Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced lawyer whose double-murder conviction was overturned, has filed a lawsuit alleging his civil rights were violated when court clerk Rebecca "Becky" Hill tampered with the jury at his trial.
The 17-page lawsuit was filed in federal court in Columbia, S.C., on Monday morning.
"Neither Mr. Murdaugh nor his counsel knew at the time of trial that Ms. Hill—the elected Clerk of Court for Colleton County, the officer of the court charged as the primary caretaker of the jury—had secretly and deliberately inserted herself into the jury's deliberative process for personal financial gain," the lawsuit said.
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Last week, the South Carolina Supreme Court delivered an account of how Hill’s conduct during the 2023 double-murder trial crossed ethical and constitutional lines, ultimately unraveling the state’s conviction of Murdaugh.
"Both the State and Murdaugh's defense skillfully presented their cases to the jury as the trial court deftly presided over this complicated and high-profile matter," the court wrote. "However, their efforts were in vain because Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury."
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
