South Carolina judge presiding over Alex’s double murder trial Murdoch was not rude on Tuesday. as he spoke for the first time in the infamous case
“I don’t believe he hates his wife. And I certainly don’t believe that he doesn’t love his son. But he committed an unforgivable and unimaginable crime. And there was no way he could sleep peacefully,” Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman said in a speech at his alma mater at Cleveland State University on Tuesday evening.
Newman shared his thoughts weeks after Murdoch’s six-week trial ended. The former lawyer was convicted of the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul near the kennel at the family’s hunting grounds in June 2021. Newman gave a heated speech slamming Murdoch as a “Monsters” whose behavior is worse than many death row inmates. before being sentenced to life imprisonment for two counts.
But last Tuesday Newman spoke for the first time about his views on the trial. admitting that he was surprised by the huge national attention and expressed his appreciation to the 12 jurors who ultimately convicted Murdoch.
“I haven’t seen any of that. I’m just a judge in my workplace trial. like I repeat over the years,” Newman said.
“It got more notoriety because it involved a lawyer who was accused of stealing over $8 million from a number of clients,” he explains. and above all A man accused of murdering his wife and son.”
Newman also spoke of several important decisions he made during the trial that could have played a role in his conviction. Murdaugh now faces more than 100 separate charges, ranging from financial crimes to alleged theft from clients and former law firms. to staging his own murder to demand insurance money for his only surviving son.
“I think the record speaks for itself,” Newman said.
The judge also mentioned Murdoch’s time in the stands—probably one of the most important moments of the trial—during which he admitted to lying to prosecutors about his whereabouts that night. Several murders and financial crimes occurred.
“When the defendant takes a stand and testifies Almost everything will be fair game at that point,” Newman said. Murdaugh’s legal team said they plan to appeal the decision.
(tags to translate)crime
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