South Carolina’s most famous and disgraced former attorney, Alex Murdaugh, was recently convicted of killing his wife and son, and so will, according to officials, serve a life sentence in protective custody.
Apparently, a board composed of mental health and prison experts reviewed Murdaugh’s case and determined that he needs to be kept in protective custody, so he will spend the remainder of his life in a maximum security prison under protective custody. The unit to which he was transferred has only 28 inmates.
Announcing the decision and move in a news release, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said:
Inmate Richard Alexander Murdaugh’s reception and evaluation process is complete,
and he has been moved to the statewide protective custody unit of a South Carolina maximum-security
prison.
SCDC’s Protective Custody Review Board met Thursday and made a recommendation of statewide
protective custody classification for inmate Murdaugh. The four-member board includes SCDC security,
mental health and classification experts.
Inmates in this unit have validated protective concerns and are placed in a specialized unit to separate
them from the general population. Their location is not disclosed for safety and security reasons. This
unit has 28 inmates currently.
Murdaugh will be in a single eight by ten cell that contains a bed, toilet and sink. Inmates in this unit
receive all privileges afforded those in the general population inside this self-contained unit.
People, reporting on the Murdaugh murders, noted:
Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and her son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead on the 1,770-acre property, where the family has a hunting lodge.
The two were survived by Maggie’s husband, Alex Murdaugh, then 53, and son Richard, aka Buster, both members of the powerful Murdaugh family, who have been practicing law in South Carolina since 1910. Three generations of the family have also served as solicitors of the 14th Judicial Circuit for more than 86 years.
Paul was awaiting trial in connection to a 2019 boat crash that left a 19-year-old woman dead, police said.
[…]The case took another turn on Sept. 7, 2021, when PEOPLE reported that members of Alex’s law firm had confronted him about missing money on Sept. 3 before notifying law enforcement and the South Carolina Bar Association, The Island Packet reported. A source told the outlet that more than $1 million was missing, and after being confronted, Alex told his lawyer that he would resign.
[…]A grand jury in Colleton County, S.C., indicted Alex in connection with the 2021 murders of his wife and son.
Alex was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Murdaugh was also charged with various financial crimes, insurance fraud in connection with hiring someone to shoot him, and killing a housekeeper. Quite the tally for a South Carolina lawyer.
His surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, is also suspected of a murder and could soon be facing a court date too, though he has not yet been indicted.
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