South Carolina judge who supervised The double murder trial of disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh He asked to be excluded from future proceedings in the high-profile case.
Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman, who gave A strong rebuke to Murdough While he handed down a life sentence in March for the 2021 murders of his wife and son, he “requested that a new judge be appointed to handle post-trial motions related to the murder charges,” according to an order filed Thursday by the chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. The deposit was first reported by FITSNews.com.
For more on the case, see “The Mardo Murders: Inside the InvestigationOn “Dateline” at 9 ET/8 Central on Friday.
However, Newman is still scheduled to preside over Murdaugh’s upcoming trial on related financial crimes charges.
Murdo’s defense team is seeking to have the trial start date of November 27 postponed thereafter Requests a change of location Due to the extensive publicity surrounding the case. A hearing is being held with Newman regarding motions pending at trial Scheduled for Friday morning (in Beaufort County).
At the conclusion of the double murder trial, lawyers for Murdoch, 55, said: Filed a note of appeal He was found not guilty in the fatal shootings of Margaret, 52, and their youngest son, Paul, 22, at the family’s hunting lodge in rural Colleton County.
In September, Murdaugh’s defense team filed a motion seeking a new trial, accusing Colleton County Court Clerk Rebecca Hill of murder. Jury tamperingincluding “pressuring them to reach a speedy guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting important and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.”
In a sworn statement submitted by prosecutors last week, Hill, whose job was to oversee trial logistics, denied allegations of jury tampering.
As part of their appeal, defense attorneys asked Newman to recuse himself because he would likely be a witness at any hearing related to the allegations against Hill. They also questioned Newman’s integrity after he spoke publicly about the case after the trial, including… Interview on NBC’s “TODAY” show.
“I can’t imagine he had a peaceful night knowing what he did,” Newman said of Murdaugh on the “Today” show, which is consistent with his comments during the sentencing. “I’m sure if he had the chance to do it again, he would never do it.”
Neither defense attorneys nor prosecutors immediately responded to a request for comment.
Murdo has declared his innocence in the killing of his wife and son since a grand jury indicted him on murder charges last year. Prosecutors claimed he killed them to gain pity before being exposed for a slew of financial crimes.
Mardo took the position During his trial, he admitted to repeatedly lying to investigators and said he had not been truthful about his statements The pretext for the night of the murder Due to his addiction to painkillers and general paranoia.
And in September it is He pleaded guilty in federal court To nearly twenty counts of financial fraud and money laundering. As part of the plea deal, his federal sentence must run concurrent with any state sentence he might be sentenced to if found guilty.
