Michael M. DeWitt, Jr.Greenville News
A South Carolina circuit court judge has recused himself from a Murdaugh-related personal injury lawsuit, and another murder trial juror has teamed up with a true crime writer to release a tell-all book; here's the latest from the Alex Murdaugh crime saga in the Palmetto State.
A February 2019 Beaufort County boat crash involving Alex Murdaugh's son, Paul, allegedly drunkenly driving his father's boat, took the life of 19-year-old Mallory Beach and set into motion a chain of events that led to more than a dozen lawsuits, unearthed hundreds of criminal acts, and ignited an international true crime and media frenzy.
While disbarred lawyer and convicted family murderer Alex Murdaugh is now serving multiple state and federal prison sentences for those crimes as he continues to mount appeals and inspire books and documentaries, the Beach family continues to seek justice in civil court.
Judge in Beach 'outrage' case over leaked body photos recuses himself
While the Beach's 2019 wrongful death suit ended in a $15 million settlement, the family of Mallory Beach remains deadlocked in a personal injury, "civil outrage" suit against Gregory Parker and Parker's Corporation, et al., the owners of the Parker's convenience store that sold alcohol to the underaged boaters.
This ongoing, years-long suit, also filed in 2019, alleges that the Parker's defendants hired investigators and "social media knife fighters" to harass and emotionally harm the Beach family during the wrongful death case and allegedly leaked photos of Beach's dead body to documentary producers and journalists, is now being delayed further by the recent recusal of the judge overseeing the case, G.D. Morgan Jr.
In an August court filing, Judge Morgan informed all parties of a possible conflict of interest, disclosing that his current law clerk, Adam Compton, had previously been employed for a summer with attorney Deborah B. Barbier, current counsel for the Parker's defendants.
On Sept. 13, Beach family attorneys, led by Allendale lawyer Mark Tinsley, filed a "Memorandum in Support of Request for Recusal," stating that "Compton’s continued employment in Your Honor’s chambers creates an appearance of impropriety requiring recusal pursuant to the South Carolina Code of Judicial Conduct."
Despite the objections of the Parker's defendants in subsequent filings, Judge Moran agreed and issued an Oct. 18 court order recusing himself from the Beach personal injury case.
Morgan, a judge in the 13th Circuit of Greenville and Pickens counties, who states that he has no connection to Hampton County or either party and "finds no impropriety in continuing to preside," wrote that "after having thoughtfully and thoroughly considered all of the arguments of the parties, the Court has, in the interest of justice and in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety, decided to recuse itself from this case. Presumably, a new judge will be assigned going forward."
Judge Morgan, a Greenville native and graduate of The Citadel and the University of South Carolina School of Law, was elected to the Circuit Court, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Seat 3, in February 2021, according to his biography on the state court system's website, sccourts.org.
After practicing law for 36 years at two firms, Morgan was admitted to practice in all South Carolina state courts, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Greenville County Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association, and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.
Murder trial juror announces release date for latest book in Murdaugh true crime saga
The fatal 2019 boat crash was followed by the June 2021 murders of Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, at their Colleton County home, Moselle. Those murders and Murdaugh's March 2023 conviction in the killings of his family helped seal the Murdaugh crime story's place in international infamy.
Scores of television shows, movies, documentaries and books followed. Still, few will likely offer the inside perspective of a juror who sat and experienced the entire six-week murder trial — from the inside.
One of those jurors, Amie Williams (Juror #864, the 12th juror selected) has teamed up with writer and true crime pundit Shana Hirsch, to publish "The Long Road to Justice: UnravelingAlex Murdaugh's Tangled Web."
The book, which is scheduled for release on Nov. 26, offers some "unique nuggets" from the trial and from William's life, say the authors, including:
- Jury selection and how Murdaugh acted as Williams was presented to the defense as a possible juror.
- Williams' recollections of what Clerk of Court Becky Hill said prior to Murdaugh taking the stand
- Her thoughts on seeing the crime scene photos and autopsy photos of Maggie and Paul
- How testimony from key witnesses in Murdaugh’s domestic staff impacted her vote
- Williams' impressions of the attorneys and Judge Clifton Newman
- Williams was in extreme pain during the trial and worried about possible dismissal, but held out until she could get emergency dental work after the trial
- How she re-paid her employer for their kindness during the six-week trial
- Her reactions to assertions she felt pressured by other jurors and Clerk of Court Hill
- Reactions to surprising real-time social media comments from the trial
- How the defense teams’ Sept. 5, 2023, news conference made her question her civic duty to serve as a juror. In that conference, Murdaugh's attorneys accused Hill of jury tampering.
Williams also writes about her experience as a crime victim and how a portion of the proceeds of the book will help others in the same situation, going to build a “Sanctuary House” for domestic violence victims.
The authors plan to hold a book launch and tour in December following the release date.
To pre-order the book, go to www.thelongroadtojustice.com