‘Half-Truths and Histrionics’: South Carolina Judicial Reform Stalls

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by WILL FOLKS

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This week, a former reporter for FITSNews made headlines for her histrionics related to a contempt of court finding – turning her and her colleagues’ perpetual petty animus into performative theatrics and pusillanimous victimhood. Far from taking a noble stand in defense of one’s work or one’s sources, this particular “journalist” was upset at having been called out for refusing to sit for a deposition in a civil case tangentially related to the ‘Murdaugh Murders‘ crime and corruption saga.

There were plenty of tears and TikToks… but little in the way of compelling counterpoints as to why they shouldn’t be found in contempt (or why they were so afraid to be deposed in the first place).

Legitimate journalist John Monk of The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper penned the definitive take on this drama, which frankly amounts to little more than grist for grudges within the shrill, exploitative, fact-challenged fecundity of true crime commentators and attention-seeking attorneys that has teemed to the surface in South Carolina following the Murdaugh saga.

Our media outlet? We’ve kept our eye on the ball… tracking an impending state supreme court decision related to whether Murdaugh’s convictions for the 2021 murders of his wife and younger son should stand in the wake of documented jury tampering.

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? Our owner and founding editor @TheWillFolks responding in real-time yesterday to the dramatic #Murdaugh appeal developments at the S.C. Supreme Court… pic.twitter.com/LpjgfQ2bL1

— FITSNews (@fitsnews) February 12, 2026

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The court’s upcoming ruling on Murdaugh’s appeal goes to the very heart of whether South Carolina’s justice system can be trusted… because at this point it’s become abundantly clear it cannot be trusted. Indeed, Murdaugh’s two murder convictions are exhibits A and B for the crookedness of the system – and that’s just the misconduct we know about. We’ve yet to plumb the depths of the controversial eleventh hour dismissal of a juror who was not inclined to go along with the herd.

But rest assured… that colonoscopy is coming.

The deeper we dive into the Murdaugh “verdict protection racket,” the more pushback we encounter… which makes us question the integrity of the process all the more.

Here’s the bigger problem, though… it wasn’t as if South Carolina was receiving high marks for judicial integrity before the Murdaugh trial. Just the opposite, in fact.

Hell, the Murdaughs were a huge part of the problem – which endures in spite of our best efforts to insist on institutional accountability during Alex Murdaugh’s trial.

Aside from the institutional rackets, criminal justice in the Palmetto State has become a consequence-free “catch and release” program – “a taxpayer-funded turnstile enabling repeat offenders to continue terrorizing our citizenry with impunity,” as I noted last spring.

Don’t believe me? Google Logan Federico.

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Unlike the mainstream media, FITSNews has consistently exposed the myriad glaring failures inherent our legislatively controlled “justice” system. We did it before the Murdaugh Murders, during the Murdaugh Murders and have continued to do it after the Murdaugh Murders.

And we aren’t ever going to stop…

We’ve also consistently called out the profound constitutional crisis associated with one branch of government (which is run by a bunch of ethically challenged lawyers) effectively puppeteering another branch – and spelled out specific reforms to cure the problem.

To recap: South Carolina is one of only two states in America in which legislators pick judges – and the only state in the nation where lawmakers control the nominating process preceding these legislative elections. This incestuous arrangement has led to rampant corruption – and prompted long-overdue calls to fix the system.

Sadly, those with the ability to change the system refuse to do so… and those with the ability to call them out continue bowing before the altar. Take chief justice John Kittredge, whose thin skin on this issue continues to undermine the limited work he has done to improve judicial branch outcomes in the Palmetto State.

Kittredge once again sounded the worst possible note in a recent address to state lawmakers – a growing number of whom are beginning to have the scales fall from their own eyes.

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“We in the judiciary, like you, are aware of the half-truths and false narratives that circulate on social media, podcasts and other outlets masquerading as journalism attacking you and our justice system,” Kittredge told state lawmakers earlier this week. “I simply say, I know firsthand that South Carolina has one of the finest judiciaries in the country.”

What else is Kittredge going to say, though? Lawmakers have made it abundantly clear just what happens when the judicial branch steps out of line.

Not surprisingly, powerful lawyer-legislators like state senator Luke Rankin lined up to praise Kittredge for his comments…

On his first point, Kittredge is half-right. There are plenty of “half-truths” and “false narratives” out there… but in extolling his branch in the second point, he ignores the core, unavoidable truth that Palmetto State “justice” remains nothing but a clique of powerful, self-interested lawyer-legislators who run the courts (and profit from the dockets they effectively control).

And that isn’t going to change until the way judges are selected is changed…

Sadly, any attempt to reform the system is greeted with hostility from the notoriously corrupt trial lawyer lobby… whose alleged coercion methods have recently befallen a federal investigation.

Kittredge didn’t mention any of that in his remarks… he just bent the knee to his overlords. And assailed those who criticize the judiciary as carnival-barking liars. That’s profoundly disappointing… but it’s even more disappointing that so many critics who fancy themselves as “journalists” keep giving defenders of this failed system all the ammunition they need in their efforts to preserve the status quo.

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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. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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