Murdaugh sues former court clerk whose actions caused his murder convictions to then be vacated

Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill listens during her guilty plea on Dec. 8, 2025, in St. Matthews, South Carolina. (Jeffrey Collins/AP via CNN Newsource)

Alex Murdaugh has filed a federal lawsuit against the now-former clerk of court whose interactions with the jury in his 2023 murder trial prompted the South Carolina Supreme Court last week to overturn his double murder convictions.

The 17-page lawsuit was filed Sunday in U.S. District Court in Charleston, South Carolina. It says Murdaugh, a disbarred attorney who remains charged with the murders of his wife and son, is bringing this legal action to hold the clerk “accountable for her wrongful conduct under color of state law and to recover compensatory and punitive damages as provided by law.”

Last week, the state Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, vacated Murdaugh’s murder convictions and ordered a new trial in the killing of his wife and son in June 2021, saying the “improper” influence of the county clerk, Becky Hill, marred the previous trial.

The lawsuit is filed under a federal civil rights statute that allows someone to sue a government official who is accused of violating their civil rights while acting under the colour of state law.

“She deprived Alex of his constitutional rights, deprived him of a fair trial and as a result we have to do it all over again, which no one wants to do,” Jim Griffin, one of Murdaugh’s attorneys, said at a Monday news conference. “The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Becky Hill accountable for what she did. She has not been held to account, at all, for her conduct.”

He said the lawsuit is also intended “to investigate what she did, which we’ll be able to do through the course of civil litigation.”

In a 5-0 ruling, the court said Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s biting opinion is quoted throughout the lawsuit, including the justices describing Hill’s actions during the 2023 double murder trial as engaging in “shocking jury interference” and saying Hill “became a character witness on behalf of the State” and “essentially implored the jurors to find him guilty.”

Hill has never been charged with jury tampering. However, in December 2025, she pleaded guilty to perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct. The charges said she made sealed evidence available to the media, lied under oath about doing so, and used her court position to promote her book about the trial. She was sentenced to three years of probation.

“Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendant in this matter in a sum sufficient to adequately compensate him for damages suffered, for punitive damages, for reasonable attorney’s fees, for the costs of this action, and for such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper,” the lawsuit states. “As a result of Ms. Hill’s actions, Mr. Murdaugh suffered monetary damages of US$600,000.”

Griffin added Monday, “Now let me be clear, Alex Murdaugh owes a lot of people a lot of money. None of this money that is recovered will go to him personally.” His legal team said the $600,000 is based on a public number of the receivership for Murdaugh’s defence.

CNN has reached out to Hill’s attorney for comment.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said last week his office plans to retry Murdaugh on the murder charges “as soon as possible.”

Wilson told reporters Wednesday his “hope is to get this case retried by the end of the year,” but noted the window is still open for his team to ask the South Carolina Supreme Court to reconsider its decision or to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States.

“In light of the Supreme Court’s decision, we’re back to square one on this case, and that means all our legal options are on the table, including the death penalty,” Wilson said in a statement to CNN on Friday.

Murdaugh’s attorney Dick Harpootlian kicked off Monday’s news conference about the lawsuit by blasting Wilson’s statement.

“Clearly, he is not talking to the lawyers in his office. He’s probably talking to his political consultants who thought that was a good soundbite for his governor’s campaign,” Harpootlian said. “The law is clear that he cannot seek the death penalty if it is due to vindictive prosecution.”

Harpootlian added, “What does he know today he didn’t know five years ago? Why is he saying he is going to seek the death penalty? Is there some new piece of evidence?”

Wilson, one of several Republicans running for the party’s nomination for governor, rejected the notion his approach is influenced by his gubernatorial campaign.

“This case is being treated exactly as it should be, as a brand-new trial. Every legal option is on the table, and those discussions are happening as they should happen, with the dedicated prosecutors and staff within the Attorney General’s Office, not as part of some campaign apparatus,” Wilson said in a statement to CNN.

“In 2022, the legal and practical realities surrounding the death penalty were very different. South Carolina had not carried out an execution in more than a decade. That has changed, and it is one of several factors that must now be considered as we move forward,” Wilson added.

Though his murder convictions have been vacated, Murdaugh remains in prison. He is serving concurrent state and federal sentences of 27 and 40 years, respectively, for stealing millions of dollars from clients and his law firm.

By Dianne Gallagher, Devon M. Sayers, CNN