May 13 (Reuters) – South Carolina’s highest court on Wednesday overturned the murder conviction of former lawyer Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, who was serving two consecutive life sentences for allegedly shooting his wife and 22-year-old son dead in June 2021.
Murdaugh, 57, will remain in state prison where he is serving a 27-year sentence for financial crimes.
The state’s supreme court ruled his 2023 murder trial was marred by the “improper” influence of county clerk Becky Hill, who oversaw the jury in the case. The decision followed a February request by Murdaugh’s attorney for a new trial.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office would retry Murdaugh as soon as possible.
“No one is above the law,” Wilson said in a statement.
In court filings, Murdaugh’s lawyers argued he deserved a new trial based on alleged jury tampering and prosecutorial errors during the investigation and trial.
Murdaugh is from an influential legal family in an area west of Charleston. His case drew nationwide interest given his political power and the nature of the violent crime involving his family members.
In their unanimous ruling, the supreme court judges said Hill told some jurors to watch Murdaugh’s body language and not be “fooled or convinced” by what he said when he testified in his own defense.
“Hill essentially implored the jurors to find him guilty,” the judges wrote. By doing so, they said she “placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”
Justin Bamberg, an attorney representing Hill, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay in New MexicoEditing by Rod Nickel and Bill Berkrot)
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