All options on the table after South Carolina Supreme Court overturns Alex Murdaugh conviction
Criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno analyzes the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision to overturn Alex Murdaugh's murder conviction due to procedural errors.
Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced lawyer whose double-murder conviction was overturned, has filed a lawsuit alleging his civil rights were violated when court clerk Rebecca "Becky" Hill tampered with the jury at his trial.
The 17-page lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Columbia, alleges Hill improperly influenced jurors in an effort to secure a guilty verdict because she believed it would help sell books she planned to write.
During a news conference Monday, Murdaugh attorney Jim Griffin said the lawsuit is intended to uncover the full extent of Hill’s alleged conduct.
"The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Becky Hill accountable for what she did," Griffin said. "She has not been held to account at all for her conduct."
Griffin also claimed that investigators failed to properly pursue several leads into other potential suspects before Murdaugh’s initial trial. Chief among those claims is that forensic testing revealed an unknown male's DNA under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails. According to Griffin, the DNA does not match any member of the Murdaugh family.
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The South Carolina Supreme Court said Becky Hill allegedly engaged in "shocking jury interference" during the proceedings in which Alex Murdaugh was accused of murdering his wife and son. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)
The lawsuit follows a May 13 ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court vacating Murdaugh’s convictions and ordering a new trial, finding Hill "placed her fingers on the scales of justice" and improperly influenced jurors.
According to the lawsuit, Hill repeatedly told jurors not to be "fooled," "confused," or "misled" by the defense’s case and instructed them to closely watch Murdaugh’s behavior and body language when he testified in his own defense. At least one juror later testified Hill’s comments influenced her guilty verdict, according to the complaint.
The filing also alleges Hill held repeated private conversations with the jury foreperson during the trial, including meetings in secluded areas and the jury room bathroom.
Alex Murdaugh is found guilty on all counts for the murder of his wife and son at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, March 2, 2023, in Walterboro, SC. (Joshua Boucher/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK )
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According to testimony cited in the complaint, Hill said before and during trial that a guilty verdict would help book sales because she "needed a lake house."
Hill co-authored a book about the proceedings, "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders," which the lawsuit says earned roughly $100,000 before being withdrawn amid plagiarism allegations.
According to the book’s synopsis, Hill had known the Murdaugh family for decades and was aware of "the rumors of corruption and crime surrounding the Murdaugh family."
Defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin talk with client Alex Murdaugh, right, during his trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. The 54-year-old attorney was standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their Colleton County, S.C., home and hunting lodge on June 7, 2021. (Grace Beahm Alford/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)
Murdaugh’s attorneys also signaled they are likely to seek a change of venue ahead of a retrial.
"One of the things that we’re looking at is a motion to transfer the venue to a different county," Griffin said Monday, adding that any new venue would likely need demographics similar to Colleton County.
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian suggested neighboring Charleston County could still be considered because it is contiguous to Colleton County.
A photo of the Murdaugh family taken days before Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were shot to death. From left, Buster, Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh. (Defense exhibit)
The defense team also raised questions about DNA evidence and alternate suspects that they argue were not fully investigated before the initial trial.
Griffin said investigators found unidentified male DNA under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernail that was "not really followed up on" before trial. He said the defense may seek a court order to have the DNA submitted to CODIS, the FBI’s national DNA database.
"We don’t have possession of that DNA, so we can’t do anything with it," Griffin said.
WATCH: AG calls out Murdaugh attorney’s ‘bald-faced allegations’ after civil rights suit
Harpootlian also said the defense has received "a number of pieces of information post-trial," including potential leads they claim lacked the power to fully investigate while the appeal was pending.
"Once the trial was over, we don’t have the power to subpoena," Harpootlian said. "At that point, then we will have subpoena power, and then we will have the ability to investigate."
Paralegal Carly Jewell speaks with South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson during Alex Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday, February 24, 2023. ( Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool)
The attorneys also criticized South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson after Wilson announced prosecutors would again seek the death penalty if Murdaugh is retried.
"He’s probably talking to U.S. political consultants who thought that was a good soundbite for his governor’s campaign," Harpootlian said. "We’re a little sick and tired … of Alan Wilson playing politics as opposed to playing prosecutor."
Harpootlian argued pursuing the death penalty after the conviction was overturned could amount to vindictive prosecution and questioned what new evidence, if any, would justify the decision.
Murdaugh is seeking compensatory and punitive damages under federal civil rights law, including recovery of the approximately $600,000 he says he spent defending himself during the original murder trial.
Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh arrives in court in Beaufort, S.C. Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. Murdaugh appeared publicly as a convicted murderer for the first time at the state court hearing regarding the slew of financial crimes allegedly committed by the disbarred South Carolina attorney. (James Pollard/AP Photo)
The lawsuit comes after the state's Supreme Court ruled last week that Hill’s actions triggered the legal presumption that the jury had been improperly influenced and that prosecutors failed to prove the verdict was unaffected.
"As noted at the outset," the justices wrote, "Hill’s shocking jury interference" forced the court to reverse the conviction and order a new trial.
Timeline of the Reversal:
- October 2023: Murdaugh attorneys allege jury tampering
- January 2024: Jurors testify under oath
- December 2025: Hill pleads guilty to related charges
- May 13, 2026: Supreme Court overturns convictions
- May 18, 2026: Murdaugh sues Hill over jury tampering accusations
The unraveling began publicly in October 2023 when Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a motion for a new trial accusing Hill of jury tampering.
By January 2024, jurors were testifying under oath about Hill’s comments and behavior.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Hill's attorney for comment.
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