A juror in Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial expressed shock Wednesday over the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the disgraced lawyer’s conviction, telling NBC News that she never thought the county official accused of improperly influencing the jury had done so.
“I never felt that the clerk of court was pushing an agenda or trying to push me to come to a certain verdict,” Amie Williams said. “Never felt that way about her at all.”
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Williams called the court’s decision to toss the conviction “crazy” and described former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill — who was tasked with overseeing the jury in Murdaugh’s trial — as “so gracious” and “super helpful.”
But, to juror Mandy Pearce, Hill’s actions kept Murdaugh from getting a fair trial.
“I feel like justice wasn’t served, that he didn’t get a fair trial,” Pearce told NBC News on Wednesday night.
Myra Crosby, another juror, agreed.
“I was undecided then. I’m still undecided. I don’t think the state proved that he did,” Crosby said, referring to the murder charges. “I had some questions about that. Maybe those questions would have been answered in deliberations, but because of Becky Hill’s actions, I wasn’t given that opportunity.”
In a unanimous opinion, South Carolina’s five Supreme Court justices said that Hill “egregiously attacked” Murdaugh’s credibility through “shocking jury interference.”
The opinion cited a juror who said Hill told the panel to watch Murdaugh “closely” before he testified in his 2023 trial and “not to be fooled” by the evidence presented by his attorneys. The juror, who was referred to as Juror Z in the court’s decision but is now known to be Pearce, said the comments influenced her to find Murdaugh guilty.
Pearce said Wednesday that Hill’s comments made her believe that “the words that were coming out of his mouth, that they weren’t true ... that he did it, that he murdered his wife and his son.”
Murdaugh, the scion of a prominent South Carolina legal dynasty, was convicted in March 2023 in the murder of his 22-year-old son, Paul, and his wife, Margaret. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Though Murdaugh, 57, has always maintained his innocence and said he would never harm his family. Prosecutors said he carried out the murder plot to distract from financial crimes that threatened to derail his reputation as a well-known personal injury lawyer in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
While Wednesday’s decision from the high court marked a major legal victory, he remains behind bars. Murdaugh was convicted on multiple state and federal charges after he pleaded guilty to financial crimes. Prosecutors had accused him of stealing millions from clients.
Wednesday’s opinion overturned his conviction in the double murder case and ordered a new trial.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said at a news conference that Hill’s conduct was inappropriate but ultimately harmless. He said he hopes his office can retry Murdaugh by the end of the year.
In a statement, Murdaugh’s attorneys said they respect the high court’s decision and “look forward to a new trial conducted consistent with the Constitution and the guidance this Court has provided.”
The opinion cited two other jurors who recalled Hill’s making comments about Murdaugh, but they said those comments did not influence their decision.
Hill’s attorneys have not responded to a request for comment. At a hearing on the matter, she denied trying to influence jurors but acknowledged giving them “a little talk” about Murdaugh’s decision to testify, according to the opinion.
Hill co-wrote a book about the case that was pulled from publication after the journalist she worked with on it accused her of plagiarism.
Separately, she pleaded guilty last year to charges of obstruction, perjury and misconduct in office. Prosecutors accused her of showing a reporter photographs that were in sealed court exhibits and lying about it. She was also accused of using her office to promote the book she co-authored.
Hill was sentenced to a year of probation.
“There is no excuse for the mistakes I made,” she said at the time. “I’m ashamed of them.”
