Summary

Alex Murdaugh has filed a federal lawsuit against former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, arguing that Hill’s conduct during Murdaugh’s 2023 double-murder trial led to a violation of his right to a fair trial. Murdaugh filed the suit on Sunday in U.S. District Court, according to the complaint described in reporting.

The lawsuit comes after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Murdaugh’s murder convictions and life sentence in a unanimous decision issued Wednesday. The court said Hill “egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility” by telling jurors during the trial that the once-prominent lawyer was guilty and that his testimony could not be trusted.

Murdaugh’s complaint seeks punitive and compensatory damages as well as attorneys’ fees, and it says he spent $600,000 on his trial defense. In the suit, Murdaugh also denied killing his wife, Maggie, and his younger son, Paul, saying he has denied the killings since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.

Hill’s attorney, Will Lewis, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday, according to the reporting. An attorney for Murdaugh, Jim Griffin, said at a news conference Monday that the lawsuit is intended to hold Hill accountable for her conduct and to show the “entire scope of her conduct.”

The Supreme Court decision described how Hill was assigned a role involving evidence and jurors during the trial. The court said Hill’s statements to jurors included urging them to watch Murdaugh’s body language when he testified in his own defense and not to be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he might say.

The Supreme Court also addressed Hill’s motivation, describing it as driven by “the siren call of celebrity” and stating her goal was to boost sales of a book titled “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.” Reporting also says the book was pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations.

Hill has pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did during the trial, including showing graphic crime scene photos to several media members, according to the reporting. Prosecutors have said they plan to retry Murdaugh, which likely means another lengthy trial, after the state Supreme Court’s reversal.

At the same time, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said in a news release that the “Becky Hill matter was previously referred to and reviewed by an independent prosecutor.” Griffin said Murdaugh became emotional when the two discussed the Supreme Court’s decision, recounting Murdaugh’s reaction as: “I’m reading it. I see it says reversed but I still have a hard time believing it.”

Murdaugh remains in prison, with reporting saying he pleaded guilty to stealing around $12 million from clients and is serving a 40-year federal sentence along with a 27-year state sentence for financial crimes.