Posted on 09/06/2023 2:20:15 AM PDT by NautiNurse
WALTERBORO, S.C. — Lawyers for convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh filed a motion Tuesday seeking a new trial, alleging they had uncovered evidence of jury tampering.
Rebecca Hill, the Colleton County clerk of court, "tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh's testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense," attorneys Richard "Dick" Harpootlian and Jim Griffin claim in the motion.
Harpootlian said at a news conference Tuesday that they collected sworn testimony from two jurors and interviewed a third to learn that Hill, an elected official serving her first term, had had "improper, private communications" with some jurors outside the courtroom.
"They're not someone who should ever talk about the case," Harpootlian said of the clerk. "I've never heard it happen, and I've been doing this a very long time."
The latest legal twist comes six months after a jury found Murdaugh, 55, guilty of two counts of murder in the fatal shootings of his wife, Margaret, 52, and their youngest son, Paul, 22, in June 2021.
Two sources familiar with the motion said at least two of the jurors have hired lawyers.
[Snip]
"Ms. Hill did these things to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial," the motion says. "Ms. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame." <[Snip]
Mags, PawPaw, Alex
He’s Baaaaaack! Elic is hankering for a new trial.
If she did do it, how does anyone know whether or not the defendant got her to do it to create grounds for a mistrial?
That adds another possible twist to the plot. I was surprised to learn the court clerk wrote a book already.
He has so much money for lawyers, so they will come up with all sorts of things like this.
Whoa!
And I thought things were corrupt in my home state.
What a convoluted mess.
Here’s a link to the book that specifies the publisher...
https://www.amazon.com/Behind-Doors-Justice-Murdaugh-Murders/dp/B0CCCN5WQ5
Wind River Media, LLC.
Well, that’s a clue right there, methinks...
More on the book here, mentions a co-author...
A couple of the jurors have hired their own lawyers. And the beat goes on.
Thanks for posting the book info.
ping
I don’t doubt for a minute that he did it. It does however sound like he has a new trial coming. The court clerk needs to be arrested too.
Agree. The court clerk did seem to relish her role in reading the verdicts and hanging out on the balcony during the prosecution’s post-verdict press conference.
How would the defendent get her to do it? And if he tried, why would an honorable clerk go along with it?
Uh, he has no money. It’s all gone.
Court Clerk messed up, must have been the $$$. People do crazy things.
Watching the trial it was pretty obvious that things were not entirely kosher. Not sure that Murdaugh is innocent and certainly not a nice guy, but we need the rule of law to prevail for us to hace a fair system abd free society and it doesn’t to be anywhere these days.
If only some savvy, wealthy lawyers had been protesting at the Capital on 1/6...
Same here. Talk about cashing in... very quickly!
You noticed that too, huh? ;-)
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