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South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson says his office will move quickly to retry Alex Murdaugh after the state Supreme Court threw out the disgraced lawyer’s murder convictions, stressing prosecutors still believe they can secure a guilty verdict.
“The Supreme Court, in its order today, basically laid the blame on this reversal on the shoulders of former Colton County Clerk of Court, Rebecca [Becky] Hill, and it was her conduct that has led to this decision today, not the conduct of anyone else,” Wilson told Fox News Digital.
Wilson said the Palmetto State plans to retry Murdaugh and will push for a speedy trial as prosecutors evaluate next steps.
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“We are disappointed in the court’s decision. We respect this court, we respect the members of the court, but we strongly disagree with their reasoning,” Wilson told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on The Story.
The South Carolina Supreme Court vacated Murdaugh’s 2023 convictions in the killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, ruling that misconduct by former Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill tainted the jury process.
At issue were allegations that Hill made improper comments to jurors during the trial, conduct the court said created a risk of influencing the verdict.
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The comments included that jurors said “that Hill told the jurors not to be fooled by the evidence Murdaugh’s defense presented,” saying “They’re going to say things that will try to confuse you. Don’t let them confuse you or convince you or throw you off.”
Wilson said prosecutors were not aware of the clerk’s conduct during the trial.
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“No, we obviously weren’t aware of any of this conduct until after. Obviously, it had occurred,” he told MacCallum. “We never defended her conduct. We just believe that it wasn’t enough to warrant a reversal.”
MURDAUGH LAWYER ‘CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC’ COURT CLERK’S MISCONDUCT COULD PAVE WAY FOR NEW TRIAL
WATCH: South Carolina AG on overturned Murdaugh conviction: ‘We have time to try him again’
Retrying the high-profile case will come with challenges, but Wilson said his office still has most of the original team in place and a clear road map from the first trial.
“So we had the benefit of having a road map for our case that we developed three years ago. Obviously, the defense knows what our trial strategy was. We know what their trial strategy is. And so it will be a different kind of trial because both sides have seen the hands we have to play,” he told Fox News Digital.
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We know what their trial strategy is. And so it will be a different kind of trial because both sides have seen the hands we have to play.
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The attorney general said multiple legal options remain under consideration, including potential appeals.
“The state has 15 days on whether or not we want to petition the state Supreme Court for reconsideration of their decision. And we have up to 90 days to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to take this case up on appeal. All options, all legal options, are on the table,” Wilson said.
“But regardless, it is my intention right now, assuming that nothing changes, to retry this case as quickly and expeditiously as possible. That is our goal,” he said.
Wilson said his office is aiming to bring the case back to court within the next year, though he admitted that timeline is not guaranteed.
“Look, I’m being aspirational when I say this, but we would like to try to get this case up before January 2027. That would be our goal,” he said.
Murdaugh, 54, was convicted of gunning down his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family’s hunting estate in 2021. The case exposed a web of lies including Murdaugh’s opioid addiction and millions in stolen client funds.
Despite the legal win, Murdaugh will not be walking free. He remains behind bars serving lengthy sentences for a string of financial crimes that cemented his fall from power.
For his financial crimes, Murdaugh was sentenced in state court to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to 22 counts including money laundering and breach of trust. In federal court, he received a 40-year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which he is serving concurrently with his state time.
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Though his murder convictions and subsequent life sentences were overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday, he remains in prison to serve the financial sentences.
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