CHARLESTON, S.C. — May 13, 2026 — Bland Richter, LLP, which represented multiple financial victims of Alex Murdaugh in the civil proceedings as well as six of the jurors that voted to convict Alex Murdaugh of double murder that exposed the full scope of his financial crimes, issued the following statement today in response to the South Carolina Supreme Court’s unanimous per curiam decision reversing Murdaugh’s double murder conviction. Those financial crimes convictions — the record Bland Richter helped build — are not touched by today’s ruling. Alex Murdaugh is not going free.
Today, the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed Alex Murdaugh’s double murder conviction and ordered a new trial. The decision was unanimous. The Court held that Murdaugh’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury was compromised by the conduct of former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, and that the wrong legal standard was applied when the defense’s motion for a new trial was denied in February 2024.
The Court also addressed the financial crimes evidence admitted during the original trial. It found that while Judge Newman was within his discretion to admit that evidence to establish motive for the murders of Maggie and Paul, the testimony went too far in scope and depth. That ruling is among the grounds for today’s reversal.
This is how the system is supposed to work. Justice has to function for the worst of us, not just the best of us. That is precisely what makes it worth defending.
Eric Bland commented:
“The Supreme Court was right to apply the Remmer standard. Alex Murdaugh had a Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury, and when that right is called into question, the law demands a clear answer. We respect this decision. Constitutional protections do not have exceptions for high-profile cases, and we would not want them to. At the same time, the public should understand what this ruling does not do: it does not free Alex Murdaugh. His financial crimes convictions are not before this Court, they were not disturbed by this ruling, and they will not be. That record stands today, and he is not walking out of any prison on the strength of this ruling. He will continue to serve his 27 year state court sentence and his 40 year federal sentence for the financial crimes he pled guilty to. He will be approximately in his nineties if he serves his full sentences and lives that long.“
Murdaugh’s financial crimes record is not a footnote. It is the floor beneath everything else.
As a result of his guilty pleas in federal and state court, and convictions at trial, Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, 17 of which run above his existing state term, and 27 years on the state financial crimes plea, to be served at 85 percent without the possibility of parole.
Those convictions — for money laundering, multiple counts of breach of trust, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud — stand today. They stood before this ruling. They stand after it. No appellate court has touched them, and today’s decision does not change that. Additionally, we believe there is substantial circumstantial evidence of Alex’s guilt that will be persuasive to the next juror that hears the double murder charges.
Bland Richter represented the financial victims of Alex Murdaugh throughout the civil proceedings that brought the full scope of his conduct to light. That work contributed directly to the public and prosecutorial record that produced these convictions.
The credit for the criminal prosecutions belongs where it has always belonged.
Ronnie Richter added:
“We owe a great debt to Attorney General Alan Wilson and Creighton Waters. Their pursuit of the financial crimes cases was relentless, thorough, and just. Because of their work, Alex Murdaugh will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars regardless of the ultimate outcome on the murder charges. Eric and I have said from the beginning that this case was never about one verdict. It was about accountability — for every client he stole from, every family he deceived, every institution he corrupted. That accountability is intact.”
Several questions remain open. When the retrial will be scheduled, who will serve as trial judge, where the case will be venued, what financial crimes evidence the new judge will admit, and whether Murdaugh’s prior sworn testimony from the first trial will be admissible — none of these have answers today. Those answers will come.
What is not an open question is this: Alex Murdaugh is not walking out of prison.
Bland Richter committed to our clients to see this through to the end, and we have. It was the honor of our careers to stand with the financial victims of Alex Murdaugh — the people he stole from, manipulated, and discarded while the community held him in trust. We said we would not stop until he faced the full weight of justice. On the financial crimes, that cup is full. It has been served, and it will not be taken back.
— Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter, Bland Richter, LLP
About Bland Richter, LLP
Bland Richter, LLP is a partner-led litigation firm with offices in Lexington and Charleston, South Carolina. The firm handles commercial litigation, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, and estate litigation. The firm is known for hands-on advocacy in matters where reputation, businesses, and livelihoods are on the line.
Ronnie Richter — 18 Broad St, Mezzanine Level, Charleston, SC 29401 | Eric Bland — 105 W Main St, Ste D, Lexington, SC 29072 | Licensed South Carolina attorneys.