South Carolina's top court on Wednesday overturned the murder conviction of Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, who had been serving two consecutive life terms after being found guilty in the 2023 trial for the June 2021 deaths of his wife and his 22-year-old son.
The state supreme court concluded the 2023 proceedings were compromised by the "improper" actions of county clerk Becky Hill, which the justices said affected the jury. The ruling followed a request in February from Murdaugh's attorney seeking a fresh trial.
In a unanimous 5-0 decision, the justices wrote: "Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh's motion for a new trial due to Hill's improper external influences on the jury and remand for a new trial." The court's order sends the matter back to the trial court for further proceedings.
Murdaugh's legal team had argued in court filings that he was entitled to a new trial because of alleged jury tampering and prosecutorial errors that occurred during the investigation and the trial. Those assertions formed the core of the appeal that led to Wednesday's decision.
Observers noted the case drew significant attention in part because Murdaugh comes from a prominent legal family in a region west of Charleston and because of the political influence associated with his family. The court's decision, however, does not mean Murdaugh will be released.
He remains in custody serving long sentences tied to financial crimes, and those sentences leave him with decades to serve even as the murder case is returned to the lower court for retrial. The supreme court's ruling focuses squarely on the integrity of the jury process in the 2023 trial and does not resolve questions of guilt or innocence.
For now, the criminal murder convictions are vacated and the case will move back into the trial court system, where prosecutors and defense attorneys will face the task of preparing for whatever next steps the remanded proceedings require.