Court overturns Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and life sentence

    Posted by sfgate

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    1. The scary part is since he’s only serving a federal sentence now and not a state one, Trump could pardon him. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Murdaugh reaches out to him. Trump sure likes pardoning wealthy white o”people, especially when it comes to white collar crimes.

    2. >The justices ruled Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, assigned to oversee the evidence and the jury during the trial, influenced jurors to find Murdaugh guilty. She hoped to improve sales of a book she was writing about the case.

      >The name of the book was “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.” It was pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations were made.

      >“As her book’s title suggests, it turns out Hill was quite busy behind the doors of justice, thwarting the integrity of the justice system she was sworn to protect and uphold,” the justices wrote in an unsigned 27-page ruling.

      Don’t know what I expected to be the issue but it was NOT that, *yikes*

    3. thankyoupapa on

      Knew this was coming as soon as I heard what Becky the clerk said to the jury. They dont play about stuff like that!

    4. I don’t know much about the South Carolina Supreme Court or this trial, but the errors at trial probably had to be egregious for this to be a unanimous ruling.

    5. There’s a great recent series of podcast episodes from Last Podcast on the Left that details the history and crimes of this crazy family. Definitely worth a listen.

    6. VballandPizza44 on

      Whoever is the clerk for the retrial has a chance to do the funniest thing

    7. CheruthCutestory on

      He obviously belongs behind bars for the rest of his life. But I am totally OK with overturning the conviction for this reason. Federal and state governments (most states not targeting SC specifically) are already so corrupt now. We shouldn’t encourage more corruption by allowing state officials to influence juries for profit.

    8. This is literally how the system is meant to work.

      No matter how obviously guilty you are, you should receive a fair trial.

    9. He plead guilty to financial crimes so hes not getting out at least. IIRC, he waived his right to appeal on those crimes. If im wrong then who knows

      Edit
      Speaking of high profile trials, im watching the victim impact statements from the Kouri Richins trial and holy shit. Im on the second statement from one of her sons. This woman is evil 

    10. tomato_soup_stan on

      I hate the Murdaughs and think this fucker is exactly where he belongs, but I’m gonna be totally honest, I think it’s basically impossible to have a fair trial in our current political/media landscape. At minimum, jurors and other court personnel need to be strictly barred from writing/talking about cases, ideally forever but at minimum for like five years. And it would be great if, while trials were going on, popular media about the case be made temporarily unavailable (they did something like this in Australia with the Lynette Dawson Simms trial.)

    11. Maybe now is not the time but someone named murdaugh being tried for murder feels like a jkr character

    12. bookishgirlstar on

      > Still, the ruling is a win for Murdaugh, who admits to being a thief, liar, insurance cheat and bad lawyer, but has adamantly denied killing his wife Maggie and younger son Paul since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.

    13. I grew up in Walterboro. Like literally on a dirt road a couple miles from the murder. Parents still live there.

      No one is shocked. Becky didn’t overly hide her bullshit.

    14. ResultEquivalent3250 on

      I don’t agree with why the county clerk did this but it’s not surprising at all! In SC, a county clerk makes MAYBE $40,000 a year. She thought she had a pay day coming with a book she was writing. Everyone in this entire case was motivated by greed, from the super rich to the poor.

    15. SupersoftBday_party on

      People might not want to hear this but this is a GOOD THING. We don’t want convictions given by a corrupted jury to stand.

      He will be re-tried, and if the state makes a good case he will be convicted again, this time without jury corruption.

    16. Lucky_Chaarmss on

      REPUBLICAN Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office will “aggressively” seek to retry Alex Murdaugh for the murders “as soon as possible.”

      “Let me be clear — this decision does not mean Murdaugh will be released,” Wilson said in a statement. “He will remain in prison for his financial crimes. No one is above the law and, as always, we will continue to fight for justice.”

      No one is above the law? You really gonna saw Mr. Republican?