Alex Murdaugh to serve two consecutive life sentences
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman sentenced Alex Murdaugh to serve two consecutive life sentences in prison after a jury found him guilty of murdering his wife and son.
WALTERBORO, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh's defense lawyers told reporters Friday their client was getting hit with life behind bars even if "Mother Teresa" begged for leniency at his sentencing.
A reporter asked Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin at a press conference outside the Colleton County Courthouse why Buster Murdaugh didn't plead with Judge Clifton Newman to go easy on his father.
None of Murdaugh's family members addressed the court.
"We could have had Mother Teresa up there speaking on behalf of Alex at sentencing, but he was getting a double life sentence. That was expected," replied Griffin, flanked by the rest of the defense team. "Judge Newman, he is a very stringent punisher when it comes to crimes and sentences. That was never in dispute."
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Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian speaks to the media alongside Alex Murdaugh’s defense team after their client was handed a double life sentence Friday. Murdaugh was convicted Thursday of the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul in 2021. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital )
Knowing that Buster's words would make no difference in the outcome, Griffin said, they didn't want to put him "through more trauma than anybody that we can imagine has ever been through."
After Newman chastised Murdaugh for his lack of remorse, he gave him the maximum: two life sentences to be served consecutively for fatally gunning down his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul, on June 7, 2021.
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Griffin also insisted that Buster and his family continued to believe in Murdaugh's innocence, even though it took a jury less than three hours to convict him Thursday on all counts.
"There was a lot of effort by the state to convince the family that Alex is a murderer," the attorney said. "After six weeks of trial, they came away more convinced that he did not do this, and they steadfastly are in his camp and support him. That’s where they stand."
Alex Murdaugh is led out of the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, after receiving a double life sentence Friday. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
Murdaugh's sister, Lynn Murdaugh Goette, his brother John Marvin Murdaugh and Buster sat in the gallery as Newman delivered his withering commentary. Alex Murdaugh's brother, Randy Murdaugh, however, was noticeably absent.
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The defense team said it didn't regret putting Murdaugh on the stand after the judge permitted extensive evidence of the disbarred attorney's theft of nearly $9 million from his former law firm and his vulnerable clients.
"There was no choice because he had been made out to be a monster who stole from children and crippled people, and he had to try to push back on that," Harpootlian said.
Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison after his conviction for double murder at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Friday. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)
The attorney, who serves as a Democratic state senator, noted that Murdaugh also had to address the dog kennel video.
"He had to take the stand to explain the kennel video, the lie if you will. But his credibility had been stripped away by the financial misdeeds," Harpootlian said.
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A damning and ultimately pivotal piece of evidence in the case was the dog kennel video recovered from Paul's cellphone that placed Murdaugh with both victims less than four minutes before they were fatally shot.
From left, Alex Murdaugh, Morgan Doughty, Paul Murdaugh and Maggie Murdaugh. In a Netflix documentary, Doughty alleges that Paul physically abused her. (Netflix)
Murdaugh had told friends, family and investigators he was taking a nap when his wife and son were slaughtered and was never at the kennels that night, but the video shredded his alibi.
Harpootlian and Griffin said they planned to appeal the verdict, in part, on the grounds that the judge shouldn't have allowed in the financial crimes evidence going back nearly 15 years.
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"We strongly objected," Griffin said. "We respected the judge’s decision, but we believe that was an erroneous decision."
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