Alex Murdaugh's Murder Convictions Are Gone - He Is Still in Prison

The Convictions Are Gone

The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alex Murdaugh’s double murder convictions on May 13, 2026, ordering a new trial in the killings of his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul. Murdaugh is not free. He remains in prison, serving a 40-year federal sentence for financial crimes he has admitted to committing. But the murder convictions that sent him to two consecutive life sentences no longer exist.

The ruling came more than three years after a Colleton County jury convicted Murdaugh in March 2023 in what became one of the most widely covered trials in recent South Carolina history. The court found, unanimously, that Murdaugh had been denied his right to a fair trial.

The reason: the county court clerk who oversaw the jury had been improperly communicating with jurors throughout the proceedings.

A Clerk and a Book Deal

Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca ‘Becky’ Hill had suggested to jurors during the trial that they could not trust Murdaugh’s testimony, the court found. The justices described her conduct as ‘shocking’ interference that attacked Murdaugh’s credibility before the jury ever deliberated. ‘Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury,’ the court wrote in its 29-page decision.

Investigators later determined Hill was writing a book about the trial while it was in progress. The book, titled ‘Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders,’ was later pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations surfaced. Hill has not been criminally charged. Under South Carolina law, attempting to influence a juror is a misdemeanor, but prosecutors have not brought that charge against her.

The justices praised the trial’s prosecutors and defense attorneys for their conduct while placing all responsibility for the retrial on Hill.

Murdaugh Is Still Behind Bars

Murdaugh, 57, pleaded guilty separately to stealing approximately $12 million from clients of his family’s law firm. He is serving a 27-year state sentence and a 40-year federal sentence on those financial crimes, running concurrently. Regardless of the murder case outcome, he is not getting out of prison any time soon.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said he ‘respectfully disagreed’ with the court’s decision and vowed to retry Murdaugh ‘as soon as possible.’ His lead prosecutor, Creighton Waters, said he expected to move the case to a retrial. ‘I’m thinking right now what’s gonna happen is we’re gonna tee this thing up and do it again,’ Waters told CNN.

A new judge, Debra McCaslin, has since been appointed by the Supreme Court to preside over the retrial. Murdaugh’s attorneys have indicated they plan to request the new trial be held outside Walterboro, where the original six-week proceeding drew hundreds of spectators.

The Evidence Has Not Changed

The overturned convictions do not mean Murdaugh has been found innocent. The court did raise a second concern beyond the clerk’s conduct - that jurors heard over 12 hours of testimony about Murdaugh’s financial crimes, which the justices found created a significant risk of unfair prejudice. Prosecutors will face restrictions on how much of that evidence they can introduce in any retrial.

The key piece of evidence from the first trial - a video recorded by Paul Murdaugh that captured his father’s voice at the scene of the killings shortly before the prosecution believes the murders took place - has not been affected by the ruling. Murdaugh admitted during the original trial that he had lied to investigators about his whereabouts that night.

Maggie Murdaugh was 52 years old. Paul Murdaugh was 22. They were found shot dead on the family’s Colleton County estate on June 7, 2021. No one else has been charged in connection with their deaths.

References: Alex Murdaugh Murder Conviction Overturned by State Supreme Court | Alex Murdaugh Murder Appeal | New Judge Picked for Murdaugh Murders Retrial