‘Three strikes and you’re in for life’: Prosecutors who put Alex Murdaugh behind bars for executing his wife and son push for THIRD life sentence for financial crimes
- Alex Murdaugh may lose his chance at parole as prosecutors insist they are pursuing more life sentences
- The disgraced legal scion is facing further charges of financial crimes in five South Carolina counties
- Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty of the 2021 murders of his wife and son this month following a high profile trial
The prosecutors who put Alex Murdaugh behind bars for murdering his wife and son have revealed that they are pursuing a third life sentence for financial crimes.
A third conviction would ensure the legal scion dies in prison, and authorities insist they will not stop chasing charges against Murdaugh until each of his victims in numerous financial fraud and theft scams see justice.
Murdaugh is facing 99 pending charges for financial crimes, and the convicted murderer could be back in court in each of the five South Carolina counties where the admitted offences took place.
State Attorney General Alan Wilson and Deputy Attorney General Creighton Waters told ABC4News they are ‘100 percent’ intent on pushing for the third conviction.
Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, center, could lose his chance at parole as prosecutors insist they are seeking a third life sentence
Murdaugh is currently housed in high-security Kirkland Correctional Institution, one of South Carolina’s most notorious prisons.
And while the disgraced former lawyer escaped the death penalty for the murder of his wife Maggie and son Paul, a third life sentence conviction would mean Murdaugh will spend the rest of his life behind bars due to the state’s ‘three strikes’ law.
He is currently appealing his murder conviction, but the state is specifically seeking three additional convictions for breach of trust totaling $10,000 or more.
Three additional convictions on the breach of trust charges would result in a life sentence, removing his chance of parole.
However, prosecutors say they won’t stop at just three extra convictions.
‘These victims deserve their day in court, and we are going to pursue every case that involves every other victim,’ state AG Wilson said.
‘They get their shot, they get their day in court.’
Waters, who is leading the cases against Murdaugh, added that his alleged financial fraud victims hope to see justice in cases that have ‘nothing to do with the murders’.
‘We are talking about somebody who allegedly has abused the trust that comes with that diploma on the wall that we (lawyers) all have, and did so in a way that is unparalleled.’
South Carolina Deputy Attorney General Creighton Waters, pictured, is leading the charge to ensure Murdaugh dies in prison
State Attorney General Alan Wilson said he is ‘100 percent’ pursuing another life sentence for the disgraced legal scion
Almost two years after he executed his wife and son, Alex Murdaugh was finally snared after crucial evidence was presented at his trial.
The damning evidence included a video which placed him at the scene minutes before the murders, a ‘confession’ to cops and a disastrous appearance on the stand.
At the center of the State’s case was a video taken by Murdaugh’s son at the kennels just moments before he was shot dead along with his mother.
It proved the disbarred attorney’s undoing as he’d told cops he was never at the crime scene.
He then took the stand during his trial and claimed he only lied because his drug addiction made him paranoid, however his desperate attempt at changing his alibi did not sway the jurors.
Also among the harrowing evidence revealed in the six week trial was video footage appearing to show a confession, when Murdaugh said ‘I did him so bad’ just three days after the murders.
However, despite prosecutors securing a conviction in Murdaugh’s high-profile trial this month, numerous questions are still swirling as to what led to the killings.
Alex Murdaugh is currently housed in high-security Kirkland Correctional Institution, one of South Carolina’s most notorious prisons
Central to the lingering questions is what Murdaugh’s motivation was for killing his wife and son.
The prosecution put forward the theory that Murdaugh murdered his wife and son because his life was spiraling out of control, but they didn’t nail down a specific reason for the executions.
He testified that he was in the throes of a crippling opioid addiction, was facing mounting financial problems – and there were rumors his marriage was falling apart.
Authorities also failed to present a murder weapon, and while a rifle that Alex bought for his son could have been a match, according to prosecutors, it was never found.
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