Attorney General Alan Wilson beamed with pride three years ago as he gave a shout out to the woman he affectionately called, “Becky-boo” following the conviction of Alex Murdaugh and a six week-long murder trial.
This week, Wilson’s face was grim as he told the press he still doesn’t believe the former Colleton County clerk of court, Becky Hill, intentionally tried to influence jurors to reach a guilty verdict, even though that is what the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
“My office’s position has always been that the conduct, while inappropriate and should never be condoned, was ultimately harmless as it related to prejudicing Alex Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial,” said Wilson.
The ruling
But in a unanimous, 27-page ruling, the justices said Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial was violated because Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice” and “egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility” when she made comments to jurors, particularly when he testified.
Among the comments the high court cited were “watch Murdaugh’s body language” and “this is an important or epic day.”
The justices called Hill’s actions, “shocking jury interference” done without the presiding judge’s knowledge. They sided with the defense’s argument that Hill wanted a guilty verdict to push sales of a book she was writing about the murder trial.
That book was quickly pulled for plagiarism. And Hill pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice, perjury, and misconduct in office; all charges related to Murdaugh’s trial.
She no longer serves as clerk of court.
The prosecution
Attorney General Wilson says he will “aggressively” seek to retry 57-year-old Murdaugh, perhaps by year’s end. And he wants to do so, in the same jurisdiction.
“Colleton County is not the reason that the Clerk of Court did what she did,” said Wilson.
So, what will a new trial look like?
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters acknowledges there will be guardrails.
The high court also ruled that much of the testimony about Murdaugh’s then alleged financial crimes should not have been allowed in his murder trial. He was accused of stealing millions from former clients and his law firm. He later pleaded guilty.
“You know, you don’t hit a home run if you’re afraid to strike out,” said Waters. “We had a viable reason for putting on this evidence and so we did so.”
Waters argued during the trial that the financial crimes helped prove motive; that Murdaugh’s world was closing in as he was about to get caught. Waters said the former high-profile attorney killed his wife and son as a distraction and to gain sympathy.
The defense has long rejected that idea.
The defense
Murdaugh’s defense team released a statement shortly after the ruling that read, in part, “the retrial must look very different.”
Jurors heard more than 12 hours of testimony about the financial crimes evidence alone. “On retrial, that will not be permitted,” the defense said.
While Murdaugh’s attorneys have yet to hold a press conference about the ruling, they did give an exclusive interview to NBC Thursday morning.
They said they’ve been provided more information since the trial but would not disclose what it is. They also said Murdaugh found the ruling “hard to believe” but is grateful.
As for Murdaugh, the head of a once powerful and wealthy legal family, he won’t be getting out of state prison anytime soon. He was sentenced to decades behind bars for both the state and federal financial crimes.
But the ruling is a win for him as Murdaugh has long denied killing his wife Maggie and son Paul in the summer of 2021.
