Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife and son — full video

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Good morning. [00:00:14] Speaker ?: Good morning, Your Honor. [00:00:18] Speaker 1: Party's ready to proceed? [00:00:20] Speaker 2: State's ready, Your Honor. [00:00:21] Speaker 1: Defense is ready, Your Honor. All right, from the state, Mr. Orders. [00:00:24] Speaker 2: Thank you, Your Honor. We're obviously here in the sentencing for the state versus Richard Alexander Murdoch. Your Honor, I have prepared the sentencing sheets signed up. If I can hand those up to the clerk. Your Honor, very quickly, the defendant has no prior record, and the state has no victim impact people who want to speak at this time. But I will address the court briefly. And I don't need, Your Honor, to repeat the evidence that Your Honor just heard for the past six weeks, but it is overwhelming. And it shows this man to be a cunning manipulator, a man who placed himself above all others, including his family, a man who violated the trust of so many, including his friends, his family, his partners, his profession, but most of all, Maggie and Paul. This is a very complicated situation, and I want to offer my condolences to the family that has suffered here. We have tried very hard to be respectful and sensitive, regardless of what position any person took, because this family has suffered, and they've had to suffer in the public eye. And I want to offer my condolences to this family. I want to offer it for Maggie and Paul and Mr. Randolph, too, who I had the pleasure of working with on one occasion. But the reality remains is that, despite all this attention, this case is about Maggie Murdoch and Paul Murdoch, and I'm so thankful that the jurors gave them a voice. You heard about Paul. Obviously, there was a vote case, but you also heard him described as a fun-lumbing young man, a person who loved life, a person who would do anything for his friends, for anyone. And he's cut down as he was just starting to live his life. You heard about Maggie. You heard how sweet she was. You heard that she was a girl's girl who adapted to the outdoorsman life of her sons, how much she loved her sister and her brother-in-law and their children. And she was cut down in the prime of her life. Both of them, like everyone else, was unaware of who he really was. No one who thought they knew this man, no one who thought they were close to this man, knew who he really was. And, Your Honor, that's chilling. And I've looked in his eyes, and he liked to stare me down as he would walk by me during this trial. And I could see the real Alex Murdoch when he looked at me. The depravity, the callousness, the selfishness of these crimes are stunning. The lack of remorse and the effortless way in which he lies, including here, sitting right over there in this witness stand. Your Honor, a man like that, a man like this man, should never be allowed to be among free law-debying citizens again. And I would submit to you that the only just sentence here to give justice for Maggie and Paul is the maximum. And that would be two consecutive life sentences. Thank you, Your Honor. [00:04:11] Speaker 1: You indicate that no victim would like to speak at this time. Would any victim like to speak at any time during these proceedings? [00:04:22] Speaker 2: Your Honor, one of the things we did, and we did early on, obviously, as I just said, it's a very complicated situation. But we made the decision early on. We've had our victim advocate here who's been doing a wonderful job, regardless of the viewpoints of any individual family member, to provide aid and service to them. And we made that decision. I'm informed by our victim advocate that none of them wish to speak. The defense can certainly address that, but that's what I am informed. They certainly were offered the opportunity as is required. And I want to commend our victim advocate on the excellent job she did in handling this complex situation that we wanted to be sensitive to. Because, again, none of us are not mindful of the fact of the suffering of this family. [00:05:10] Speaker 1: I know the Slate Chief Mark Keel is here. Would you like to address the court on any matters? Chief? [00:05:21] Speaker 3: No, sir. Just to say, again, we're proud of our agents' work they've done. We're proud of the partnership that we've had with Attorney General's office, as we've had for many years. And, again, we're here to see the justice to serve, and we believe it has been. Thank you. [00:05:40] Speaker 1: For the defense. [00:05:43] Speaker 4: Your Honor, Mr. Griffin and I would have no comment. The defendant would like to address the court, though. [00:05:51] Speaker ?: Mr. Murdoch. [00:05:53] Speaker 5: Good morning, Your Honor. I'm innocent. I would never hurt my wife, Maggie, and I would never hurt my son, Pawpaw. [00:06:05] Speaker 4: Thank you, Your Honor. [00:06:05] Speaker 5: Thank you. [00:06:08] Speaker 1: Anything further? [00:06:17] Speaker 2: I don't think further comment is necessary, Your Honor. Thank you. [00:06:19] Speaker 1: Mr. Murdoch, you will come to the court for sentencing. This has been perhaps one of the most troubling cases, not just for me as a judge, for the state, for the defense team, but for all of the citizens in this community, all of the citizens in this state, and as we've seen, based on the media coverage throughout the nation. You have a wife who's been killed, murdered, a son savagely murdered, a lawyer, a person from a person from a respected family who has controlled justice in this community for over a century, a person whose grandfather's portrait hanged at the back of the court house that I had to have ordered removed in order to ensure that a fair trial was had by both the state and the defense. And I've sat through