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For weeks, speculation had swirled that South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson – whose office is deeply conflicted as it relates to the prosecution of embattled former Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill – would be referring this high-profile case to another solicitor.
That finally happened on Thursday … sort of.
In a curious “referral” letter, Wilson tapped S.C. eleventh circuit solicitor Rick Hubbard to “assist” his office as it related to prosecutorial decisions regarding Hill – who faces investigation on a host of fronts by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and who recently had ethics allegations referred for criminal prosecution by the S.C. State Ethics Commission (SCSEC).
Hill, of course, is the former elected official whose alleged jury tampering has imperiled the guilty verdicts secured by the state of South Carolina against convicted killer Alex Murdaugh in the spring of 2023.
At the conclusion of a six-week, internationally watched trial, a Colleton County jury unanimously found Murdaugh guilty of the graphic murders of his wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and younger son – 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh – on the family’s hunting property near Islandton, S.C. on the evening of June 7, 2021.
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Hill’s office oversaw the trial. In fact, the 56-year-old Walterboro native personally announced these verdicts to a waiting world – and later published a book detailing her experiences overseeing the Palmetto State’s ‘Trial of the Century.’ That book was later pulled from the shelves amid allegations of plagiarism.
On September 5, 2023 – six months after the verdicts were announced – Murdaugh attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin filed a motion publicly accusing Hill of tampering with the jury. According to Harpootlian and Griffin, this alleged tampering included conspiring to have a juror believed to be sympathetic to Murdaugh removed from the panel on the same day the verdicts were announced.
That juror, incidentally, has requested the state release any and all sealed documents related to this saga. As we exclusively reported earlier this week, the state is refusing to do so.
“Alex Murdaugh’s defense team of course was present and participated in the sealed chambers hearing,” a statement from Wilson’s office noted. “Anything judicially sealed can only be unsealed by the judge, but because of ongoing matters the state cannot consent to unsealing at this time.”
The office declined to specify these “ongoing matters.”
In addition to allegedly conspiring to remove a pro-Murdaugh juror, Hill was further accused of ignoring allegations involving a juror who was said to have violated the judge’s instructions by speaking in favor of his guilt.
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Her purported motive for all of this alleged manipulation? Selling copies of her book, Behind the Doors of Justice – portions of which she has since admitted to plagiarizing.
“Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame,” Murdaugh’s attorneys claimed.
During a hearing earlier this year on Murdaugh’s bid for a new trial, one juror testified under oath that Hill told them to “watch (Murdaugh’s) body language” when he took the stand in his own defense. Another testified that Hill told them it was “rare” for defendants to testify in criminal cases and that Murdaugh’s decision to do so was “epic.” Still another testified that Hill told them to “watch (Murdaugh’s) actions” and to “watch him closely.”
That juror stated those comments by Hill influenced her verdict.
“If felt like she made it seem like he was already guilty,” the juror testified.
Nonetheless, former S.C. chief justice Jean Toal controversially ruled in January that Hill’s alleged actions did not impact the outcome of Murdaugh’s trial.
While the Murdaugh appeal advances, Hill’s status as the focus of ongoing criminal inquiries has complicated the state’s efforts to preserve the guilty verdicts.
As I noted back in May, Wilson could have outright “referred Hill’s case to a solicitor of his choosing in an effort to avoid the appearance of any conflicts of interest.” At the time he declined to do so, although sources close to the attorney general told this media outlet they had “no doubt he will do the right thing.”
Did he, though? Or did his decision to effectively retain control of her cases only further stoke concerns regarding the integrity of the Murdaugh verdicts?
In a letter to Hubbard obtained by this media outlet, Wilson tapped Hubbard and his chief deputy at the eleventh circuit – Suzanne Mayes – to assist his office in the Hill case. However, the letter (.pdf) made it expressly clear the attorney general’s top aides – chief deputy Jeff Young and deputy Don Zelenka – “will remain involved in any decisions.”
In other words, this is not a referral … but a request for assistance.
Also of interest? According to Wilson’s letter to Hubbard, the “referral” applies only to “certain investigations” involving Hill, and is a “limited designation (which) may be revoked by me at any time.”
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THE LETTER …
(S.C. Attorney General)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina and before that he was a bass guitarist and dive bar bouncer. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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