Alex Murdaugh loses prison phone, tablet privileges after lawyer records phone call for documentary

September 2024 · 3 minute read

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Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has had his prison phone and tablet access revoked after his lawyer recorded a conversation for an upcoming documentary about the murder of the disgraced legal scion’s wife and son, the South Carolina Department of Corrections said Wednesday.

Murdaugh, 54, was accused of “willingly and knowingly” abusing his telephone privileges to “communicate with the news media for his own gain” following a conversation with his lawyer Jim Griffin on June 10, according to an incident report.

His tablet use came under scrutiny in July when it was found he used the device to record various selfies in which he appears topless and carefree while serving two life sentences.

Prison officials found Griffin recorded Murdaugh, who read excerpts from a journal he kept while standing trial earlier this year for killing his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and younger son, Paul, in 2021.

Griffin intended to use information from the recordings for a three-part Fox docuseries titled “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh,” which featured an interview with Murdaugh’s surviving son, Buster, according to a report.

Convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh lost his phone privileges in prison after his lawyer recorded a call for a documentary. AP
Murdaugh’s lawyer Jim Griffin recorded Murdaugh in June reading entries in a journal he kept during his double murder trial for an upcoming Fox Nation documentary on his case, prison records show. AP

“Your actions, whether you intended or not, assisted Mr. Murdaugh in violating our policy and could jeopardize your telephonic communications with him in the future,” said Dennis Patterson, SCDOC assistant deputy director of operations, in an email to Griffin dated Aug. 30.

Inmates are prohibited from participating in interviews as the SDOC “believes that victims of a crime should not have to see or hear the person who victimized them or their family member on the news,” spokesperson Chrysti Shain said in a statement.

Hours after Murdaugh’s phone and tablet privileges were revoked on Aug. 9, he broke prison rules again when he used another inmate’s PIN number to make a phone call, according to the prison statement.

Alex Murdaugh’s attorney Jim Griffin (left) and prosecutor Creighton Waters listen to testimony during Murdaugh’s double murder trial in February. AP
Alex Murdaugh lounges in his prison cell in a photo taken on his tablet. YouTube / Phone Calls From Prison

As a result, Murdaugh’s telephone and canteen privileges — where inmates have the opportunity to purchase authorized items like food — were revoked for 30 days.

Prison officials also said he’d no longer have access to his tablet, used for correctional purposes until the department determines when Murdaugh is able to regain the privilege following the infractions.

Murdaugh was convicted in March of two counts of murder following the savage slayings on his South Carolina farm in 2021.

Murdaugh also had his phone privileges taken away. YouTube / Phone Calls From Prison
Alex Murdaugh’s tablet, on which he often took carefree selfies, was taken away.
. YouTube / Phone Calls From Prison

Murdaugh is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina.

He also faces about 100 other state charges for crimes including money laundering, wire fraud, and embezzlement.

Murdaugh will plead guilty in federal court to stealing nearly $8 million from his disabled clients on Sept. 21 to avoid trial in that case.

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