Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of killing his wife and child. More than two years after his conviction, the disgraced former lawyer is working in an entirely new professional field in the hope that the court will grant him a new trial.
Murdaugh, 57, has been behind bars since August 2023 as an assistant warden, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections records Wardkeeper assistants reportedly help run day-to-day operations at a correctional facility. New York Post.
When he is not working in prison, his lawyer, Dick Harpootliansaid the Daily Mail that Murdaugh is busy crafting his appeal in hopes of getting a new trial for murder. Although he was also sentenced to more than 60 years behind bars for combined state and federal financial crimes, Harpootlian believes it’s possible his client’s murder convictions could be overturned, though Murdaugh isn’t entirely “confident” that will happen.
“I think Alex understands that he did something wrong by stealing all that money,” the lawyer explained. “He’s adamant that he didn’t kill Paul and Maggie. He always has been … and when we get a fair trial, I think the jury will determine that he didn’t.”
Harpootlian, meanwhile, said Murdaugh has been easier to work with than other inmates who don’t have the disgraced attorney’s legal background.
“You can talk to him, unlike normal customers who have no idea about the appeals process or how it all works,” he added. “He’s interested because he’s a lawyer, so we talk about where we stand and what we think are the serious issues in the case and what our weaknesses are.”
In June 2021, Maggie Murdaughh, 52 i Paul Murdaughaged 22, were found dead near the kennels on the Murdaugh family property in South Carolina. Although Alex initially told investigators that he had not been near the kennels that night, video footage confirmed that he had not been truthful. He later apologized for the lie in courtclaiming that he had not been “thinking clearly” and that he did not think he had been “capable of reason” at the time, but maintained that he “did not shoot” his wife or son “at no time, ever.”
He was found guilty of his murders on March 2, 2023.
Murdaugh: Death in the Family ends with a look at the high-profile trial of Alex Murdaugh. In Us Weekly’s exclusive clip from the Wednesday, Nov. 19 finale, Alex (Jason Clarke) takes the stand after being charged in the deaths of Maggie Murdaugh (Patricia Arquette) and Paul Murdaugh (Johnny Berchtold). “You think you lived a (…)
Two years later, a television series detailing the high-profile case was released on Hulu. In November 2025, Alex’s legal team released a statement saying they were “deeply disappointed and disturbed” by the alleged “inaccuracies and misleading representations” a Murdaugh: Death in the Family.
“It totally misrepresents Alex’s relationships with his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, whom Alex loves so much,” his legal team said at the time.
“Equally troubling is the lack of commitment by the producers or actors to understand the people portrayed,” the lawyers continued. “No one from Hulu ever reached out to Alex, his son Buster, anyone from the Murdaugh family or Alex’s lawyers to hear their perspective or verify the facts.”