Beyond The Horizon
ICYMI: Alex Murdaugh Won't Be Getting A New Trial
Alex Murdaugh and his hopes for a new murder trial have taken a huge blow in South Carolina after Judge Toal ruled that there was not enough 'there' there when it comes to alleged impropriety by the court clerk, Becky Hill.
After hearing testimony from the jurors who sat in the box during the trial, Judge Toal was simply not convinced by the narrative being pitched by Murdaugh and his team and now according to Murdaugh's lawyers, their next step is to appeal the ruling.
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Juror testifies comments by clerk of court influenced her decision to convict Alex Murdaugh of murder | CNN
- Duration:
- 19m
- Broadcast on:
- 03 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
[SINGING] Looking for excitement? Chumba Casino is here. Play any time, play anywhere. Play on the train, play at the store, play at home, play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win and get daily bonuses when you log in. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play. Experience social gameplay like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots, bingo, slingo, and more. Live the Chumba Life at chumbakoccino.com. P.G.W. Group, no purchase necessary, board work prohibited by law. See terms and conditions, 18-plus. What's up, everyone? And welcome back to the program. In this episode, we're going to spin down to South Carolina, and we're going to check in on Alec Murder and his pursuit of a new trial. Now, we knew that it was going to be an uphill battle for Alec Murder. And as it turns out, Alec Murder is not going to receive that new trial. So let's dive into this article from CNN, and let's get caught up. Headline, Alec Murder will not receive a new murder trial, South Carolina Judge Rules. This article was authored by DeKynne Andoni, Diane Gallagher, and Maxim Tamsett. Alec Murder, the former South Carolina attorney who was convicted last year of killing his wife and his son, will not receive a new murder trial, a judge ruled, on Monday. Murder's attorneys had asked for a new trial, alleging that the court clerk tampered with the jury that found him guilty almost 11 months ago. Judge Gene Toll, in announcing her decision as murder sat an orange prison close, held the clerk of court, made improper comments to the jury, but ruled the comments did not influence the verdict that it reached. Toll said she was not convinced that the clerk, Rebecca Becky Hill, was completely a credible witness, and believed that she had been affected by the siren call to be a celebrity and write a book about the trial. And Becky Hill is just another one of these people who was afflicted with main character syndrome. Oh, let's make this all about me. Let's make this about me collecting a bag. This shouldn't even be an issue right now. Nobody should be talking about a retrial for Alec Murder, but because of Becky Hill and her nonsense, here we are. I simply do not believe that the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very lengthy trial, such as this on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity influence clerk of courts, the judge or retired justice on the state's high court said. So look, she's saying that while she sees some improper behavior here by Becky Hill, that level of impropriety didn't raise up to a level that's high enough to trigger a whole new trial here. Before leaving the bench and adjourning for the day, Toll said, now that I've read the record, I say as the successive trial judge that the evidence was overwhelming and the jury verdict, not surprising. And that's what I said from the jump. There was no surprise for me that Alec Murdall was found guilty. This man was as guilty as the day is long. But if there's any kind of impropriety, then that has to be addressed. The state has so much power out their fingertips that they have to walk a straight line. They can't be out here, you know, cut in corners and play in games. Everything has to be on the up and up. And that goes not only for the prosecutors, but the whole entire staff, right? Anybody working for the state, anybody working for the court especially, has to make sure that they're doing the right thing. And obviously Becky Hill raised enough suspicion here that she finds herself under the spotlight. Attorneys for Murdall believe the next step will be the court of appeals. Oh, there's no doubt they're gonna appeal this. And that's certainly the signal we've received from Murdall's team. Even though they got slapped here, they're not just gonna let it die out. They believe that they have some tractable ground. So what they're gonna do is continue to push it and see if they can get an appeals court to see it their way. But like I've said from the beginning, it's gonna be very difficult for Alec Murdall to get his wish. We go from here to the court of appeals, then South Carolina Supreme Court, if necessary, and then federal court, Murdall attorney Dick Harpoulian told CNN, "It's either going to be decided, in my opinion, "in our favor, in the appellate court, "or five years down the road, in federal court. "Unless they change the federal law, "Murdall attorney Jim Griffin said, "You'll get no tears here." Alec Murdall is exactly where he belongs. This man murdered his wife and his son. And then let's not even forget about all of the financial bullshit he was involved in, how many people he stole from, how many poor people he made poor. So yeah, no empathy from me. We followed along with that whole entire trial. And there was nothing that popped up during that trial that would lead me to believe that Alec Murdall is anything but guilty. Hills attorneys Justin Bamberg and Will Lewis said that they respected the decision. We agree with Justice Tull's findings that the Collatin County jurors selected for this very complicated and lengthy trial were consummate professionals and operated within the instructions of the court. They said, "We thank them for their service." Jur's questioned about the clerk's actions. One of the jurors who found Alec Murdall guilty of murdering his wife and 22-year-old son testified Monday comments made by the Collatin County, South Carolina clerk of courts influenced her verdict. So see, this is where I have a problem. If there's a juror out there who says that Becky