Convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh can’t seem to stay out of trouble, even in prison, while his attorneys work hard to try to get him out of his two consecutive life sentences.
Attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, who led Murdaugh’s losing defense for the murders of his wife and son, say they will hold a news conference on Tuesday to unveil a motion for a new trial based on “discovered evidence,” a spokesperson for the attorneys told WCSC.
The spokesperson provided no further information except to say the motion has not been filed.
Meanwhile, the disbarred attorney lost his phone, tablet, and canteen privileges after two internal disciplinary hearings in prison, one for violating the South Carolina Department of Corrections’ policy against inmates giving media interviews and another for using another inmate’s PIN number to make a call, which is also against the department’s policies.
Officials told WCSC that Griffin recorded Murdaugh and provided the recording to the media, violating the policy against interviews. For that, the department revoked his phone privileges. When that happened, Murdaugh used another inmate’s PIN number to make a call.
The disciplinary hearings took away Murdaugh’s phone and canteen privileges for 30 days and took away his tablet, which inmates use to check email, watch movies, and do limited internet searches. The Department of Corrections said that it will make a determination later about when and how he can earn the opportunity to again have a tablet.
Murdaugh was convicted in March of the June 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, his wife and son. Jurors cited the defense’s decision to put Murdaugh on the stand as key in their decision to convict, which took less than three hours, as CrimeOnline reported. Judge Clifton Newman sentenced him to two consecutive life sentences.
He is awaiting trial on more than 100 federal and state financial fraud charges and several lawsuits filed against him. A hearing is scheduled on September 21, when it is expected he will change his plea to guilty on 22 federal charges. He is also the defendant in several civil lawsuits.
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