SC AG Alan Wilson says he plans to retry Alex Murdaugh for murder
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South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office will move quickly to retry Alex Murdaugh after the state Supreme Court threw out the disgraced attorney’s murder convictions, emphasizing that prosecutors still believe they can return a guilty verdict.
“In today’s decision, the Supreme Court places the blame for this reversal on the shoulders of former Colton County Court Clerk Rebecca. [Becky] “Hill’s behavior and what led to this decision today was his behavior, not anyone else’s behavior,” Wilson told Fox News Digital.
Wilson said the Palmetto State plans to retry Murdaugh and will push for a speedy trial while prosecutors consider next steps.
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“We are disappointed in the court’s decision. We respect this court, we respect the members of the court, but we strongly disagree with their reasoning,” Wilson told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum on The Story.
Alex Murdaugh speaks with his legal team before being sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his wife and son by Judge Clifton Newman at the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday, March 3, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/Government/Pool)
The South Carolina Supreme Court vacated Murdaugh’s 2023 conviction in the killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, ruling that former Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill’s misconduct tainted the jury process.
The allegations included Hill making inappropriate comments to jurors during the trial, behavior that the court said risked influencing the verdict.
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The comments also included the jurors saying that “Hill told the jurors not to be fooled by the evidence presented by Murdaugh’s defense” and said, “They will say things that will try to confuse you. Don’t let them confuse you, persuade you, or throw you off.”
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill died on December 8, 2025 in St. Matthews smiled after pleading guilty in SC. Hill pleaded guilty to showing sealed exhibits from Alex Murdaugh’s murder case and other charges. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Prosecutors were not aware of the clerk’s behavior during the trial, Wilson said.
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“No, obviously we had no knowledge of this type of behavior until then. Frankly, it did happen,” he told MacCallum. “We have never defended his behavior. We just believe it is not enough to warrant a return.”
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Trying the high-profile case again will face challenges, but Wilson said his office still has much of the original team and has a clear roadmap from the first trial.
“So we’ve had the advantage of having a road map for our case that we developed three years ago. Obviously the defense knows what our trial strategy is. We know what their trial strategy is. So it’s going to be a different type of trial because both sides have seen the hands we have to play,” he told Fox News Digital.
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We know what trial strategies are. And this will be a different kind of trial because both sides have seen the hands we need to play.
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The attorney general said many legal options, including possible appeals, are under consideration.
“The state has 15 days to decide whether we want to petition the State Supreme Court to review its decision. We have up to 90 days to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to appeal this case. All options, all legal options are on the table,” Wilson said.
“But no matter what, assuming nothing changes, my intention right now is to retry this case as quickly and as expeditiously as possible. That’s our goal,” he said.
Wilson said his office aims to return the case to court within the next year, but acknowledged the timeline is not guaranteed.
“Look, I’m being enthusiastic when I say this, but we want to try to get this case handled before January 2027. That will be our goal,” he said.
Alex Murdaugh was convicted on March 2, 2023, in Colleton County, SC, of two counts of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He was sentenced to two consecutive double life sentences for the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. (South Carolina Department of Corrections)
Murdaugh, 54, was convicted in 2021 of shooting and killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on the family hunting preserve. The case exposed a litany of lies, including Murdaugh’s opioid addiction and millions in stolen client funds.
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Despite the legal victory, Murdaugh will not be freed. He remains behind bars, serving long prison sentences for a series of financial crimes that cemented his fall from power.
Murdaugh was sentenced to 27 years in state court after pleading guilty to 22 charges for his financial crimes, including money laundering and criminal breach of trust. He was sentenced in federal court to 40 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, which he is serving concurrently with the state term.
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Although his murder convictions and subsequent life sentences were overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday, he remains in prison serving financial penalties.
