COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh has admitted he is a thief, a liar, an insurance cheat, a drug addict and a bad lawyer. But even from behind bars he continues to adamantly deny he is a killer.
Murdaugh's lawyers will appear Wednesday before the South Carolina Supreme Court, asking the justices to overturn the two murder convictions and life sentence Murdaugh is serving for the shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, outside
their home in June 2021.
The defense argues the trial judge made rulings that prevented a fair trial, like allowing in evidence of Murdaugh stealing from clients that had nothing to do with the killings but biased jurors against him. They detail the lack of physical evidence — no DNA or blood was found splattered on Murdaugh or any of his clothes even though the killings were at close range with powerful weapons that were never found.
And they said the court clerk assigned to oversee evidence and the jury in the case influenced jurors to find Murdaugh guilty to help her sell a book about the case. She has since pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did to a different judge.
It's a case that continues to captivate. There are streaming miniseries, best selling books and dozens of true crime podcasts about how the multimillionaire Southern lawyer whose family dominated and controlled the legal system in tiny Hampton County ended up in a maximum security South Carolina prison.
Even if Murdaugh wins this appeal, he isn't going anywhere. Hanging over the 57-year-old's head is a 40-year federal prison sentence for stealing more than $12 million from clients intended for their medical care and living expenses after they suffered devastating injuries in accidents or their relatives after their deaths.
Wednesday's state Supreme Court hearing will feature the same lawyers who squared off at Murdaugh's six-week murder trial in 2023. The justices have set aside 90 minutes, although chances are very good it will run long. Briefs from both sides blew past the 100 pages typically allowed for appeals.
While pointed questions may indicate which way the justices are leaning, there will be no immediate decision. Rulings usually take months to be handed down.
Prosecutors have said in court papers there is no reason to throw out the guilty verdicts for murder against Murdaugh.
They carefully recounted the case for the first 34 pages of their brief. Murdaugh's financial situation was crumbling as he stole from clients to repay his mounting debts from his drug habit and expensive tastes. He defrauded his insurance company when a longtime family employee fell and died at their home and was financially vulnerable when Paul Murdaugh caused a boat crash that killed a teen.
The brief recalls evidence that helped convict Alex Murdaugh, who told investigators for months he hadn't seen his wife and son for about an hour before they were killed. That story went unchallenged until investigators cracked the passcode on Paul Murdaugh's phone and found a video with a barking dog and Alex Murdaugh's voice admonishing it five minutes before the young man stopped using his phone.
“The verdict in this case was the product of six intense weeks of trial. There was superb advocacy on both sides. An eminent trial judge presided over the proceedings. No rational juror could have received the evidence in this case and concluded Appellant was not guilty,” wrote the lawyers from the state Attorney General's Office who tried the case.
Alex Murdaugh's lawyers plan to argue Wednesday that several decisions by trial judge Clifton Newman allowed evidence that led to an unfair trial. They said the chief investigator in the case lied to the grand jury that indicted Murdaugh by telling them the ammunition used in one of the killings was found in other guns at the Murdaugh home and that blood spatter was found on Murdaugh's clothes.
The appeal also focused on former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill. She pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter photographs that were sealed court exhibits in Murdadugh's case and then lying about it.
In the insular world of South Carolina, the state Supreme Court's decision could have impacts well beyond courtrooms. Sitting at the prosecution table on Wednesday with the chief litigator in the case will be Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a candidate in November's election for the open governor's seat.
