COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Convicted murder and disbarred Lowcountry attorney Alex Murdaugh has filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court asking for a new trial. In the filing, attorneys for Murdaugh argue he was denied his constitutional right to a fair trial, alleging former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill engaged in jury tampering during the six-week trial. “No reasonable man would agree, if he were on trial for his life, that having the clerk of court secretly advocate against him in the jury room so she can sell books about his conviction would be a fair trial,” the defense states in the appeal. To support the argument, Murdaugh lawyers Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin reference an evidentiary hearing where one juror admitted Hill’s comments to the jury during the trial did influence her to vote Murdaugh guilty. Justice Jean Toal denied Murdaugh’s request for a retrial in the January hearing where jurors testified. Hill was scheduled for an ethics hearing on Dec. 19 for 76 violation allegations related to using her position for improper gain. This hearing has been postponed due to an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, The State reported. News 2 has reached out to the SC Ethics Commission for confirmation. In the second part of the argument, Murdaugh’s defense claims the court allowed improper evidence to be introduced by state prosecutors against him. This “prejudicial” evidence included evidence of his various financial crimes. The appeal also states that “the trial court committed reversible error” when they allowed a non-scientific experiment performed by an unqualified Charleston County deputy to be introduced in evidence. Multiple guns from the Murdaugh home that were not linked to the murders and a raincoat with gunshot residue that was not linked to Murdaugh were other pieces of inappropriate evidence introduced, according to the filing. Murdaugh was convicted of killing his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul on Mar. 2, 2023, following an hours-long jury deliberation. He was given to life sentences for the murders. The mother and son were found dead from gunshot wounds at the family’s Colleton County property on the night of June 7, 2021. The full appeal can be found below. Initial-Brief-AppellantDownload