In a recent development, a juror who was part of the panel that convicted Alex Murdaugh last year for the murders of his wife and son, has testified under oath that a county clerk made comments suggesting the disbarred attorney's guilt before the jury had reached a verdict.
Murdaugh was back in a South Carolina courtroom on Monday, following his attorneys' request for a new trial. They allege that Colleton County Clerk, Becky Hill, tampered with the jury that convicted him last year for the shooting deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
The defense team has argued that Hill advised jurors not to be "fooled by" Murdaugh's testimony or "misled" by the defense's evidence. They claim she urged them to reach a quick guilty verdict and misrepresented "critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense."
Presiding Judge Jean Toal summoned the jurors to the stand individually on Monday, questioning them about any potential comments that could have influenced their verdict. A female juror, identified only as juror Z by Judge Toal, stated that Hill had told some of the jurors to "watch [Murdaugh] closely."
"To me, it felt like ...she made it feel like he was already guilty," juror Z said.
However, other jurors denied hearing any inappropriate remarks from Hill or being influenced by her comments. Juror E admitted hearing Hill say "watch [Murdaugh's] body language," but insisted that this did not sway his decision.
The first of three hearings to determine whether Murdaugh should be granted a new trial began with several hiccups. Judge Toal expressed frustration with the "funky" sound system that interrupted her instructions to jurors. A heated exchange ensued between her and Murdaugh's attorney, Dick Harpootlian, when the defense asked to withdraw an affidavit from juror Z stating that she was pressured by other jurors to deliver a guilty verdict.
Harpootlian requested that the judge remind Juror Z that her remarks on the affidavit and the possibility that Hill's comments could have influenced her decision could both be true. He also asked that the juror be given a copy of the affidavit, which was not officially introduced as evidence, but objected to questioning from Judge Toal about the document.
"If you want me to have her look at this affidavit but you're telling me I can't question her about it, I deny that objection," Judge Toal said after Harpootlian continued objecting. "You can't have your cake and eat it too ... I've made my ruling, take your seat."
In another twist, a bailiff informed the judge that the jurors' phones had not been confiscated and they had tuned in to watch the proceedings on CourtTV.
When Harpootlian asked for a recess to determine next steps, the judge responded: "I'm not going to take all day on this."
Hill, who has denied the allegations, is also expected to face questioning from Murdaugh's lawyers. In a sworn statement, the state dismissed the allegations as "a sweeping conspiratorial theory" and stated that "not every inappropriate comment made by a member of court staff to a juror rises to the level of constitutional error."
Judge Toal's rulings after a pretrial hearing this month have set a high bar for the defense. She ruled that they must prove that potential misconduct, including alleged comments by Hill warning jurors not to trust Murdaugh when he testifies, directly led jurors to change their minds to guilty.
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