THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT REVERSES ALEXMURDAUGH’S DOUBLE MURDER CONVICTION BECAUSE“EGREGIOUS, IMPROPER JURY INTERFERENCE” IS INTOLERABLE

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By: Cynara Hermes McQuillan

  1. Introduction

The South Carolina Supreme Court’s reversal of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s double murder conviction is not a declaration of Murdaugh’s innocence, or a rejection of the vast evidence presented at trial. Instead, it highlights a fundamental constitutional principle: even the most high-profile prosecution must be tried before an impartial jury. That means, as the court explained, “an impartial jury untainted by external forces bent on influencing the jury toward a biased verdict.”[1]

Unfortunately, per the court, Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill’s misconduct—which included making comments to jurors about Murdaugh’s credibility and defense—“placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury,” thereby leaving the court with “no choice” but to reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial.

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THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUPREME COURT REVERSES ALEXMURDAUGH’S DOUBLE MURDER CONVICTION BECAUSE“EGREGIOUS, IMPROPER JURY INTERFERENCE” IS INTOLERABLEDownload