The judge who presided over Alex Murdaugh's murder trial—and sentenced the former attorney to life in prison without parole after a jury found him guilty of killing his wife and son—says he felt some pity for the man, NBC reports. "I felt sorry for him," South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman said in a Today interview that aired Wednesday. "I felt that he was just in a position where he could not, where if there’s a hole that he could go into, he would dive in that hole and keep going to the lowest depths." He said he wanted to give Murdaugh an "opportunity to say something" at his sentencing, but Murdaugh proclaimed his innocence instead of using his last chance to confess.
Newman, who plans to retire this fall, said he "probably shouldn't have been surprised" by the amount of media attention the case received. "You know, high-profile lawyer. Death of a wife, death of a child. Accusations of stealing millions of dollars from clients. Allegations of a lawyer hooked on drugs," he said. "It had all the ingredients for something of major public interest."
Echoing remarks he made during sentencing, the judge said he believes Murdaugh's crimes will haunt him for the rest of his life. "I cannot imagine him having a peaceful night, knowing what he did," he said. "I’m sure if he had an opportunity to do it over again, he’d never do it." Murdaugh, who is appealing his conviction, is being held in protective custody at a maximum-security state prison, the State reports. (More Alex Murdaugh stories.)
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