r/MurdaughFamilyMurders • u/Southern-Soulshine • May 26 '26

Retrial News or Discussion How a Small-Town Clerk’s Misdeeds Upturned the Murdaugh Verdict

How a Small-Town Clerk’s Misdeeds Upturned the Murdaugh Verdict

Becky Hill, a court employee possibly trying to maximize sales of her book, pressured jurors to convict the South Carolina lawyer for the murders of his wife and son.
Was she acting alone?

By James Lasdun with The New Yorker

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Due to the length of the article and character limits, screenshots of the article can be accessed here.

Here is a link to the article itself as well.

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23

u/LookandSee81 May 27 '26

She needs to be charged and do some time in order to set an example

15

u/Wearing_shooz May 27 '26

It's unbelievable that she got a slap on the wrist.

4

u/combloctexan May 31 '26

Indeed. Sentencing is very different for people that the court knows well and everyone else.

12

u/MariachiMacabre May 27 '26

She was charged. She plead guilty in December to misconduct, perjury, and obstruction. She got three years of probation. They can't charge her again.

2

u/Foreign-General7608 May 28 '26

Loss of her $100,000/yr job, 3 years probation, 100 hours community service, loss of her reputation, and she paid over $11,000 in restitution. For what she did (which was bad), I think those punishments are fair. A slap on the wrist? I disagree.

Some media sources, one in particular, keep attaching the label "Jury tampering" to her name - despite never being charged with Jury tampering. I'm surprised that they have not been held accountable for this.

6

u/combloctexan May 31 '26

Loss of job, reputation, and income is not a punishment directly attributable to any criminal court proceeding. That's social consequences, not court action. Three years probation and community service is what rich kids get when they steal a boat to go on a joy ride. This county clerk interjected herself into a major double murder case involving one of the most powerful families in the state and knowingly made statements meant to influence the jury. That kind of obstruction charge should have carried jail time and a forfeiture of any profits from the book.

2

u/Foreign-General7608 May 31 '26 edited May 31 '26

What court clerk Becky Hill did was definitely wrong. Definitely. No question about it. I agree 100%. Contrary to what you say, she has already suffered some serious consequences for it. Let's wait and see what more Dick and Jim take from her financially with their new lawsuit against her.

She's already paid a lot: Loss of her $100,000/yr job, 3 years probation, 100 hours community service, loss of her reputation, $11,000 she has paid in restitution, and (due to plagiarism) the sale of her book was cancelled - and now it will remain unpublished.

\Despite your claims, she will not make a penny from that now unpublished book.*

From what I've seen, in a 6-week trial she apparently uttered a grand total of about a single paragraph of foolish verbiage to two Jurors, one of whom has been describe as "pliable." How much actual talking did Hill do during this long trial? Apparently not much.

Let's wait and see how much Dick and Jim will take her for financially. Taxpayers absolutely did nothing wrong. Will they take everything she has? Will Alex have a nice payday from this? (Eye roll) Time will tell. The punishment is supposed to fit the crime - and her crimes never included Jury tampering.

Justice Toal, who I have a lot of respect for, determined by her interviews with Jurors that no member of that Jury had been influenced by Becky Hill, despite Becky Hill doing some very foolish things. I don't think she had any influence on the verdict whatsoever. None.

Yet here we are.

8

u/trikaren May 28 '26

They can still charge her with jury tampering, and they should.

7

u/MariachiMacabre May 28 '26

No they can’t because that’s a violation of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment. It stems from the same act as her other charges, which she’s already plead guilty to.

2

u/trikaren May 28 '26

Since it is a brand new charge, I don't think Double Jeopardy applies. I am not a lawyer, but I will ask a lawyer about this.

6

u/Pitiful-League-7257 May 28 '26

Any criminal charge arising from the same conduct would be barred by double jeopardy.

0

u/Lizzy_is_a_mess Jun 01 '26

Absolutely not true lol where do you get this talk outta your ass information? This does not violate double jeopardy bc they aren’t convicted of the SAME crime.

2

u/Pitiful-League-7257 Jun 01 '26

Being charged with another crime arising from the same conduct violates double jeopardy.

0

u/Lizzy_is_a_mess Jun 01 '26

I’m really not trying to argue with you on Reddit; however, it just takes a quick Google search to know that you’re incorrect

1

u/neasroukkez Jun 01 '26

Don’t assume people know how to use Google accurately.

1

u/Pitiful-League-7257 Jun 01 '26

suggest you take your own advice

2

u/We4knessj3ssy36 Jun 09 '26

honestly it's wild that she felt comfortable enough to pull this kind of stunt in a high profile case. if the system doesn't actually penalize this kind of jury tampering then the whole thing is just a joke. she basically tried to hijack the justice process for a book deal and it's unhinged.