How many years did Alex Murdaugh receive as his sentence? All the charges against disgraced South Carolina lawyer explored

Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced former South Carolina lawyer was sentenced to 27 years in jail on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, after he pleaded guilty to several crimes including money laundering, breach of trust, conspiracy, tax evasion, and even forgery. Agreeing to committing the financial crimes, Alex confessed and said:

“I agree that I wrongly took all of that money, your honour, and did all of those crimes.”

Prosecutor Creighton Waters said he would "ensure that Alex Murdaugh remained in the prison for a very long time," which led to the 27-year sentence of life in prison. Waters and Alex’s lawyers negotiated a 27-year sentence for Alex Murdaugh, without parole. The prosecutor requested that Alex spend at least 85% of his sentence—more than 23 years of his life—in prison.

Under this condition, Alex would be 76 years old by the time he is released from prison. The stern sentence comes after the prosecutors accused Alex Murdaugh of defrauding his clients, law firm partners, and many others of millions of dollars.

While the 27-year sentence is for his financial crimes, Alex Murdaugh is already serving two life sentences for murdering his wife, Maggie, whom he killed with a rifle, along with his son, who was brutally killed with a shotgun in June 2021. Since Alex denies committing the crime of murdering his family, his lawyers are now seeking a new trial for the same.

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“It's just unimaginable”: More details about Alex Murdaugh’s case explored as Judge Clifton also addresses the sentencing

As Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 counts of charges of fraud and money laundering, he was sentenced to a 27-year jail time for stealing millions of dollars from his clients. Judge Clifton Newman also commented on the sentencing, and said he takes “no joy in imposing this sentence.”

He said:

"Many of us do things that we shouldn't do. It's just unimaginable… unimaginable to me that you have done some of the things that you've done. Whether it's you or someone you become upon using drugs or through the process of just committing the crimes over and over over a period of years, I don't know. I don't know."

Waters, the prosecutor, accused Alex of stealing more than $12 million over the span of a few years, from his clients, while he worked as a personal injury attorney at the Hampton County Law firm. His victims also included the family of his former housekeeper, Gloria, as reported by ABC News.

The outlet mentioned that Gloria passed away at Alex’s home in February 2018, and Alex stole $3.8 million in settlement funds in her death. The housekeeper’s son was also present in the court during the sentencing, and he accused Alex of “betraying” his family, as he said:

“You lied, you cheated, you stole, you betrayed me and my family and everybody else, and you did that at the cost of my mom's death."

Not just Gloria’s son, another victim of the former lawyer, Jordan Jinks, yelled at him by claiming that he lost $150,000. While there are dozens of other victims who reported against Alex Murdaugh, the convicted lawyer apologized to the two present in the courtroom by claiming he is “so bothered by the things” he did.

He stated:

"I hope that a time will come when you can look back and know that despite the things that I did, I care about each one of you. I'm still today haunted by the fact that I deceived each of you terribly."

While Alex’s lawyers are still trying their best to reduce his sentence, he also faces some more charges of insurance fraud and filing a false police complaint. At the moment, Alex’s lawyers have not spoken up regarding the sentencing, and the decision taken by the jury.