|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by WILL FOLKS
***
After the South Carolina supreme court’s unanimous – and emphatic – reversal of accused killer Alex Murdaugh‘s double homicide convictions, the stage is now set for the Palmetto State’s ‘Retrial of the Century.’
This week, I sat down with Murdaugh’s two lead attorneys – Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin – for a very special Week in Review episode featuring their thoughts on what comes next in this rapidly unfolding story. During our conversation, Harpootlian and Griffin opened up on a number of fronts – including their now-vindicated belief that lead prosecutor Creighton Waters pushed the envelope too far during the first trial when it came to bringing in evidence of Murdaugh’s financial crimes.
These financial crimes – which Murdaugh has already pleaded guilty to at both the state and federal level – were central to the prosecution’s theory of his alleged motive for murdering his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh. But the supreme court cited “considerable unfair prejudice” in trial judge Clifton Newman letting Waters “go as far and as deep into detail” as he did.
***
Griffin told us he warned Waters during the trial that he was risking a reversal…
“I told Creighton during the trial, ‘you’re going too far,'” Griffin said. “You’re asking for too much. You’re risking a reversal. Why are y’all doing this?”
While the excessive introduction of financial crimes’ evidence played a role in the reversal of Murdaugh’s verdicts – and the two life sentences Newman handed down – the primary reason the accused killer is receiving a new trial was the documented jury tampering of disgraced former Colleton County clerk of court Rebecca “Becky” Hill.
Was Hill’s tampering an isolated incident, though? Or was she part of a broader jury rigging conspiracy?
During my conversation with Harpootlian and Griffin, I raised the possibility of civil litigation being filed by Murdaugh against Hill – and how such a case could potentially get to the bottom of what really happened in Walterboro, S.C. three years ago. Harpootlian said a potential civil action was “one possible way” to find out who may have been involved in allegedly fixing the jury.
***
RELATED | ‘FINGERS ON THE SCALES OF JUSTICE‘
***
“People are looking at that… (at) who could be involved,” Griffin said.
Clearly, Murdaugh news is coming fast and furious again in the aftermath of the supreme court’s historic reversal. In fact, Harpootlian and Griffin announced they are holding a press conference this coming Monday (May 18, 2026) to discuss “new developments in the case.” FITSNews will be at that press conference, just as we are endeavoring to sit down with attorney general Alan Wilson and other key members of the Murdaugh prosecution to get their thoughts on what comes next in this saga (including the potential for Murdaugh to face the death penalty).
As we continue to drive the coverage of this story, a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who watches us and subscribes to us. Your support drives everything we do here. The lights, the cameras, the accountability… all of it comes from your views and your subscriptions. So, if you appreciate what we do and want to help us out – subscribe today!
And if you’re already a subscriber, pick up some of our cool merch!
***
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.
***
SOUND OFF…
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
6 comments
LOL Dick thinks S.C. isn’t any more corrupt than any other state. That’s crazy as almost all of our justice system is corrupt. And where is the suspect they had tracked down? He told us at the press conference with the jurors that they had found the killer. Interesting interview for sure.
«?????? Pro- Cosmetik – ?????? ??????????? ? ???? ??????????? ??????? ? ??????????? ???????? ???? ????????????????! »
FITS, remove the preceding post; and run this instead:
So, Creighton Waters now vindictively brandishes the death penalty?
He’s in over his head.
Now that the Catholic Church has declared its opposition to the death penalty to be a core belief, Prancing Creighton Waters (“PCW”) cannot exclude jurors opposed to the death penalty if they are Catholic.
Instead of itching to execute the innocent, Alan Wilson should show some zeal in improving murder investigations.
To expiate for his Frankenstein creation, FITS should do a whole show or a whole story on the scientific failures of the investigation into Paul and Maggie’s shootings.
Here is more about ballistics which is augmented by this (link to video deleted for publishability).
It shows SLED, presumably in the early morning of 8 June 2021, supposedly collecting evidence from around and inside the house at Moselle.
Many mistakes appear in that short clip:
1. The spent bullets collected from around the exterior seven-step stoop are BASICALLY rubbed together by the evidence gatherer thus HOPELESSLY contaminating the subsequent tool-mark microscopic examination and analysis if such analysis were a science to begin with.
2. The evidence gatherers arrived without simple plastic or paper bags in which to put each bullet separately with an identification of the precise location it was found.
3. They then resort to a quick and dirty non-solution of putting a bullet in each finger of a “new glove” again without precise location identification and after the bullets had scarred each other from being basically rubbed together.
4. The exterior door handle is not dusted for fingerprints nor swabbed for DNA.
5. Once inside the house, no effort or attention is paid to any food or drink containers with residue or unconsumed content. That should be basic in any murder investigation even where the victims had been visibly shot: had they been poisoned or attempted to be poisoned before the shootings? Were they under the influence of anything they had consumed before being confronted by their shooter(s)? That may not necessarily have been the case here; but these are basics of any investigation started on a blank slate.
6. They are heard commenting to each other that the autopsies already started. They should have carefully looked for evidence of unconsummated or recently-consummated food and drink to supply to the autopsy performer.
Or course, many more mistakes appear even in that short clip.
Now that the Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury has been vindicated, it is essential to vindicate the DUE PROCESS right to a scientifically-sound investigation before charges are even brought against anyone.
Of course, many more mistakes appear even in that short clip.
Now that the Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury has been vindicated, it is essential to vindicate the DUE PROCESS right to a scientifically-sound investigation before charges are even brought against anyone.
Dick: “Tar baby” in 2026? Jim: No one knew what Alex was doing when they were enabling him? How about Corey Fleming and Russell Lafitte, for starters? But Jim, I give you credit for speaking to the outrageous “sealed evidence viewing party” Becky threw at the courthouse DURING the trial, at which Will and other members of the media were present…. none but Will are disclosing that. So unethical to cover any of this story without answering the question, “Were you involved in that part of the story?” Valerie? John Monk? Matt? Seaton? Kathleen? Joe McCullough? Anyone?
Yeah ask the original, hard questions, and let (s)he among you without sin (of lying) throw the first stone.
Actually almost everyone WITH the sin of lying has thrown that tired old stone ?about those darn kennels.
And here is my final answer copied and pasted from another site because why should I limit my brilliance to one site: @rn2rbon , the kennels are not in another planet, another continent, another country, another state, another city, or even another street. They are only 100 or so yards from the house where Alex and Maggie lived together lovingly as empty-nesters after their two boys graduated high school and one was off to work and the other to college.
Alex did NOT lie about being in the house with Paul and Maggie throughout the dinner which ended at 8:30 pm (that is just as the sun was beginning to set) on 7 June 2021.
I do not know why he omitted that detail and do not concern myself with it because it has no importance.
The only important question is when did the shootings REALLY happen.
If you believe people die as soon as the battery on their cell phone does, then please don’t ever stray away from your charger to protect your life. Thanks!
Appreciation of the Constitution requires restoration of common sense among other things.
Because Creighton Waters and his “number 2” former-CACA Fernandez succeeded in getting the public to buy an insane motive theory and an insane idea of death by phone-battery-death, the public is now making its own insane ideas that Becky Hill was really out to help Alex because they were kin and secret lovers.
Here again is my latest brilliant reply which deserves to be read and re-read until people come to their senses:
? @MickeeAdams , if Becky Hill had been out to do Alex Murdaugh a favor, she would have pushed the jury to return a NOT GUILTY verdict and been done with it.
How many times do I have to try to counter the insane idea that Becky Hill was out to help Alex Murdaugh?