Murdaugh’s Murder Convictions Overturned

The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions Wednesday, ruling that the county clerk of court engaged in “shocking jury interference” during his trial for the 2021 killings of his wife Maggie and son Paul. The decision does not mean Murdaugh walks free—he remains in prison serving a 40-year federal sentence for unrelated financial crimes—but it wipes out the murder verdict that captivated the nation and forces the state to retry one of the most closely watched cases in recent memory.

What the court found

The court’s ruling centered on the conduct of Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, the official who read the verdict and was responsible for the jury throughout the six-week trial. After the trial concluded, evidence emerged that Hill had spoken to jurors behind the scenes while working on a book about the case. Specifically, before Murdaugh took the stand, she told jurors “not to be fooled by him,” and as deliberations were about to begin, she told them they “shouldn’t take too long.” When the court later questioned three jurors, all three recounted these statements, and one said the comments affected how she viewed the case.