Murdaugh murder convictions overturned by South Carolina Supreme Court

The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled to overturn the 2023 double murder conviction of disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh.

In its ruling Wednesday, the S.C. Supreme Court said the actions of former Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill denied “Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”

Murdaugh’s case will now return to circuit court, according to the ruling.

“Both the State and Murdaugh’s defense skillfully presented their cases to the jury as the trial court deftly presided over this complicated and high-profile matter. However, their efforts were in vain because Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice,” the ruling said. “... Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s improper external influences on the jury and remand for a new trial.”

The state Supreme Court’s decision was made following a February hearing about whether jury tampering and improper prosecution evidence spoiled Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial.

Murdaugh, 57, a once wealthy fourth-generation lawyer in his family law firm in Lowcountry Hampton County, was serving two life sentences for murder at a maximum security state prison in McCormick County.

The man that the S.C. Supreme Court called a “notorious former attorney” is also serving multiyear state and federal sentences for defrauding hapless clients of millions of dollars. Murdaugh has admitted his financial frauds and plead guilty to them.

But he contends he is innocent of murder and was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and son.

In 2023, Murdaugh was found guilty of two counts of murder for the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on the family’s remote 1,770-acre estate, called Moselle.

In addition to the murder charges, Murdaugh also was convicted of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime at the end of the March 2023 trial.

But during an October 2023 appeal, Murdaugh sough to file a motion for a new trial because he said that Hill tampered with the jury in multiple ways. Murdaugh contended that Hill:

• Advised the jury not to believe his testimony and other defense evidence
• Pressured the jury to reach a quick guilty verdict
• Misrepresented information to the trial court in an attempt to have the court remove a juror she believed to favor the defense

In the February hearing before the S.C. Supreme Court justices, the prosecution argued the jury convicted Murdaugh “because he was obviously guilty, and not because three jurors heard Hill’s ‘foolish and fleeting’ comments about his upcoming testimony,” Wednesday’s ruling said.

But that wasn’t enough to sway the S.C. Supreme Court justices.

“We agree with Murdaugh,” the ruling said. “Prejudice is presumed from Hill’s comments, and while this presumption is rebuttable, the State failed to overcome this presumption.”

But the justices were clear about who they found most responsible for this outcome.

“The breathtaking and disgraceful effort of Hill to undermine the jury process is unprecedented in South Carolina,” the ruling said.

This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 10:13 AM.

Noah Feit

The State

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Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription