“Next step in the legal process”: Defense team confirms Alex Murdaugh will appeal double murder conviction

On Thursday, March 9, the defense team of disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh confirmed that they would appeal his double murder conviction.

Trigger warning: This article concerns homicide and gun violence

The news comes about a week after Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of killing his wife Maggie and younger son Paul.

In an official statement, Alex Murdaugh's attorney, Dick Harpootlian, announced the decision.

Harpootlian said:

“Today (defense attorney Jim Griffin) and I filed our notice of appeal for Alex Murdaugh. This is the next step in the legal process to fight for Alex’s constitutional right to a fair trial."

Murdaugh was found guilty of two counts of homicide and two charges of having a weapon while committing a violent crime. He is serving two consecutive life sentences for the killings.

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Alex Murdaugh claims innocence in the death of his wife and son

As per ABC News, after the sensational trial, Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to the deaths of Paul and Maggie. Since June 7, 2021, and the deaths of his wife and son, the former attorney has claimed that they were murdered by vigilantes seeking revenge for the demise of Mallory Beach. The 19-year-old is said to have perished in a drunken boating accident that was attributed to Paul, who was purportedly driving the boat at the time.

The New York Times reported that after Mallory Beach's death, the teenager's family had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaugh family, which supposedly led investigators to unveil Alex Murdaugh's alleged history of white-collar crimes.

As Murdaugh faced mounting pressure due to the lawsuit and the newfound allegations, on June 7, 2021, colleagues at his law firm reportedly confronted him about his involvement in embezzling funds from the company. Prosecutors claimed that this was the primary motive behind the killings. They stated that he may have killed Paul and Maggie to arouse sympathy from his coworkers and divert attention away from the embezzlement allegations.

NBC reported that according to Murdaugh's defense team, the motive put forth by prosecutors is purely based on speculation. They also said that it was unfair for the prosecution to focus so much on Murdaugh's white-collar criminal allegations, as it supposedly turned members of the jury against him.

Murdaugh himself said that nothing could drive him to perpetrate the double homicide.

He said:

“I would never under any circumstances hurt my wife Maggie and I would never under any circumstances hurt my son.”

CNN reported that even though Murdaugh will serve over 700 years for the killings, prosecutors still plan to try him for financial crimes, including embezzlement and insurance fraud.