Disgraced Lawyer Alex Murdaugh's Wins Appeal — Does That Mean He's Getting a New Trial?

It was the case that had the country and the entire world in shock. Alex Murdaugh, a former South Carolina personal injury attorney, was accused of doing the unthinkable — murdering his wife and son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, in cold blood.

While Netflix’s Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal painted a rather vivid picture of the presumed motive, viewers walked away with the thought that no matter where you sit on the financial rank, everyone has their day. And for Murdaugh, it came with the ultimate price to pay.

Since March 2, 2023, Murdaugh has been tucked away in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

And while whispers magnified about the then-convicted murderer possibly getting an appeal, most folks didn’t take the chatter for face value until now.

According to People, the former convicted murderer will be getting a new trial due to the actions of former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill.

The outlet reports that the court found the allegations behind Rebecca’s improper influence on jurors during the initial trial alarming.

"Our justice system provides—indeed demands—that every person is entitled to a fair trial, which includes an impartial jury untainted by external forces bent on influencing the jury toward a biased verdict," the justices wrote in their unanimous opinion on May 13 via the outlet. "Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh's motion for a new trial due to Hill's improper external influences on the jury and remand for a new trial."

Interestingly, Murdaugh’s team immediately filed an appeal after his conviction and accused Rebecca of misconduct. They alleged that she violated Murdaugh’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial trial by her disparaging comments.

At the time, prosecutors dismissed the notion, claiming that there was no proof that her comments made any impact on the verdict.

Although the legal system may have given Murdaugh a tiny win, he won’t be tasting freedom any time soon. The outlet shares that aside from the double-murder conviction, he was held accountable for various financial crimes — breach of trust, financial fraud, and money laundering — before the deaths of his wife and son.

Murdaugh's financial crime victims include his childhood friend Jordan Jinks, the Murdaugh family's longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, and more.

As a result, he was sentenced to 27 years in state prison and 40 years in federal prison. This sentence was set to run concurrently with the life in prison sentence for the murders.

Since the murder conviction was just overturned, there’s no telling when Murdaugh’s new trial will begin. That said, South Carolina’s Attorney General, Alan Wilson, shared that his office will retry Murdaugh again.

“No one is above the law and, as always, we will continue to fight for justice,” he shared in a statement.