Alex Murdaugh appeared in a Richland County, South Carolina, courtroom Tuesday morning to discuss his request for a new murder trial.
Attorneys for Murdaugh, who was convicted last year of fatally shooting his wife and son in June 2021 at their family’s hunting ranch, are expected to argue that Colleton County Clerk Beck Hill engaged in jury tampering before they found Murdaugh guilty of the double murder.
Murdaugh appeared in an orange jumpsuit next to his attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian for pre-trial proceedings.
South Carolina Judge Jean Toal said Murdaugh’s defense must prove allegations of prejudice to get a new trial. Harpootlian said he wanted all 12 jurors presiding over Murdaugh’s trial to testify about what Hill might have told them, and South Carolina prosecutor Creighton Waters argued they should be questioned in private.
Alex Murdaugh appeared in a South Carolina court on Tuesday to discuss his request for a new murder trial. AP
Toal later said the jurors who presided over the double-murder trial should be questioned, on the record, in open court.
“Our focus will be on the jury hearing the case,” the judge said.
Griffin and Harpootlian allege in their motion for a new trial that Hill advised jurors not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony, pressured the panel to reach an “immediate guilty verdict” and lied to the trial judge in a campaign to remove panelists sympathetic to the defense.
“Ms. Hill did this in order to get book deals and media appearances for herself that would not have happened had there been any wrongdoing,” the filing said. “Ms. Hill betrayed his oath of office for money and fame.”
Murdaugh was convicted of shooting to death his wife and son in June 2021. AP
The South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement has opened two investigations into Hill’s conduct during the Murdaugh murder trial, including an investigation into allegations that Hill used his position as a clerk to financially benefit from the sale of his book about the case, which he later admitted included plagiarized writing, and another investigation into alleged jury tampering.
Neil Gordon, co-author of “Behind the Doors of Justice,” said in a press release that Hill used parts of the BBC article in his writing. Book sales have been discontinued.
Prosecutors are expected to call Hill to court Tuesday. The defense is expected to call retired Judge Clifton Newman, who oversaw the Murdaugh case, and South Carolina prosecutor Creighton Waters.
Judge Jean Toal said Murdaugh’s defense must prove allegations of prejudice to get a new trial. AP
Murdaugh, 55, was sentenced in March to two life sentences for the June 2021 shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their son, Paul Murdaugh, 22.
Murdaugh was also sentenced to 27 years in November for his financial crimes. He agreed to plead guilty to 22 charges – including breach of trust, money laundering, forgery and tax evasion – out of about 100 total charges totaling up to $10 million in exchange for a 27-year prison sentence.
Murdaugh previously pleaded guilty to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering in federal court.
Chelsea Torres and Rebecca Rosenberg of Fox News contributed to this report.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
