Clerk of Court in Alex Murdaugh Murder Case Denies Influencing Jury
In a sworn statement filed today by prosecutors in the Alex Murdaugh murder case in South Carolina, Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill says she never asked jurors if they thought he was guilty before they began deliberations during his trial earlier this year.
The former South Carolina attorney was convicted in March of murdering his wife Maggie and their son Paul at their estate in Colleton County. Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
In September, Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a motion seeking a new trial, claiming they had evidence of jury tampering at the hands of Hill.
In the motion, defense lawyers Richard Harpootlian and Jim Griffin claimed, “Rebecca Hill tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.”
A sworn statement from Hill was filed today by prosecutors who say there is no need to hold a hearing where jurors, Hill, other court employees and even the trial judge could be questioned under oath and their messages and texts subpoenaed.
Murdaugh’s lawyers, meanwhile, want a full hearing to determine whether Hill influenced the jury. Judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the 6-week long trial, would have to decide whether to hold the hearing where jurors could be questioned, but Murdaugh’s lawyers want the Supreme Court to remove him from the appeal and any future trials. They maintain Newman indicated in post-trial interviews he thought Murdaugh was guilty, which could prevent him from being objective during a new trial.
Four court workers and some members of the jury who have been interviewed by state agents have said they felt no pressure from Hill and denied the allegations against her.
In today’s court filing, prosecutors argued that a new trial hearing should be denied, adding the jurors did their job and their service is done. “Needless exposure of jurors to litigative stress and impeachment by zealous attorneys, particularly in a case with this level of public exposure, can only serve to further discourage citizens from willfully participating in this duty.”
