Before Alex Murdaugh ever took the stand in his own defense, the woman managing his trial had already told the jury what to think. The South Carolina Supreme Court found those comments went to the heart of the case and reversed his murder convictions unanimously.

Eric Fadds — a defense attorney who previously served as a prosecutor — walks through the three-step legal test the court adopted to reach its decision. The framework, drawn from the Fourth Circuit’s Cheek ruling, requires the defendant to show the outside contact was more than harmless, then automatically presumes prejudice and shifts the burden to the State. Former Chief Justice Toal never applied this framework. She required Murdaugh to prove harm. She asked jurors whether Hill’s comments changed their minds — a question the Supreme Court said violated evidence rules protecting the sanctity of jury deliberations.

Fadds analyzes where the line falls between comments that are merely improper and those that functionally direct a verdict, how the court expanded the evidentiary record beyond what Toal allowed, and why Hill’s perjury guilty plea may have sealed the outcome.

LINKS

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/

Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/

Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod

X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod

DISCLAIMER

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

HASHTAGS

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughCase #BeckyHill #SCSupremeCourt #JuryTampering #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #EricFadds #MurdaughRetrial #ColletonCounty