Court overturns Alex Murdaugh's murder convictions, orders new trial

CBS News via MSN ^ | May 13, 2026 | Mark Osborne

[libstripper]

The murder convictions and consecutive life sentences for Alex Murdaugh, a prominent South County attorney who was found guilty of killing his wife and son, were overturned on Wednesday by the state's supreme court.

Murdaugh was convicted in March 2023 for killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family's estate in 2021.

He will be given a new trial.

Murdaugh, 57, also pleaded guilty to a series of financial crimes in September 2023 and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Lawyers for Murdaugh pushed for a new trial based on "improper" conduct by the county clerk, Becky Hill, who later wrote a book about her time working on the trial.

[libstripper]

Above all people court employees must be very careful about what they say regarding pending cases lest something someone says or writes leads to a guilty verdict being overtuned, as it's just been in this case. As a very wise woman I know and like once said, "There are some things that, once said, can never be unsaid."

[woodbutcher1963]

Fourth time is the charm.

[Rockingham]

The usual outcome is that the prosecution has an easier time getting a conviction on a do over because there are fewer surprises and the prosecution knows the defense case in detail. In addition, in this case, the prosecution will be able to point to the now longstanding lack of evidence of the involvement of anyone other than Alex Murdaugh as the killer.

[Vermont Lt]

I guess they will have to actually sit down in the jury room next time. If I recall, the jurors didn’t even have time for lunch.

[frank ballenger]

Another criminal getting a break in the system.

I started to waver once when a lawyer here asked in a nice way what my substitute would be for the justice system that denies absolute proof of guilt to get to the jury (confession, bloody evidence happened onto without a specific warrant, allows long delays in trials (not he “right to a speedy trial”) so criminal can threaten witnesses who will be forgetting things or dying of old age anyway) and so on. Along with Miranda problems and insufficient legal representation rulings. And the system allows new trials, parole, Covid and other releases, overcrowding releases and release due to police dna lab having flaws for all the past cases).

I was wrong to waver.