“This week’s sentencing hearing in connection with Alex Murdaugh’s guilty plea on 22 of the 102 felony financial crimes was a long time coming. Ronnie and I were honored to speak on behalf of our multiple former clients/victims/prey of Alex Murdaugh and tell the miscreant of the carnage that he has caused to them, to our state, and the legal profession.
As a result of his pleas of guilt in federal and state court and by jury verdict, Alex Murdaugh has now hit the felony cycle. He is a convicted money launderer (single), he is guilty of multiple counts of breach of trust (double), he is guilty of conspiring to steal money by false pretenses (triple), and he is a convicted double murderer (homerun).
Alex has earned himself a bust on the Mount Rushmore of criminals. We are so proud of our clients Tony Satterfield, Ginger Hadwin, and Jordan Jinks for the articulate, heartfelt, and courageous words they shared in court yesterday. They stole the show.
The contrast between our clients and Alex Murdaugh was striking. Alex proved himself again to be a narcissist by using his opportunity to atone for his sins and to show contrition to his victims as an infomercial for his upcoming motion for a new trial and/or second murder trial. For Alex’s victims, his address came across as a sad and hollow attempt to reshape an image he has forever tarnished. Suffice it to say that it is difficult to accept an apology that continues to be laced with blame for the media, drug usage, podcasters, and internet chat.
We want to thank Attorney General Alan Wilson and our superhero and excellent public servant, Creighton Waters, for their dogged pursuit of justice for Alex’s crimes. Their tireless efforts ultimately produced an excellent negotiated plea of 27 years for the financial crimes. Alex will serve 85% of this time without the opportunity of parole. Job well done, gentlemen.
Still to come for Alex is federal sentencing before the Honorable Richard Gergel, a sentence which will likely run consecutively after (and not concurrently with) the 27-year sentence on the state court financial crime pleas. There are also pending felony charges in connection with the Labor Day 2021 roadside shooting with “Cousin Eddie”.
Regardless of the outcome of these remaining matters, it is more likely than not that Alex Murdaugh will live out the remainder of his life behind bars and not get a fresh breath of free air again. With these convictions, the public will be safe from Alex Murdaugh and those like him who would abuse their positions of trust.
Ronnie and I committed to our clients to see this through to the end, and we have. It was our career honor to be involved in these cases and to help restore some level of trust in our system and our profession. We said we would not stop until Alex was served a “full cup of justice,” just like every other criminal. This week, that cup was full and served hot to Alex.
We wish to thank the public for the many words of encouragement and support throughout this process, and we look forward to continuing to provide the best legal services possible for our existing and future clients.”
– Eric “EB” Bland and Ronnie Richter