By Scott Grooms
Associated Press
Tuesday morning, attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin who represent convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh during his trial, have filed a motion for a new trial amid allegations the Colleton County Clerk of Court tampered with the jury.
The motion filed by Harpootlian and Griffin, allege the clerk of court “tampered with the jury” by advising them “not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.”
The motion also alleges Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill instructed jurors “not to be ‘misled’ by evidence” presented in Murdaugh’s defense and “not to be ‘fooled by’ Mr. Murdaugh’s testimony.” Court documents also allege Hill had “frequent private conversations with the jury foreperson, a court-appointed substitution for the foreperson the jury elected for itself at the request of Ms. Hill.”
The defense alleges in the motion that the allegation of private conversations with members of the jury “is supported by sworn affidavits of jurors and a witness to juror interviews, testimony at in camera proceedings and other evidence including Ms. Hill’s own book.”
The motion alleges Hill did these things “to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial.” Court documents state Hill’s book, “Behind the Doors of Justice,” was released on August 1, 2023.
The defense alleges in the motion that the allegation of private conversations with members of the jury “is supported by sworn affidavits of jurors and a witness to juror interviews, testimony at in camera proceedings and other evidence including Ms. Hill’s own book.”
The motion then demands an evidentiary hearing to determine whether a new trial is warranted.
Harpootlian also sent a letter to United States Attorney Adair Boroughs requesting “an urgent federal investigation of conduct” in connection to the allegations.
“Even if no federal charges are ultimately brought, an investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents is needed to discover the truth and to vindicate Mr. Murdaugh’s federally guaranteed right to a fair trial,” Harpootlian wrote. “The professionalism and integrity of the FBI’s agents are unimpeachable. FBI agents will not attempt to direct the outcome of any investigation by pressuring or deceiving any juror or other witness.”
Harpootlian ends the letter to Boroughs saying that while Murdaugh “may be the most unpopular man in South Carolina right now” and a “symbol of the Lowcountry judicial corruption,” some may “delight in the irony that he may very well be a victim of the corruption he symbolizes.”
For more Information visit www.scribd.com/document/669284502/0905-State-v-Murdaugh-Motion-to-Stay#. For further updates our Facebook page.
