Supreme Court Overturns Alex Murdaugh’s Murder Convictions, New Trial Ordered

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Alex Murdaugh’s Murder Convictions of Wife and Son Shockingly Overturned, New Trial Ordered
by Patrick Reilly, Priscilla DeGregory and Georgia Worrell
May 13, 2026


Alex Murdaugh — the disgraced South Carolina legal scion who was found guilty of killing his wife and son — had his murder convictions sensationally overturned Wednesday by the state Supreme Court after it found that the local county clerk had “placed her fingers on the scales of justice.”

Murdaugh, 57, was serving two consecutive life sentences without parole for the grisly 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, following a dramatic, six-week trial that gripped the nation in 2023.

“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,” the justices wrote in a 5-0 ruling.





Despite having his conviction tossed and a new trial ordered, Murdaugh will not be allowed to walk free. He is also serving concurrent 40-year federal and 27-year state sentences for financial crimes for stealing from his clients.

Murdaugh’s lawyers appealed the murder convictions, arguing the trial was affected by county clerk Becky Hill, who they say tampered with the jury during the trial.

They also accused the judge of allowing prosecutors to present more than 12 hours of evidence regarding his financial crimes to prove a motive for the murder.





Murdaugh’s lawyers appealed the murder convictions, arguing the trial was affected by county clerk Becky Hill, who they say tampered with the jury during the trial.

The South Carolina Supreme Court found that prosecutors’ efforts to get a conviction for Murdaugh “were in vain because Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”

The also found that “the State could have effectively presented evidence to support its motive theory in a fraction” of the 12-plus hours it spent.





Hill pleaded guilty in December to obstruction of justice, perjury, and two counts of misconduct in office after admitting she showed sealed crime scene photos to a reporter and lied about it.

She also admitted to promoting her book about the trial through her public office. Hill was sentenced to probation.





Prosecutors maintain that the jury’s unanimous verdict was sound due to the overwhelming evidence connecting Murdaugh to the killings.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office disagrees with the Supreme Court’s decision but “will aggressively seek to retry Alex Murdaugh for the murders of Maggie and Paul as soon as possible.”

“Let me be clear — this decision does not mean Murdaugh will be released. He will remain in prison for his financial crimes. No one is above the law and, as always, we will continue to fight for justice,” Wilson said.





Murdaugh’s defense team, led by attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, applauded the court’s decision.

“The Court found that Becky Hill’s conduct during the trial attacked Alex Murdaugh’s credibility and his defense. The Court rightly described her conduct as ‘breathtaking,’ ‘disgraceful,’ and ‘unprecedented in South Carolina,’” the lawyers said in a statement.

“We respect the decision that made clear that the retrial must look very different from the first. The initial jury heard more than twelve hours of testimony about Alex’s financial crimes. The Court held that this evidence went far beyond what was necessary and gave rise to unfair prejudice. On retrial, that will not be permitted,” the lawyers said.

“Alex has said from day one that he did not kill his wife and son. We look forward to a new trial conducted consistent with the Constitution and the guidance this Court has provided.”





Former Prosecutor Neama Rahmani told The Post he wasn’t particularly surprised that the convictions were overturned given Hill’s actions, saying she committed a “cardinal sin” by speaking to the jury about the case without attorneys present.

“Here you have the clerk saying Alex Murdaugh is not credible and that they shouldn’t believe him and that is a very very big deal. And it’s a clear error. You just can’t do it,” he said.

“Hill was writing a book so she had a financial motive,” he added, noting this does not mean that Murdaugh is innocent. “The Hill debacle really wasn’t the prosecution’s fault at all. There is nothing they could have done, it’s really bad,” he said.

Murdaugh is “still going to die in prison but his position has always been that he’s a thief and not a murderer,” Rahmani said.






Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, were found shot to death near the dog kennels at the family’s sprawling hunting estate in Colleton County on June 7, 2021.

Prosecutors argued that Murdaugh, the heir of a storied legal dynasty, had killed them both to cover up his extensive financial crimes.

At the time Murdaugh allegedly killed his wife and son, the family was facing a lawsuit from the family of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who died after Paul drunkenly crashed a boat into a bridge in December 2019.




Prosecutors said that a pre-trial hearing in the boat crash case, which had been scheduled to take place just three days after the murders, would have exposed Murdaugh’s criminal financial dealings.

Beach’s father reacted to the shocking ruling Wednesday in a spiritual statement shared with Fox News Digital.

“We’ve put everything in God’s hands,” Phillip Beach said, then quoted a Bible verse. “Romans 8:28 – ‘And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose.’”

https://nypost.com/2026/05/13/us-new...in-wild-twist/