Following the murder conviction of disgraced former attorney Alex Murdaugh, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson gave a triumphant press conference lauding the result — and proclaiming that justice had been rendered.
"It is a good day in South Carolina," said Wilson, lavishing credit on lead prosecutor Creighton Waters. "Today's verdict proves that no one, no one, no matter who you are in society, is above the law. A lot of people doubted that this process would work, and hopefully for those who did doubt the process, hopefully, we have instilled and put a little bit of faith back into you and your lives as you view this process as it unfolds."
Murdaugh, a wealthy man from a powerful Lowcountry family, was accused of shooting his wife Maggie and his son Paul at the dog kennels of his family's hunting lodge. Prosecutors argued that he killed them to cover up his extensive fraud and theft, stealing from his law firm and his clients to pay for a $50,000 a week pill habit.
Murdaugh admitted to the drug addiction and the financial misconduct on the stand, but maintained his innocence in the murders of his family. His surviving son Buster, for whom Murdaugh tried to arrange a fraudulent $10 million insurance payout by faking his own death, testified in his father's defense.
Ultimately, after a six-week-long, complicated trial, the jury deliberated for just a few hours. Under South Carolina law, sentencing will be held tomorrow unless the judge defers it. Murdaugh's murder charge carries a possible sentence of 30 years to life.
"Obviously we're not going to comment on sentencing, because that's still pending. But justice was done today," said Wilson. "It doesn't matter who your family is. It doesn't matter how much money you have or people think you have. It doesn't matter what you think how prominent you are. If you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, then justice will be done in South Carolina. And I think South Carolina has shown to the nation and the world how a process can work and work well."