- A jury convicted the 54-year-old in less than three hours.
- Authorities claimed he murdered his wife and son.
- The disbarred attorney was convicted of two counts of murder after a six-week trial.
Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced ex-lawyer, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife and children in a case that rocked the United States.
The hearing in South Carolina came one day after a jury convicted the 54-year-old in less than three hours.
On June 7, 2021, Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, were shot at close range on their family estate.
Authorities claimed he murdered his wife and son to draw attention away from his financial misdeeds and elicit sympathy.
Judge Clifton Newman termed the case “one of the most troubling” he has encountered and underlined Murdaugh’s past “as a well-known member of the legal community”.
Capital Sentence
“You’ve practiced law before me, and we’ve seen each other on various occasions throughout the years,” he said, calling it “especially heart-breaking for me” to learn of Murdaugh’s arrest and prosecution, more than a year after the murders were committed.
Alex Murdaugh led a legal dynasty that had established a dominant position for decades – the jurisdiction was dubbed “Murdaugh Country” by some.
Judge Newman said he understood the state’s decision not to seek the capital sentence, but that Murdaugh’s family had individuals executed for less.
“Your family, including you, have been prosecuting people here in this courtroom, and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct,” he said.
The disbarred attorney was convicted of two counts of murder after a six-week trial.
An appeal
Throughout the trial, investigators showed how Murdaugh stole nearly $9 million from clients to fuel his opioid addiction and opulent lifestyle.
Murdaugh spoke briefly twice during Friday’s sentencing to assert his innocence. His attorneys said he would file an appeal against the life sentence within 10 days.
Buster Murdaugh, Murdaugh’s surviving son, sat quiet and mute throughout the proceedings, even as the judge sentenced his father to two consecutive life sentences.
The court also speculated that the murders might have been committed while under the influence of drugs.
“It might not have been you, but it may have been the monster you became when you took those pills.”
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters said the evidence against the South Carolina lawyer was “overwhelming” and showed him to be a “cunning, manipulative man who placed himself above all others, including his family”.
Nonetheless, Murdaugh reiterated his argument that he was not guilty.
“I would never hurt my wife and I would never hurt my son,” he said in brief remarks at the hearing. He stared ahead and did not react as his sentence was read
Carolina Department of Corrections
A video made by Paul Murdaugh only minutes before he was shot contained his father’s voice in the background, contradicting his assertion that he was not present at the time.
A condemned juror told it was when he realized the defendant was guilty.
Murdaugh’s head has been shaved in a fresh mugshot provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC).
According to local media, male prisoners usually get a haircut when they arrive in prison.
According to the SCDC, he will spend the following 45 days in the intake process, when his medical and mental condition, as well as his educational level, will be assessed.
He will be transferred to a maximum-security prison after 45 days.
During a news conference following the sentence, Murdaugh’s lawyers stated that they did not believe it was a mistake for him to testify during the trial. They claimed Judge Newman’s decision to allow evidence linked to Murdaugh’s financial misdeeds to be included in the murder trial was “erroneous”.
The state’s case “was about character, not about motive”, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said. Murdaugh had been cast as a “despicable human being”, he said.
The high-profile case has spurred true crime podcasts and documentaries across the country.
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