Attorneys for convicted murder Alex Murdaugh want a new trial, accusing the court clerk of improperly influencing the jury and betraying her oath of office for money and fame during and after the high-profile murder trial.
The move is the latest twist in a case that caught the imagination of America – and also the world – with its twisted southern gothic tale of murder, family corruption and mystery in the South Carolina low country.
Murdaugh’s lawyers have now accused the court clerk at his double murder trial of telling jurors not to trust him when he testified in his own defense, having private conversations with the jury foreperson and pressuring jurors to come to a quick verdict.
The request filed by Murdaugh’s lawyers on Tuesday also accuses the Colleton county clerk of court, Rebecca Hill, of giving jury members business cards from reporters during the trial.
After the verdict, Hill traveled to New York City with three of the jurors to do interviews. She also wrote a book after the trial called Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.
Murdaugh, 55, is currently serving life without parole after being convicted in the shooting deaths of his wife and son at the Murdaugh family compound.
Trial court clerks “aren’t someone who should even talk to them about the case. I’ve never heard of that,” said Murdaugh attorney Dick Harpootlian, a state senator and lawyer for 50 years.
Hill did not respond on Tuesday to requests from the Associated Press for comment on the filing. Prosecutors said they were reviewing the motion and would respond through the courts.
Murdaugh wants the appellate judges to order an evidentiary hearing, and once they have more information on the record, to grant him a new trial.
Murdaugh attorney Jim Griffin said everyone involved in the case refused to talk until Hill’s self-published book came out. Only then did a few reluctant jurors answer the door as Harpootlian’s team made another round of in-person visits on weekends.
The hearing would enable defense attorneys to force the other jurors, witnesses and potentially even the trial judge to testify under oath. The defense could also get phone records, emails and texts.
The final pages of the 65-page appeal cite a contract between Hill and a production company, with a handwritten note supposedly from Hill saying that in exchange for her appearance, they had to show the cover of her book in their production.
Some experts thought the new evidence was potentially powerful
“This is bombshell evidence that could be grounds for a new trial. At the very least, this entitles the defense to an evidentiary hearing. It doesn’t matter if only a few jurors say they felt pressured by the court clerk. They needed to reach a unanimous verdict, so there doesn’t need to be a majority of the jurors saying that they felt pressured. If any of the jurors felt pressured, it matters,” said Joshua Ritter, a partner with El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers and former Los Angeles county prosecutor.
But South Carolina law sets a high bar to overturn a jury verdict.
Murdaugh’s lawyers said Hill’s conduct was so egregious, it tainted the entire trial and they had no chance to defend against it.
Even if Murdaugh’s murder conviction is overturned, he probably will stay in prison. He filed papers in federal court saying he plans to plead guilty to stealing from clients and his law firm later this month – charges that would probably mean years if not decades behind bars.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
