“I want to take responsibility.”
Convicted murderer and disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 counts of federal fraud and money laundering on Thursday. This marks the first time that the lawyer, who was convicted of murdering his wife and son, has formally admitted wrongdoing.
Murdaugh appeared in federal court on Thursday. During his appearance, he explained that he was pleading guilty to his financial wrongdoings as a means of honoring his living son, Buster. “I want to take responsibility,” he said. “I want my son to see me take responsibility. It’s my hope that by taking responsibility that the people I’ve hurt can begin to heal.”
Murdaugh’s admission of guilt is part of a plea deal he struck with the federal government. He will now be required to pay $9 million in legal damages to the victims he’s accused of defrauding. In exchange, he’ll be able to serve his federal sentence concurrently with any state sentences.
The sentencing terms of Murdaugh’s plea deal will be outlined at a future date. Per the Associated Press, each charge carries a maximum of at least 20 years in prison. There’s also one other critical agreement within the plea deal: Murdaugh must tell the truth to prosecutors at all times. If he’s found to be lying (the plea deal includes a stipulation that he take a lie detector test, if asked), federal prosecutors have the right to terminate the terms of the agreement.
Murdaugh is currently serving a life sentence without parole in a South Carolina prison. Even with this latest plea deal, though, his legal troubles are far from over.
Murdaugh faces dozens of additional legal charges in state court
In addition to his murder conviction and the 22 federal counts he just pleaded guilty to, Murdaugh still faces dozens of additional state charges, per the Associated Press. Some of those charges will be addressed in an upcoming trial, scheduled to begin in November.
Among those state charges include counts related to tax evasion, embezzlement, and computer crime. Murdaugh also faces charges related to a September 2021 shooting in which he allegedly paid a man to kill him so that his son, Buster, could collect an insurance payout.
Murdaugh has previously blamed decades of opioid addiction and drug abuse for his legal and financial troubles. But in court on Thursday, he told the judge he had been “proudly clean” for 744 days.
Why the attorney for Murdaugh’s victims criticized the plea deal
In a statement on Thursday, attorney Justin Bamberg, who represents numerous financial victims of Murdaugh, explained why he wasn’t happy with the plea deal.
“Given the severity and callousness of his crimes, Alex Murdaugh should never receive any incentive-based deal from the government, be it federal or state,” Bamberg said. “We respectfully disagree with the federal government’s voluntary decision to concede to a concurrent sentence in exchange for his guilty plea and agreement to ‘cooperate.'”
Bamberg went on, “We trust that the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will remain steadfast in its commitment to hold Murdaugh accountable and will give him no breaks and offer no incentives; that ship sailed years ago. Murdaugh’s victims are looking forward to seeing him receive the individual sentences he earned via his own individual criminal conduct towards each of them under South Carolina law.”
