convicted Murdaugh was overwhelming.
For instance, Murdaugh admitted on the witness stand that he’d lied about this alibi. He’d claimed he was not with his wife and son just minutes before the murders. But cell phone video showed he was with them.
In a statement, the state attorney general’s office said, “it is looking forward to making its arguments” before the Supreme Court.
The defense argues the evidence was not overwhelming and wants the high court to decide if Murdaugh got a fair trial.
“They will identify the issues, and they will wrestle with them,” said Harpootlian. “And that’s all a lawyer can ask.”
Both sides will be given time to present their case, as well as rebuttal. Murdaugh will not be there.
SCETV will livestream the hearing on Wednesday beginning at 9:30 am.
