Murdaugh madness shines light on unequal justice in South Carolina

Murdaugh madness is like a familiar old South Carolina Lowcountry scene.

You come into the kitchen in the middle of the night, flip on the light, and the hissing Palmetto bugs scurry for the cover of darkness.

The powerful Murdaugh family of rural Hampton County has inadvertently switched on that light.

Suddenly, the eyes of the world are focused 24/7 on a long string of sensational horrors — a fatal boat crash, a double homicide, a so-called botched suicide, alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars, two suspicious deaths.

Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh, the 53-year-old scion of the family that ruled the criminal justice system in five swampy counties for 86 years over three generations, is showing everyone South Carolina’s flawed version of justice.

THE SCAPEGOAT

The Palmetto bugs are scurrying.

In an instant, everything is Alex Murdaugh’s fault. And no one else had ANY IDEA he was crooked. But he now faces five felony charges in what a prosecutor said in court last week is the “tip of the iceberg.”

People on the street don’t doubt it a bit, but NO ONE in the establishment saw it coming.

Not his law partners or law firm. Not his closest friend. Not the local solicitor’s office. Not a judge who allegedly signed off on a multimillion-dollar wrongful death settlement. The document looks like it came out of a bubblegum machine. No doubt the same machine that has for years spit out get-out-of-jail-free, and bank-error-in-your-favor cards in Murdaugh World.

The prosecutor said in court last week that the disbursements listed in the court order “make no sense whatsoever.”

And no one had ANY IDEA that Alex Murdaugh had an alleged 20-year opioid addiction, which morphed into a 10-years-or-more addiction in the latest court hearing. Who knows what to believe?

Apparently it’s a magic world when the lights are out.

BUILT-IN CRONYISM

South Carolina’s system of justice is designed for corruption.

It’s designed for the powers that be to remain powers that be, come hell or high water.

Circuit judges are elected by the legislators. The result is built-in cronyism. It puts old law school buddies, and old legislative colleagues on the bench, and lawyers who are sitting legislators are allowed to practice before them in court. The inherent result is unequal justice.

Alex Murdaugh’s lead attorney is a state senator. That means he has a vote on every circuit judge appointment. And then he gets to practice before them.

And a lawyer for a defendant in a wrongful death civil suit stemming from the fatal boat crash is a leader in the House of Representatives. He also chairs the commission that selects which candidates for a judgeship will go before the legislature for a vote. And the judge he was recently pleading before is up for reelection next year.

These are conflicts of interest deliberately built into South Carolina’s anemic version of justice.

It also builds in a financial conflict of interest. In this case, a criminal defense lawyer votes on the state budget for the agency that is investigating and bringing charges against his client.

The public at this point needs a state law enforcement investigation that will require tons of overtime by armies of investigators. But that would not be in the best interest of Alex Murdaugh and company.

No matter how honest the individuals are, it’s the system that does not pass the smell test. It needs to be changed. It is inherently a conflict of interest for legislators to argue before judges that the legislature elects to the bench.

The S.C. State Law Enforcement Division is now conducting six investigations in the Murdaugh madness. Whatever they find will get turned over to the good-old-boy prosecutors, lawyers and judges. Backs will be slapped. Wrists will be slapped.

But SLED Chief Mark Keel said recently that his agency “will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of those who were victimized by Alex Murdaugh and others. As I have said previously, we are committed to following the facts wherever they may lead us and we will not stop until justice is served.”

Now that the lights are on, we’ll see.

David Lauderdale may be reached at LauderdaleColumn@gmail.com.

This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 6:30 AM.