Disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh is suing Rebecca “Becky” Hill, the former court clerk who allegedly interfered with the jury that convicted him in the murders of his wife and son in 2023.
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The civil rights lawsuit filed Sunday in the U.S. District Court of South Carolina comes four days after the state’s highest court overturned Murdaugh’s double murder convictions and life sentence, saying he was denied his right to a fair trial because of Hill’s “improper external influences on the jury.”
“Mr. Murdaugh brings this action to hold Ms. Hill accountable for her wrongful conduct under color of state law and to recover compensatory and punitive damages as provided by law,” the lawsuit reads.
In the lawsuit, Murdaugh’s legal team claims he suffered $600,000 in monetary damages as a result of Hill’s actions. They also said Murdaugh is entitled to recovery of attorney’s fees and costs.
Hill’s attorney, Will Lewis, was not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit.
Murdaugh’s defense team, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, are expected to comment on the lawsuit in a press conference Monday afternoon.
Murdaugh, a former personal injury lawyer, was convicted two years ago in the June 2021 slayings of his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and their 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh. The trial drew so much national attention that it became a true crime phenomenon, becoming the subject of countless documentaries and podcasts throughout the years.
In the case, prosecutors accused Murdaugh of carrying out the killings to earn pity and distract from financial crimes that threatened to derail his public reputation.
The jury convicted Murdaugh on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He had pleaded not guilty.
The scion of a prominent South Carolina legal dynasty, Murdaugh has vehemently denied killing his wife and younger son since their bodies were discovered on his estate.
In the lawsuit filed Sunday, Murdaugh’s legal team claims: “He maintained his innocence then. He maintains his innocence now.”
Hill pleaded guilty last year to criminal charges for showing sealed court exhibits to a photographer and lying about it in court. She was sentenced to a year of probation. But she denied improperly influencing the jury.
“There is no excuse for the mistakes I made. I’m ashamed of them,” Hill said in a short statement to the court.
During Murdaugh’s murder trial, Hill was tasked with overseeing the jury. People in that administrative role are typically responsible for bringing jurors to the courtroom and for ferrying notes between the panel and the court during deliberations.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has said his office, which prosecuted Murdaugh, was unaware of Hill’s alleged conduct during the trial and described the allegations as inappropriate but ultimately harmless
Wilson strongly disagreed with the decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court overturning Murdaugh’s convictions and vowed to retry the case by the end of the year.
“In light of the Supreme Court’s decision, we’re back to square one on this case, and that means all our legal options are on the table, including the death penalty,” Wilson told NBC News.
Still, Murdaugh remains behind bars on concurrent sentences of 27 years and 40 years for state and federal financial crimes that he pleaded guilty to.
Neil R. Gordon, who co-wrote “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders” with Hill about the case, confirmed to NBC News that the book generated about $100,000 in profits. Gordon said that Hill and her husband received 65% of the book’s profits, while he and his wife received 35%.
Gordon did not provide comment about Murdaugh’s lawsuit against Hill.
