During the second hearing of the Murdaugh Murder case, a South Carolina judge ruled that Alex Murdaugh was a danger to himself and his community after the results of his psychiatric evaluation came back.
Alex Murdaugh faces charges on a botched suicide scheme to let his surviving son collect a $10 million life insurance policy. Murdaugh also pocketed $3.4 million in settlement money after the death of their housekeeper.
Murdaugh now awaits trial at the Richland County Jail where so far, he’s been denied bond twice. Despite the slew of charges coming at him, Dick Harpootlin – one of Murdaugh’s attorneys – still claims “that he’s entitled to bond under the constitution and the statutes.”
Both Harpootlian and his other attorney Jim Griffin have since filed a petition to the South Carolina supreme court to allow Murdaugh to post bond.
In the petition, they cite Dr. Donna Maddox as the psychiatrist who evaluated Murdaugh, and diagnosed him with “severe Opioid disorder.” Despite her diagnosis, Maddox doesn’t believe that Murdaugh was a danger to himself or the community.
Instead, she proposed that Murdaugh receive treatment at a residential facility, “followed by intensive outpatient treatment and that Petitioner receives grief counseling and trauma therapy.”
Until now, it’s seemed like Murdaugh received favorable treatment by the judicial system but he’s slowly being recognized for his actions.
This past week, Murdaugh has chosen to plead the fifth and refused to incriminate himself in a lawsuit alleging that he’s embezzled millions of dollars from his family’s law firm.
Attorneys of the housekeeper who was killed said in a statement to Fox News Digital that “Since the original bond hearing Alex Murdaugh has taken financial actions which clearly show that he has no respect for the judicial process, legitimate creditors and victims of his criminal activities and that the ordinary rules do not apply to him.”
“These financial transactions and how they were manipulated by Alex Murdaugh and those close to him show that in addition, he represents a flight risk. The justice system continues to work as intended regarding Alex Murdaugh and the Satterfield’s have confidence that with the installation of the court-appointed receiver and continued oversight by judges like Judge Newman, Alex Murdaugh will no longer be receiving favorable treatment but will be drinking from the same cup of justice that every other charged criminal in the state drinks from.”
As this case unfolds, it’s up to the judges and the jury to decide Murdaugh’s fate.
