COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s Supreme Court has granted state prosecutors more time to respond to convicted killer Alex Murdaugh’s appeal.
On December 10, 2024, Murdaugh’s defense team filed a motion to appeal his 2023 double murder conviction before the high court, initially granting the state a deadline of April 10, 2025 (90 days).
Murdaugh’s lawyers argue former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill tampered with the jury, ultimately resulting in an unfair trial.
“Any person accused of a crime—even Alex Murdaugh— has a constitutional right to a fair trial,” Murdaugh’s attorneys wrote in their appeal. “When a fair trial is denied, he is entitled to a new, fair trial—he is not required to earn it by proving he would have been acquitted had he been given a fair trial the first time.”
However on April 3, just one week before the state’s deadline, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office requested the Supreme Court approve a second extension due to a heavier-than usual workload.
“…the undersigned attorneys have not yet been able to finish the brief due to the extraordinary circumstances involved in this case, which resulted in an almost-6000-page-long trial transcript, multiple transcripts from other hearings, and numerous recordings and other exhibits requiring review,” Wilson’s office wrote.
Murdaugh’s team quickly filed a response in open opposition, alleging state prosecutors procrastinated casework.
“…it appears the State did not begin any work in earnest on this appeal until shortly before the expiration of its first requested 90-day extension. See Transcript Request dated Mar. 31, 2025,” Murdaugh’s lawyers wrote. “Undersigned counsel is unaware of any criminal case—even a capital case— in which a state has been given a full year to respond to a defendant’s appellate brief, whether in South Carolina, some other state, or a federal court.”
One week later, the S.C. Supreme Court approved the request.
State prosecutors now have an additional 120 days to respond before the S.C. Supreme Court can hear arguments.
