Why His Lawyers Say His Guilty Verdict Should Be Overturned, Plus Buster Murdaugh Speaks Out

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Good morning,

Some parents in Ireland have banded together to ban smartphones for kids until they finish elementary school. They are concerned about rising anxiety and depression in kids, and their access to adult material.

Now Ireland’s health minister is arguing for a nationwide ban.

It comes as we are seeing more and more headlines about the issue from around the world, as well as the growth of pledges like the “Wait Until 8th” here in the US.

Flip phones and smart watches are among the devices parents are looking at in the mean time to ensure they can stay in touch with their younger kids.

We will stay on top of this trend as it develops—

Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney

🎙The Mo News Podcast: A United Auto Workers strike could start next week, with an impact on car prices; Mitch McConnell is back in DC and (kind of) addressing his ‘freezing’ incident; The mystery ‘US Open Bug’ taking down top tennis players; An ‘On This Day’ for the books.

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🗞 WILL ALEX MURDAUGH GET A NEW TRIAL?

Just when we thought we may never hear the name Alex Murdaugh again, a new twist in the murder case. His lawyers want to get his conviction thrown out, and are seeking a new trial due to alleged jury tampering by the local clerk.

Just to refresh your memory, Murdaugh was the once highly-esteemed South Carolina attorney who was convicted early this year of the murder his wife Maggie and son Paul. He’s currently serving two life sentences for the 2021 killings.

MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL
On Tuesday, Murdaugh’s defense team accused the Colleton County Clerk of Court of jury tampering.

In a motion for new trial, Murdaugh’s attorneys say Rebecca “Becky” Hill allegedly advised the jury “not to believe Murdaugh's testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.” They are also asking for an FBI investigation into the accusations.
Some jurors said Hill told smokers on the jury that they couldn't take a cigarette break until they had reached a verdict. They also say Hill told jurors when they started to deliberate that it “shouldn’t take them long.”
- It didn’t. While the trial lasted six weeks, jurors deliberated for less than three hours before finding him guilty.

HILL’S MOTIVATION
The attorneys say Hill was driven by “money and fame.” They say she was trying to secure a book deal and media appearances, which wouldn’t have happened if there was a mistrial.

In July, Hill released a book (rare for a county clerk) about the trial, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.

And that’s when Murdaugh lawyers say jurors started to tell them about some of the alleged jury tampering. They have spoken to four jurors and included sworn statements from two of them. Take a listen—

WHAT COMES NEXT?
So far, Hill has not responded to several requests for comment.

Meanwhile, the state attorney general, Alan Wilson, said he is reviewing the motion and would respond “through the legal process.”

South Carolina law sets a high bar to overturn a jury verdict. But Murdaugh’s attorneys maintain the conduct was so egregious, he must be given a new trial.

BUSTER SPEAKS OUT
Meanwhile, Buster Murdaugh, Alex’s only living son, gave his first on camera interview for a FOX Nation docu-series called “The Fall Of The House Of Murdaugh.”

In it, he says his father has characteristics of a “psychopath,” but that he does NOT believe his father killed his mother and brother.

Some other takeaways from the Buster interview:

Buster takes aim at law enforcement and the judge, and said he didn’t think his father had a fair trial.
He said he now fears for his own safety, because he believes the person who killed his mother and brother is still out there.
He also denied having anything to do with the death of his high school classmate, Stephen Smith.
- Back in 2015, Smith, a gay nursing student who was 19 at the time, was found dead on a road not far from the Murdaugh family estate.
- There were rumors that Smith and Buster had some type of intimate relationship.
  - In the interview, Buster said, “I never had anything to do with his murder, and I never had anything to do with him on a physical level in any regard.
- Originally Smith’s death was deemed a hit and run. But his death was put back into the spotlight during the investigation into the killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh in 2021. That’s when investigators deemed his death a homicide based on new information.
- Smith’s body was then exhumed for a second, independent autopsy.
Fox’s Martha MacCallum asks Buster where he was the night of Smith’s death. Buster says he was home with his mother and brother, both of whom are now dead.

✔︎ Mo News Reality Check: Even if Alex Murdaugh's murder conviction is overturned, it appears likely he will stay behind bars. That’s because he’s also been charged with stealing millions of dollars from clients at his law firm. He filed papers in federal court saying he plans to plead guilty on those charges, which on their own would likely mean years or even decades in prison.

As for his attorneys’ allegations about jury tampering—Bruce Green, a law professor at Fordham University who specializes in criminal law and ethics, told the NY Times that he had never heard of a clerk of court publishing a book about a trial in which she was involved. He said that the actions alleged in Murdaugh’s motion are not appropriate, and would “probably lead to a factual inquiry by a judge.”

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Drivers squeezed as auto insurance costs soar across the U.S. (WASHINGTON POST)

📌 Enrique Tarrio, 'savvy propagandist' for Proud Boys, sentenced to 22 years (NBC)

📌 Capitol physician rules out seizure and stroke in McConnell freeze-ups (AXIOS)

📌 Pennsylvania authorities expand search area for convicted killer who escaped Philly-area prison (AP NEWS)

📌 Dangerous riptides persist after series of Jersey Shore drownings, rescues. (ABC)

📌 All defendants in Georgia racketeering case, including Trump, have pleaded not guilty (NPR)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Disastrous flooding underway in Greece as extreme weather swarms Europe. (WASHINGTON POST)

📌 Cuba uncovers ‘human trafficking ring’ recruiting for Russia’s war in Ukraine. (THE GUARDIAN)

📌 North Korea would pay ‘price’ if it supplies Russia with weapons, US says. (AL-JAZEERA)

📌 How Europe’s poorest country could win the green energy race (TIME)

📌 Apparent diarrhea incident forces Delta Airlines flight en route to Barcelona to turn back (NBC)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Disney-Charter Spectrum fight could be start of the TV cable bundle breaking (AXIOS)

📌 Gas Price Warning: Saudi Arabia and Russia extend oil production cuts through December (NY TIMES)

📌 US government regulators urge recall of 52 million airbags as manufacturer fights back; It could include more than 25 million US cars (CBS NEWS)

📌 Sand dredging is 'sterilizing' ocean floor, UN warns (REUTERS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Coco Gauff becomes the first American teenager to reach a US Open semifinal since Serena Williams in 2001; Next match Thursday (TENNIS)

📌 Spanish federation fires World Cup-winning coach amid Luis Rubiales kiss controversy (BBC)

📌 Joe Jonas files for divorce from Sophie Turner after 4 years of marriage, calling their marriage “irretrievably broken.” (TODAY)

📌 AI predicts what Elvis Presley would look like if he were alive today. (NY POST)

📌 How much Burning Man costs (INSIDER)

🗓 ON THIS DAY: SEPTEMBER 6

1870: A woman casts her vote in the US for the first time. Louisa Ann Swain voted during local elections in the state of Wyoming.
- Although women weren’t extended the right to vote federally in the US until 1920, the governor of Wyoming had signed a bill in 1869 that gave women the right in local and state elections.

1901: President William McKinley was shot by an anarchist in Buffalo, New York, and died eight days later.
- The Mo You Know: Vice President Teddy Roosevelt took over at age 42. He is still the youngest person to become president. JFK was the youngest to be ELECTED president. He was 43.
1975: 18-year-old rising tennis star Martina Navratilova asks for political asylum while playing at the US Open— after defecting from communist Czechoslovakia.
1968: The Beatles recruited Eric Clapton to add his now-legendary guitar solo to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
1997: Elton John recorded a re-imagined version of his 1973 song, “Candle in the Wind,” after performing it at the funeral of his friend, Princess Diana.