Hill's behavior influenced them, how isn't that enough for a new trial? Now don't get it twisted. I don't think that Alec Murdall is innocent. But if there was misconduct, if there was an issue with Becky Hill and her behavior, then if it's all about money or saving the state of South Carolina some shame, then that's not acceptable, right? Because if there was any sort of misconduct, then that has to be addressed. But according to the judge, the level of misconduct didn't rise up to a level that would necessitate a new trial. Now for those of us who want to see Alec Murdall rot in prison for the rest of his life, certainly a decision that we can get behind. But when you look at it from a fairness standpoint, and you look at it from the standpoint that the law dictates, is this the right decision for this judge to make? Considering we have a juror here, who says that the clerk's actions swayed the way that they looked at what was going on as far as a verdict, I think that that's something that needs to be taken into account. And if Judge Tolle didn't take it into account, I think that an appeals court most certainly will. Now again, does that mean it's going to trigger a new trial? It doesn't, but it is the kind of case, the kind of situation where you see the Supreme Court step in one way or the other. So I would not be shocked to see that here, especially considering that's what Hart Pooley has been talking about from the very beginning. But every other juror questioned, as part of an evidentiary hearing, testified their verdicts were not influenced by Hill, who had been accused by Murdall and his attorneys, of inappropriately discussing the case with jurors, and pressuring them to conclude deliberations quickly. Hill again denied the allegations, while testifying at the hearing Monday afternoon. The first juror questioned Monday, identified as Jersey, testified she was influenced by remarks Hill made, telling the judge, she or the clerk say, to watch his actions and to watch him closely. Hill's comments, Jersey said, made it seem like he was already guilty, asked if Hill's comments affected her finding of guilt, the juror said, yes ma'am. And that right there might be enough to necessitate the appeals court to take a look, right? One juror saying that might be enough. Now, I'm not willing to say it's definitely going to ring the bells and have the appeals court overthrow this and side with Murdall's team. But when you have this sort of issue pop up, this is exactly what the appeal process is for, right? And you would have to think that with a case this serious, and a case that has this much publicity, that they're gonna take it real serious when they're taking a look at it when it hits the docket. Jersey was also asked about an affidavit where she indicated she had questions about Murdall's guilt, voted for a guilty verdict because I felt pressured by the other jurors. Asked by the judge if it was a more accurate statement of how you felt, the jurors said, yes ma'am, affirming she stood by the affidavit. The affidavit also said prior to Murdall testifying, Hill told the jurors not to be fooled by evidence offered by the defense. The juror wrote she took it as an indication Murda would lie. Tol said in a ruling that one juror was ambivalent in her testimony, but told the judge she stood by her oath. The other 11 jurors denied being influenced though too said. They also heard comments made by the clerk when Murda took the stand to testify. Jur ex who testified Friday due to a scheduling conflict described hearing Hill say that day was important and epic because Murda's testimony while juror P testified Monday about hearing Hill make a comment about watching Murda's body language, but both jurors said those comments did not influence their decision to convict. So you have one juror here who says that they might have been swayed a bit, but these other jurors are saying that that's not the case. So really it's gonna come down to how the appeals court interprets all of this. - With the lucky land slots, you can get lucky just about anywhere. - This is your captain speaking. We've got clear runway and the weather's fine, but we're just gonna circle up here a while and get lucky. No, no, nothing like that. It's just these cash prizes add up quick. So I suggest you sit back, keep your tray table upright and start getting lucky. - Play for free at luckylandslides.com. Are you feeling lucky? No purchase necessary. BGW graduate were prohibited by law. 18 plus terms and conditions apply. Murdoch's jury deliberated for about three hours before it convicted him last March of murdering his wife Maggie and to Sun Paul at the family hunting estate in June, 2021. Prosecutors said the killings were an attempt by Murdoch to distract from and delay investigations into an array of financial crimes he was carrying out, targeting his own clients and his law firm. Hell of a guy, this Alec Murdoch, real pillar of the community. Murdoch, who is serving two consecutive life sentences for the murders, denies killing his wife and his son. He is also serving 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to two dozen state financial crimes. The clerk denies the allegations. The case brought international attention. Numerous documentaries, books and podcasts have been made about it to Murdoch, a former personal injury attorney whose father, grandfather and great grandfather served as prosecutors for a portion of Southern South Carolina from 1920 to 2006. No nepotism here at all though, everything's on the up and up, same family serving as basically the attorney general of the area. Meanwhile, Alec Murdoch's out here on a crime spree that's lasted decades. By extension, it also brought notoriety to the South Carolina Low Country, the people who lived there and those who played a role during the high profile trial. Hill co-authored a book which published several months after the trial ended and participated in a Netflix documentary about the case. In their motion for a new trial, Murdoch and his attorneys also alleged Hill misrepresented information to the trial judge about a juror who was ultimately dismissed. Hill's alleged tampering, Murdoch's defense team claims, was meant to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a missed trial. So they're saying that this lady threw caution to the wind and