(LibertyInsider.org) – A South Carolina Jury convicted Richard “Alex” Murdaugh of murdering his wife, Maggie, 51, and youngest son, Paul, 22, in March 2023 after a month-and-a-half trial. The case details became the subject of true crime podcasts and a book written by Rebecca Hill, the Colleton County Clerk of Court. Now, Murdaugh is appealing to the State Supreme Court for a new trial because he believes Hill tampered with the jury to ensure a guilty verdict.
Although Judge Jean H. Toal of the State Appellate Court denied a previous motion for a new trial, Murdaugh and his team are appealing directly to the state Supreme Court, claiming that Toal may have relied on incorrect case law to form her January 2024 decision.
The defense team representing Alex Murdaugh has filed new documents asking South Carolina’s highest court to take a look at his appeal. https://t.co/zjzhMSrGEE
— Court TV (@CourtTV) July 13, 2024
Murdaugh’s defense panel claimed Toal followed South Carolina law, which demanded that the defense would bear the burden of proving that Hill’s interactions caused jury prejudice. However, they argued that US Supreme Court precedent placed the burden on the state because it deemed any juror tampering as “presumptively prejudicial.”
In September 2023, the defense team claimed Hill had tampered with the jury. They petitioned the South Carolina Court of Appeals for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether they could seek a new trial for their client. In October 2023, the Appeals Court granted a motion for the evidentiary hearing, and the state’s attorney general ordered the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate Hill.
Toal denied the motion for a new trial in January 2024, saying that the defense team hadn’t met the burden of proving that Hill’s interactions with the jury caused any members to change how they viewed the defendant or voted regarding his conviction. The judge concluded, however, that Hill had told others she hoped for a guilty verdict to sell her book.
Despite Toal’s admission that Hill made prejudicial remarks to jury members before and sometimes during Murdaugh’s trial testimony, the judge found the clerk’s comments had no appreciable impact on the case.
Hill resigned from her clerk position on March 25, 2024, amidst multiple ethics charges. She will face an ethics commission hearing in December.
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