Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife and son in a case that captured global attention and later became the subject of the Netflix documentary Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.
Justices ruled his original trial was tainted by improper influence on jurors.
Case
Alex Murdaugh was a prominent South Carolina lawyer, accused of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul in 2021.
Before the court’s latest ruling, he was serving two life sentences after being convicted over their deaths.
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Murdaugh is also serving separate prison sentences for financial and fraud-related crimes.
New decision
On Wednesday (local time), the court overturned Murdaugh’s murder convictions, ruling he did not receive a fair trial.
The decision centred on the conduct of the county clerk, who was found guilty last year of obstruction of justice and perjury after being accused of telling a juror to “watch [Murdaugh] closely”, according to the BBC, influencing the juror’s opinion.
Murdaugh will now face a new trial, though a date has not yet been set.
