(DailyVantage.com) – Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced former South Carolina solicitor convicted of murdering his wife and youngest son, filed a motion for a new trial. In the motion, Murdaugh alleges witness tampering influenced his trial and claims another trial is warranted.
Murdaugh claims the county clerk purposely influenced the jury to reach a book deal. Murdaugh also claims that the county court clerk in question, Rebecca Hill, encouraged jurors to reach a verdict quickly and to watch Murdaugh during his testimony, implying he was dishonest while testifying on the stand.
Murdaugh is currently serving two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his family members but might attain a new trial if a judge agrees that Hill unfairly influenced his trial. At the center of Murdaugh’s motion for a retrial is the fact that Hill penned a memoir about the controversial case, raising concerns that Hill pushed jurors to reach a guilty verdict to bolster her book’s performance. Murdaugh’s claims are unlikely to convince a judge to order a retrial, but they open the door for further examination of his case.
Murdaugh’s case received national attention and media coverage and was well documented on various streaming services like HBO and Netflix. Murdaugh’s case brought so much attention as his family served as county solicitors for four generations and was a prominent family in South Carolina. Murdaugh’s trial also drew attention to other crimes, including Murdaugh defrauding his clients of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Murdaugh admitted to defrauding his clients but maintained his innocence regarding the tragic deaths of his wife and son.
Murdaugh’s attorneys are pushing for a new trial, which will likely fail. Even if Murdaugh receives a new trial, the evidence against the former solicitor is solid. Murdaugh’s timeline, eyewitness testimony, and outlying circumstances all indicate Murdaugh’s guilt. Murdaugh’s community and family members remain unconvinced and protest his innocence in interviews with the national media. Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Murdaugh remains adamant that he’s innocent and that the real murderer of his family remains free.
Copyright 2023, DailyVantage.com
