By Lucretia Hughes
SUMTER, S.C. — The double-murder retrial of disgraced former attorney Alex Murdaugh will be moved to Sumter County after a judge concluded that extensive publicity, community prejudice and misconduct surrounding his original trial made it unlikely that an impartial jury could be seated in Colleton County.
Circuit Judge Debra McCaslin issued the order Tuesday, selecting Sumter County as the location for the retrial scheduled to begin April 5, 2027.
Murdaugh, 58, is charged with murdering his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, at the family’s Moselle hunting estate on June 7, 2021.
A Colleton County jury convicted him of both murders in March 2023, and he received two consecutive life sentences. The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned those convictions in May after finding that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill improperly influenced the jury and denied Murdaugh his constitutional right to a fair trial.
That decision did not declare Murdaugh innocent. It declared that the process used to convict him was compromised.
There is a difference.
The state Supreme Court determined that Hill made improper comments to jurors about Murdaugh’s credibility, encouraged them to watch his body language and warned them against being misled by the defense. The court described her actions as improper external influence that created a presumption of prejudice.
A court clerk is supposed to protect the integrity of a trial, not participate in persuading jurors toward a particular verdict.
McCaslin previously ruled that the retrial could not remain anywhere within South Carolina’s 14th Judicial Circuit, which includes Colleton, Hampton, Allendale, Beaufort and Jasper counties. Murdaugh’s family maintained deep political and legal connections throughout that region for nearly a century.
The judge cited an unusually high juror-disqualification rate during the first trial. Of approximately 900 prospective jurors summoned, only 123 qualified to serve. The case has also generated years of nonstop coverage through news reports, books, podcasts, documentaries, television productions and social media.
Moving the retrial is intended to give both the prosecution and defense a jury that has not already decided the case before hearing the evidence.
McCaslin wrote that Sumter County has the necessary courtroom space, technology, security and infrastructure to handle the proceedings. The county is outside the 14th Judicial Circuit and approximately 80 miles from the site of the original trial.
Murdaugh’s attorneys had suggested Charleston or Richland counties. The judge determined that Sumter County was better suited after considering the financial burden on Colleton County, transportation, witness convenience, courthouse security and the need to protect Murdaugh while moving him to and from court.
The defense also proposed selecting jurors elsewhere and transporting them to Colleton County. McCaslin rejected that option, concluding that moving an outside jury back and forth during another potentially six-week trial would create unnecessary lodging, transportation, meal and security costs.
Prosecutors are expected to rely again on cellphone records, vehicle data and a cellphone video recorded by Paul near the family’s dog kennels shortly before the killings. Murdaugh’s voice could be heard in the video, contradicting his original claim that he had not been at the kennels that evening.
Murdaugh later admitted lying to investigators about his location but has continued to deny killing his wife and son.
The former attorney remains imprisoned regardless of the outcome of the murder retrial. He is serving separate state and federal sentences after admitting that he stole millions of dollars from clients, including vulnerable people who trusted him to handle settlements on their behalf.
His financial crimes are established. His murder charges must now be decided again by a properly selected and impartial jury.
Some people will ask why a man surrounded by this much evidence deserves another trial. The answer is simple: The Constitution does not guarantee fair trials only for people we like or believe are innocent. It guarantees due process to every defendant.
If the evidence proves Murdaugh murdered Maggie and Paul, prosecutors should secure a conviction without a court official attempting to influence the jury.
Justice is not achieved by cutting corners, even when the defendant is unpopular. A guilty verdict reached through a corrupted process creates doubt, invites reversal and forces victims’ families to endure another trial.
This case is now returning to where it should have remained from the beginning — inside a courtroom where the evidence, the law and an impartial jury determine the verdict.
Murdaugh will face that jury in Sumter County next April.
Original article
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