U.S. News

The Surprising Reason Alex Murdaugh’s Murder Convictions Are Overturned

By Erica Coleman · May 15, 2026

Alex Murdaugh is no longer a convicted murderer. He is still in prison — serving a 40-year federal sentence for stealing approximately $12 million from vulnerable clients — but the two life sentences he received for killing his wife Maggie and son Paul are gone, vacated by a unanimous ruling from the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The reason is not new evidence. It is not exculpatory DNA. It is a county clerk named Becky Hill, who wanted to write a book.

In a 5-0 ruling, the South Carolina Supreme Court found that Hill — who served as Colleton County Clerk of Court during Murdaugh’s 2023 trial — exercised “improper external influences” on the jury that denied Murdaugh his constitutional right to a fair trial by an impartial jury. “Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice,” the justices wrote. “Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial.”

The specific conduct Hill engaged in — as revealed through sworn testimony from jurors at a post-trial hearing — was not subtle. On the day Murdaugh took the stand to testify in his own defense, Hill told jurors it was an “important” or “epic” day and that they should watch his body language. She told them “not to be fooled” by the defense’s evidence. She said, when deliberations were about to begin: “This shouldn’t take us long.” One juror, referred to as Juror Z in court documents, told investigators that Hill’s comments “made it seem like he was already guilty” before the jury ever began deliberating.

The court characterized Hill’s motivation in language that is both legally significant and personally damning. The justices wrote that Hill “was attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and “allowed her desire for the public spotlight to eclipse her sworn duty.” The book she was working on during and after the trial was titled “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.” It was pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations surfaced.

The court’s ruling also faulted the original trial judge for allowing too much evidence of Murdaugh’s financial crimes into a murder trial. While the financial crimes — stealing from grieving widows, disabled clients, and the estate of his own housekeeper who died in a suspicious accident — were relevant to establishing motive, the justices said the trial court “allowed the state to go far too long and far too deep” into details that had “obviously high potential for unfair prejudice.” A retrial will need to stay much closer to the evidence specifically relevant to the murders.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office will retry Murdaugh “as soon as possible.” Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters told CNN: “I’m thinking right now what’s going to happen is we’re going to tee this thing up and do it again.” Wilson said he hopes to get the case to trial by the end of the year, though the window remains open to seek reconsideration from the state Supreme Court or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Finding an impartial jury for a retrial will be the most immediate challenge. There are documentaries. There are podcasts. There are books. There are dramatized television series. The Murdaugh case has saturated popular culture so thoroughly that the question of whether twelve people can be found anywhere in South Carolina who have not already formed an opinion is a genuine legal obstacle.

Murdaugh, 57, will remain in federal custody regardless of what happens with the murder charges. His legal team said he is “glad that he no longer has the moniker of convicted murderer of his wife and son.” He has consistently denied killing them.

Becky Hill was charged separately with jury tampering in connection with the case. Her attorney did not respond to a request for comment following Wednesday’s ruling.