Alex Murdaugh is asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to help him get a new trial for his double murder conviction.
Attorneys for the former Lowcountry lawyer are requesting the state’s top court to review a judge’s decision to deny Murdaugh a new trial based on jury tampering.
In January, former South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal heard from jurors and then Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill about alleged jury tampering by Hill. A move the defense said was to help promote sales of Hill’s book “Behind the Doors of Justice”. The book has now been removed from publication.
In a motion filed Wednesday, Murdaugh’s attorneys point to the “unprecedented jury tampering” by then Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill as to why he should be granted a new “fair” trial.
Toal ruled there was insufficient evidence to grant a new trial. Indicating that even if Hill had told jurors to watch Murdaugh’s actions and body language during the trial, the defense failed to prove the comments directly influenced the jurors’ decisions.
Murdaugh’s attorneys filed an appeal of Toal’s decision, but Wednesday’s filing asks the South Carolina Supreme Court to step in before a decision is made on that appeal.
Murdaugh is currently in a South Carolina prison serving two life sentences for murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul at the family’s Colleton County property.
