Murdaugh Found Overturned Convictions 'Hard to Believe'

Alex Murdaugh woke up Thursday with a new legal reality—and, his lawyers say, a sense of relief. Attorney Jim Griffin told NBC's Today that Murdaugh was "very gracious" and "thankful" after South Carolina's Supreme Court tossed his 2023 convictions in the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, and ordered a new trial. "He's glad to get that moniker off of him as a convicted murderer of his wife and son," Griffin said, adding that Murdaugh struggled to believe the ruling even as he read it.

The high court unanimously found that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca "Becky" Hill violated Murdaugh's right to a fair trial by improperly influencing jurors and attacking his credibility, saying she had "placed her fingers on the scales of justice." Hill has since pleaded guilty in a separate case to misconduct involving court exhibits and lying about it; she received probation. Up next for Murdaugh, per People: A new murder trial in which a lower court has been ordered to review the admissibility of financial crimes for which he was convicted separately.

Murdaugh's lawyers insist there will be no plea deal "under any circumstances" and describe the state's motive theory as "paper-thin." They say they've received new information from people who believe Murdaugh is innocent, involving "third parties and potential motives," but declined specifics. One juror from the first trial said she was stunned by the reversal and never felt pushed by Hill; another maintains Murdaugh "didn't get a fair trial." Murdaugh has continued to assert, "I'm innocent… I would never under any circumstances hurt my wife… [or] my son Paul."