was going for the gusto for her own benefit. Used her position as the court clerk to profit and to do that, she was willing to try and sway jurors. Unfortunately for Murdoch's team, the court didn't see it that way. Hill filed a signed affidavit last November denying 26 specific accusations from Murdoch's motion for a new trial and she reiterated those denials on the stand on Monday. Under questioning by a prosecutor, Creighton Waters, Hill acknowledged that she referred to the day of Murdoch's testimony as a big day and said to pay attention, but she likened her comments to a pep talk, which was not meant to indicate favor for one side or the other and she denied telling jurors to watch Murdoch or his actions. Did you tell the jurors, Waters asked, not to be fooled by evidence presented by Mr. Murdoch's attorneys? I did not, Hill said. At any time, did you instruct the jury to watch him closely and to look at his actions? I did not. At any time, as the jury moved to deliberate, did you tell the jury this shouldn't take long? No, Hill said. The South Carolina Attorney General's Office, which led the prosecution against Murdoch, has urged the courts to deny the motion. In the meantime, Murdoch's appeal of his murder conviction has been suspended pending the outcome of his quest for a new trial. Three days have been set aside for the hearing, if needed, but the judges said she hopes the entire proceeding will just take one full day. That does not bode well for Alec Murdoch. If the judge is saying that the proceeding shouldn't take more than one day, I highly doubt that's gonna end up well for a big red. Monday's hearing was briefly interrupted by the revelation jurors' phones had not been confiscated and some jurors had watched jurors' ease testimony. Two acknowledged during questioning that they watched part of the hearing on their cell phone prior to testifying and a third acknowledged overhearing the proceedings on another juror's phone, but each said it would not impact their testimony. Murdoch's attorneys had indicated they also wanted to call alternate and dismiss jurors, as well as prosecutors and judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the murder trial as witnesses, but Toll, who is overseeing Murdoch's efforts for a new trial after Newman requested to be removed from post-trial developments, said Monday's hearing, would have a very focused scope and witnesses would be limited to the 12 jurors who rendered the guilty verdict and Hill. Motion for a new trial cited clerks book. Hill acknowledged under cross-examination the morning before the final arguments. She told someone if they were going to come see the trial, they should come that day because it would not take long for jurors to deliberate. Hill did not derive the information from jurors. She told defense attorney Dick Hartpulian calling it a gut feeling, stemming from her years working as a court reporter and as the clerk of court. "You just get to where you kind of see things happen as they progress," she said. "It's, I guess, it's a gut feeling, and that's all I meant by it." Murdoch's attorneys first levied the jury tampering allegations against Hill last September, prompting South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson to request an investigation by state law enforcement. "Miss Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame," said the motion, which cited at least three sworn affidavits, including one from a juror and another from a dismissed juror, as well as excerpts from her book, Behind the Doors of Justice, The Murdoch Murders. Under cross-examination, Hill said there was a fleeting thought before the trial, she might write a book, but she didn't take any steps towards doing so before or during the trial. She said, adding she and her co-author did not begin collaborating until several weeks after its conclusion. Hartpulian seized on the book, while questioning Hill Monday, pressing her on allegation she made that members of the Murdoch family had reputations as criminals. Hill wouldn't know if that was true, she said. Asked why she would write that without knowing if it were true, Hill described the allegations as poetic license. Oh, that's nice, huh? Poetic license, here's an idea, just don't write a book, or at least not until you retire. Hill's co-author, who also denied claims by Murdoch's attorneys, telling CNN they did not have guarantees from any publisher when they set out to write the book and spent $30,000 of their own money. The fact is, there was no book deal coming her away or hour away, said Neil R. Gordon, who did not meet Hill until after the trial was over. Gordon has since accused her of plagiarism, and she had admitted, including during testimony on Monday, their book included plagiarized passages she lifted from a reporter's draft article. I mean, imagine, yeah, you're not gonna get caught, you're gonna steal from somebody, put it in your own book, and then think nobody's gonna pick up on it, not the brightest bulb in the package. Her attorney said in the statement, Hill was deeply remorseful, attributing the unfortunate lapse in judgment to tight time deadlines. The plagiarism was cited by Murdoch's attorneys in a filing this month, saying her credibility is the crux of the matter before the court, and accusing her of misconduct aside from the alleged jury tampering. In a statement this month, a spokesman for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division confirmed Hill is the subject of two open investigations. One, regarding her alleged interactions with Murdoch's jury, and the other, regarding allegations, she used her elected position for personal gain. So we haven't heard the last of this. There's gonna be more to come, but as of now, Alec Murdoch is not getting that new trial. And Becky Hill, while certainly it looks like she acted improperly, it doesn't look like her behavior is enough to trigger a new trial for Alec Murdoch. So, like usual, we'll keep an eye on things, and when we have some developments, we'll make sure we add it to the catalog. All of the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box. (upbeat music) Looking for excitement? Chumba Casino is here. Play anytime, play anywhere. Play on the train, play at the store, play at home, play when you're bored. 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