Murdaugh jury tampering claims unfounded, attorney general says

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – South Carolina has filed a response to convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh’s allegations of jury tampering in his double murder trial held earlier this year.

Murdaugh is asking for a retrial based on those allegations; however, the state is saying those claims are unfounded.

Murdaugh alleged that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill unfairly influenced jurors and pressured them to find Murdaugh guilty.

In a 48-page response filed Tuesday morning, the state says Murdaugh is advancing “a sweeping conspiratorial theory” and that “not every inappropriate comment made by a member of court staff to a juror rises to the level of constitutional error.”

The filing goes on to point out that jurors were consistently directed throughout the trial not to discuss the case among themselves or with others. Several voluntary written statements from jurors claiming Hill did not influence or pressure them were included as well.

However, in her affidavit, Hill stated that she “did not instruct the jury to look at his (Murdaugh’s) movements.” But in another exhibit, a juror noted that at one point a comment was made to “watch his body language,” but said the comment did not persuade them of their ultimate decision during deliberations.

Murdaugh’s team filed a motion of appeal in March and officially filed a motion for a new trial in the murders of his wife and son in October.