the trial, not only have I sat through the trial, but also as the presiding judge of the state grand jury sat through and participated in the issuance of search warrants of various sorts, bond hearings, bond hearings and have had to consider many things. And we have this case and I'm also assigned to preside over 99 others, at least 99 other cases. And though testimony has come up regarding many of those other cases, I will not make any comment with, with regard to any other pending matter, as I have been assigned those cases as well. It's also particularly troubling, Mr. Meridaw, because as a member of the legal community and a well-known member of the legal community, you've practiced law before me and we've seen each other at various occasions throughout the years. And it was especially heartbreaking for me to see you go on, go in the media from being a, a grieving father who lost a wife and a son to being the person indicted and convicted of killing them. And you've engaged in such duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom, there on the witness stand. And as established by the testimony throughout the time leading from the time of the indictment and prior to the indictment throughout the trial to this moment in time, certainly you have no obligation to say anything other than saying not guilty. and obviously his appeals are probably expected or absolutely expected. I would not expect a confession of any kind. In fact, as I've presided over murder cases over the past 22 years, I have yet to find a defendant who could go there, who could go back to that moment in time when they decided to pull the trigger or to otherwise murder someone. I have not been able to get anyone, any defendant, any defendant, even those who have confessed to being guilty, to go back and explain to me what happened at that moment in time when they opted to pull the trigger, when they opted to commit the most heinous crime known to man. That case qualifies under our death penalty statute based on the statutory aggravating circumstances of two or more people being murdered by the defendant by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct. I don't question at all the decision of the state not to pursue the death penalty. But as I sit here in this courtroom and look around the many portraits of judges and other court officials and reflect on the fact that over the past century, your family, including you, have been prosecuting people here in this courtroom and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct. Remind me of the expression you gave on the witness stand. What did you mean by that? Tangled? [00:13:38] Speaker ?: Tangled web. [00:13:39] Speaker 1: We weave. [00:13:40] Speaker ?: I know. [00:13:41] Speaker 1: Oh, what tangle web we weave. What did you mean by that? [00:13:47] Speaker 5: It meant when I lied, I continue to lie. [00:13:52] Speaker 1: And the question is, when will it end? When will it end? When will it end? And it's ended already for the jury because they've concluded that you continue to lie and lie throughout your testimony. And perhaps with all the throng of people here, they, for the most part, all believe, or 80%-99% believe that you continue to lie now when you're a statement of denial to the court. Perhaps you believe that it does not matter, that there's nothing that can mitigate a sentence given the crimes that were committed. You know, a notice of alibi was filed in this case by counsel in November, and we conducted a hearing, a pretrial hearing, in which you claimed to have been someplace else at the time the crime was committed. Then after all of the witnesses placed you at the scene of the crime, at the last minute, or days, you switched courses and admitted to being there. And then that necessitated more lies and continued to lie. And I said, "Where will it end?" It's already ended for many who have heard you and concluded that it'll never end. But within your own soul, you have to deal with that. And I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night times when you're attempting to go to sleep. I'm sure they'll come and visit you, I'm sure, and they will continue to do so and reflect on the last time they looked you in the eyes, as you looked the jury in the eyes. I don't know a person who's always been such a gregarious, friendly person, and caused her life to be tangled in such a kind of a weave web, such a situation that you, yours have spun into and is so unfortunate because you have such a lovely family of such friendly people, including you, and to go from that to this. You know, you're licensed to practice law has been stripped away from you, turned from lawyer to witness, and now have an opportunity to make your final appeal as an ex-lawyer. And it's almost, it's really surprising that you're waiving this right at this time. And if you opt to do so, it's on you. You're not compelled to say anything, but you have the opportunity to do so. [00:18:09] Speaker 5: And I'll tell you again, I respect this court, but I'm innocent. I would never, under any circumstances, hurt my wife Maggie, and I would never, under any circumstances, hurt my son Papa. [00:18:24] Speaker 1: And it might not have been you. It might have been the monster you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person. I've seen that before. The person standing before me was not the person who committed the crime, though it's the same individual. We'll leave that at that. Before announcing sentence on these cases, with regard to all of the other pending cases, [00:19:15] Speaker 2: the person standing before me was not the person who committed the crime, the person who committed the crime, the person who committed the crime. [00:19:31] Speaker 4: But there may be others that I'm not thinking of right now. [00:19:35] Speaker 