US lawyer Alex Mardaugh sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering wife and son

In a case that took unexpected turns and garnered international attention, famed South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was given a life sentence on Friday for the murders of his wife and son on their hunting property.

Murdaugh, a member of a distinguished dynasty of judges and lawyers, was given consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders of his son Paul and his wife Maggie on June 7, 2021, by Judge Clifton Newman.

Dismissing Murdaugh’s claims of innocence as “not credible,” the judge told the disgraced attorney he must “see Paul and Maggie during the night times when you’re attempting to go to sleep.”

“I’m sure they come and visit you,” the judge said.

"All day and every night,” replied the lanky red-haired Murdaugh, who was dressed in a tan prison jumpsuit and wearing handcuffs and ankle shackles.

After a six-week, nationally-televised trial, a jury in Walterboro, South Carolina, found Murdaugh guilty on Thursday after less than three hours of deliberation.

Before the case was even resolved, Netflix and HBO hurried to release documentaries on it.

According to jury member and carpenter Craig Moyer, Murdaugh came off as a "huge liar" who lacked "genuine regret or any sympathy."

The prosecution claims that Murdaugh killed his wife and son after recognizing that his years of theft from his law practice and clients to fund a covert opioid addiction was about to come to light.

Buster Murdaugh, the 54-year-old Murdaugh's surviving son, testified in support of his client during the sentence in front of a crowded courtroom.

“I’m innocent. I would never hurt my wife Maggie. And I would never hurt my son Paw Paw,” he said, using his son’s nickname.

“It might not have been you,” the judge responded. “It might have been the monster you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills.”

Prosecutor Creighton Waters urged the judge to impose the maximum of life in prison on a man he called a “cunning manipulator.”

“The depravity, the callousness, the selfishness of these crimes, are stunning,” Waters said. “He violated the trust of so many, including his friends, his family, his partners, his profession, and most of all, Maggie and Paul.”

The judge made reference to the fact that Murdaugh's family had "dominated justice in this community for more than a century" and that "many have gotten the death penalty — certainly for lesser conduct" than in this instance.