Find Out What Happens Next In The Saga of Alex Murdaugh...
Join His Lawyer And Me For A Live Video Chat At 5pm ET Wednesday, May 27th
Hey Everyone,
Tomorrow (Wednesday May 27th) at 5pm ET I will be joined by Jim Griffin, who is one of the lawyers representing South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who, in 2023, was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul on June 7th 2021. (I wrote about what happened here.) But on May 13th, remarkably the two convictions were overturned - because the Supreme Court deemed that Colleton County Clerk, Rebecca “Becky” Hill exerted “improper external influences on the jury.” So, now there will be a whole new trial. And this time Murdaugh won’t have to testify.
In December 2025, Hill, a former local beauty pageant winer, pleaded guilty to several charges, including perjury and misconduct in office. She received probation, community service, and restitution. Significantly, she was NOT convicted of jury tampering but the Supreme Court clearly believed that her influence was enough to have swayed the jury. She was said to have told jurors to study Murdaugh closely and “watch his body language” among other things.
In order to discover if jurors felt swayed by her words, Griffin and his co-counsel Dick Harpootlian tracked them down - often in the middle of nowhere.
A recent story in the Wall Street Journal contains the following scene about Harpootlian’s efforts:
He recalled meeting one juror, in particular, at the end of a dirt road. “She had a dog on a chain out front. It was a trailer. She’s inside cooking collards for her grandson there.… I mean, it was like something out of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ combined with Tennessee Williams,” Harpootlian said. “I mean, that whole scenario down there is really bizarre.”
That woman—and then other jurors, he said—recounted how “Miss Becky” told them not to believe the defense, not to let him fool you, and to “watch his body language” when Murdaugh testified.
During the evidentiary hearing in January 2024, nine jurors testified that they hadn’t heard such admonishments from Hill. Three others had, one of whom said it had affected her decision: “It felt like she made it seem like he was already guilty.” Murdaugh’s lawyers contend that Hill connived to have a juror removed—the so-called Egg Lady—because Hill feared she wasn’t inclined to convict.
Back in 2022, I spent some time down in South Carolina looking into the Murdaughs, which is why I know Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian. I wrote about a particularly memorable time with them in Harpootlian’s office here.
I was both shocked - and not - by the latest turn of events, because, frankly, I have never encountered such a bunch of self-interested cowboys as those I met in South Carolina (including many of the lawyers). However, Jim, always stood out to me as a straight arrow.
Many of us were/are horrified - but fascinated - by the story of Alex Murdaugh, and what it told us about the dynasty that ruled the so-called “low country” in South Carolina for over a century.
So, tune in tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm ET to hear the details of why Murdaugh’s conviction was overturned, and what happens next.
