From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

Trumpo needs to pardon him once he's convicted!

Retrial set for lawyer Alex Murdaugh after convictions overturned in deaths
of wife, son.

The murder convictions and life sentence of Alex Murdaugh were overturned Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court because the court clerk at
his trial suggested he was guilty, but the disgraced lawyer won't be
leaving prison any time soon.

Prosecutors say they plan to retry Murdaugh, which likely means there will
be another lengthy trial in the case that has become a true crime sensation because of its combination of money, power, Southern accents and treachery.
It has spawned several streaming miniseries, best-selling books and dozens
of true-crime podcasts.

Murdaugh, 57, will remain in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing around
$12 million US from his clients and currently is serving a 40-year federal sentence.

Prosecutors said they would aggressively seek to try Murdaugh again on the murder charges, with state Attorney General Alan Wilson saying he respected the court's decision but no one is above the law.

Murdaugh's lawyers pointed out that trial will look a lot different, as the justices also ruled days of evidence at the murder trial about how Murdaugh stole from clients u many of them in dire straits u shouldn't be allowed
next time.

Alex Murdaugh appeals conviction, life sentence for murdering his wife
and son

Still, the ruling is a win for Murdaugh, who has admitted to being a thief, liar, insurance cheat and bad lawyer, but has adamantly denied killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, since he found their bodies outside
their home in 2021.

"Alex has said from day one that he did not kill his wife and son. We look forward to a new trial," Murdaugh's lawyers Dick Harpootlian and Jim
Griffin said in a joint statement.
A seated man in an orange prison jumpsuit leans over to talk to a man in a dark suit sitting next to him.
Alex Murdaugh is seen speaking with his attorney, Jim Griffin, during a
2024 hearing for a retrial. (Tracy Glantz/The State/The Associated Press)
Clerk 'attacked Murdaugh's credibility'

In their unanimous ruling Wednesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court said
the conduct by Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill "egregiously
attacked Murdaugh's credibility" by suggesting to jurors his testimony
could not be trusted.

A few jurors said Hill, assigned to oversee the evidence and the jury
during the trial, told them to watch Murdaugh's body language when he testified in his own defence and not to be fooled, confused or thrown off
by what he might say.

"By urging the jurors not to be fooled or convinced by Murdaugh's defence, Hill essentially implored the jurors to find him guilty, the ultimate issue
in the case," the justices wrote. They added that the comments insinuated there was something unusual and suspicious about his decision to testify.
An older woman with blonde hair and in a dark suit looks to the left, with memebers of the media and videographers seen behind her.
In December, Mary Rebecca Hill, a former South Carolina court clerk who
aided in the Murdaugh murder trial, pleaded guilty to criminal charges tied
to showing sealed court exhibits to members of the press and lying about it
in court. (Jeffrey Collins/The Associated Press)

Hill "placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury," the justices wrote. "Our justice system provides u indeed demands u that every person is entitled to
a fair trial."

The court said Hill's motivation was the "siren call of celebrity" and her goal was to increase sales of her book on the trial called Behind the Doors
of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders. It was pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations were made.

"As her book's title suggests, it turns out Hill was quite busy behind the doors of justice, thwarting the integrity of the justice system she was
sworn to protect and uphold," the justices wrote in an unsigned 27-page ruling.

Hill's attorney in her criminal case didn't return a phone call or email seeking comment.

Hill has pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did during the Murdaugh trial, including showing graphic crime scene photos to several
media members. The journalists were not named and the photos were not described at her December hearing.

"The court rightly described her conduct as 'breathtaking,' 'disgraceful,'
and 'unprecedented in South Carolina,'" Murdaugh's lawyers said.

Prosecutors argued that the clerk's comments were fleeting and the evidence against Murdaugh was overwhelming.
Caution urged over theft evidence

The justices also had a warning for the next judge to try the murder case:
be cautious about how much evidence of Murdaugh's thefts from his law firm
and clients to allow those jurors to hear.

Some brief evidence of how Murdaugh stole is fine, as is evidence how it
might connect to him killing his wife and son. But the court said details
like how some of the people Murdaugh stole from were disabled or vulnerable could unfairly turn jurors against him when they should be focused only on whether he killed his family.

South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for killing wife, son

Investigators said Murdaugh was addicted to opioids and his complex schemes
to steal money from clients and his family's law firm were starting to
unravel when he shot his younger son, Paul, with a shotgun and his wife, Maggie, with a rifle, at their home in Colleton County in 2021.

Murdaugh told investigators he hadn't seen them for an hour or so before he discovered their bodies, but his voice was recorded in a video on his son's phone made about five minutes before the killing.

The weapons used in the killings have not been found and prosecutors did
not present any clothes with DNA or blood evidence.
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