1: We might have worn out our welcome here in Colleton. Colleton has been great. They have been. And I'll take this opportunity to thank Sheriff Hill and all of the court officials and really everyone I've met and dealt with while here in Colleton County just been great. But without any delay, we're going to schedule some of the other matters. I know Mr. Harpootlian's scheduling is complicated and you've sacrificed quite a bit to be able to be here defending Mr. Murdoch, as well as the Attorney General's office with all the other many, many things and obligations you have. And to be able to have the Attorney General here, Alan Wilson, for the period of time that he's devoted to being here along with everyone else, it's been quite a sacrifice. But there are other victims whose cases deserve to be heard. And this case has jumped some of those other cases. Perhaps jumped it because of this case resulting in an assault on the integrity of the judicial system in our state, law enforcement in our state. Even during this trial, the law enforcement had been maligned for the past five or six weeks by one who had access to the wheels of justice to be able to deflect the investigation. And as the evidence is pointed out in this case, the looming storm that Mr. Waters talked about. I can just imagine on that day, June 7th, when a lawyer is confronted and confesses to having stolen over a half a million dollars from a client. And he has a tiger like Mark Tinsley on his tail pursuing discovery in the case involving the death of Mallory Beach. And having a father, for the most part, on his deathbed. I can imagine, or really can't imagine, but I know it had to have been quite a bit going through your mind on that day. But amazingly, to have you come and testify that it was just another ordinary day. That my wife and son and I were out just enjoying life. Not credible. Not credible. Not believable. You can convince yourself about it, but obviously you have the inability to convince anyone else about that. So, if you made any such arguments as a lawyer, you would lose every case like that. In cases you will never have an opportunity to argue anymore, except perhaps your own as you sit in the Department of Corrections. Anything further? [00:23:53] Speaker 4: No, sir. [00:23:54] Speaker ?: All right. [00:23:55] Speaker 1: Mr. Murdoch, I sentence you to the State Department of Corrections on each of the murder indictments. For the murder of your wife, Maggie Murdoch, I sentence you for the term of the rest of your natural life. For the murder of Paul Murdoch, whom you probably love so much, I sentence you to prison for murdering him for the rest of your natural life. Those sentences will run consecutive. Under the statute involving possession of a weapon during a violent crime, there is no sentence where a life sentence is imposed on other indictments. That is the sentence of the court and you are remanded to the State Department of Corrections. And officers may carry forth on the end position. Yes, sir. [00:25:11] Speaker ?: May be approved. Yes, sir. May be approved. Yes, sir. [00:25:13] Speaker 1: Yes, sir. [00:25:32] Speaker 4: Yes, sir. [00:25:43] Speaker ?: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. [00:26:43] Speaker 1: Before we adjourn, an order was issued concerning maintaining the juror's identity being anonymous. That order was issued, and for the most part, it's been complied with, except for the jury leaving the courtroom yesterday, or not the jury, but the defendant leaving the courtroom while the jury is still seated. And protecting the identity of the jurors is certainly extremely important during the course of a trial to ensure that no one makes contact with the jury or attempts to influence the jury. Jurors have a right to continue that privacy beyond their jury service, but they're not obligated to do so. And it would not surprise me if jurors choose to come forward and to speak, and they're encouraged to do so. If that is their desire, I have no problem whatsoever with the jurors unmasking themselves and speaking freely with the media, because they have undergone a life-changing experience as it relates to many of them. But, and some of them are here now, and I want them to know that should anyone attempt to harass them or annoy them, please let me know, please let me know, and I will address the issue. Secondly, there's a complaint now regarding the posting of autopsy photographs or photos that came from within the courtroom. It's based on the direction of the photographs that did not come from the audience. It came somehow from within the well of the court. The parties have requested an investigation of that. I have my hands full doing my job, and I don't attempt to conduct any investigations beyond the conducting of a trial, but to the extent that law enforcement decides to review that, that would be a responsibility of law enforcement. [00:29:36] Speaker 3: We will. [00:29:37] Speaker 1: Yes. And, of course, one of the reasons we've sought to seal graphic photos is because the parties have a right to privacy and a right to those matters not being publicly disclosed. If anyone has heard about the recent settlement that Kobe Bryant's, another sports analogy, Kobe Bryant's wife just made with Los Angeles County and others out there over certain disclosures of information involving the death of Kobe Bryant, liability can be substantial, and it's a risk, for the most part, that's not worth taking. So we'll let everyone judge themselves accordingly with that regard. Aside from all that, our business is done here in Colleton County, and I get to use my gavel one or a few times during this trial and order that court be adjourned. Sonny Dye. [00:31:15] Speaker 5: All rise! [00:31:16] Speaker ?: All rise! All rise! All rise! All rise! All rise! Thank you.