Alex Murdaugh's defense attorney explains why he thinks the disgraced lawyer is innocent, will get a new trial

Two years aft Alex Murdaugh's execution conviction, defence lawyer Dick Harpootlian inactive believes the disgraced lawyer is guiltless successful the murders of his woman and youngest son.

Murdaugh, 56, is serving a beingness condemnation for fatally shooting his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, successful June 2021 connected their family's hunting property successful Colleton County, South Carolina.

"Do I judge helium did it? No," Harpootlian told Fox News Digital. "I got hired erstwhile Paul was charged with the vessel lawsuit a twelvemonth earlier the murders. And successful the bureau I'm sitting successful close now, astatine slightest erstwhile each 2 weeks, Alex and Maggie and Paul would travel and we'd conscionable and speech astir the lawsuit and what was going connected and what we needed. Every clip Maggie and Alex near this office, they were holding hands. Paul was the pome of his eye. There's nary mode successful hellhole that helium would person executed that kid."

Prosecutors argued that their murders were an effort to distract from Murdaugh's mounting fiscal crimes, which were opening to travel to airy astir that time, and which Harpootlian wholeheartedly believes Alex is blameworthy of committing. The disgraced South Carolina lawyer was besides sentenced to 27 years for his fiscal crimes successful a authorities lawsuit successful November 2023.

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Dick Harpootlian represented Alex Murdaugh during his 2023 treble execution trial. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service)

"Remember, the authorities says helium concocted this program to distract from the wealth helium stole. Alex would … confess it if helium thought it would support Paul anyhow and Maggie," Harpootlian said. "Whoever changeable Paul, and this is nationalist testimony, enactment a shotgun to the apical of his caput and virtually blew his brains out. His brains deed the ceiling. The caput exploded. There's nary mode successful hell, successful my opinion, Alex would person done that. Now, his cognition of who whitethorn person done it, that's different substance altogether."

"Do I judge helium did it? No."

There are inactive a fig of lingering questions successful the case, Harpootlian said, fig 1 being: "Who killed them?"

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"I think…we've learned immoderate things since the proceedings that possibly volition assistance america pb to — we don't person to beryllium who killed them," helium said. "We conscionable request to springiness the assemblage a tenable uncertainty arsenic to [Murdaugh] sidesplitting [Maggie and Paul], and determination are plentifulness of them. I mean, forensically, earlier you ever get to immoderate testimony, whoever killed Paul would person been covered successful humor and brains from caput to foot. There's nary grounds whatsoever that was a azygous driblet of humor connected Alex Murdoch. And helium is with different radical … wrong an hr of the clip that the authoritative said Maggie and Paul were killed."

Alex Murdaugh sits successful the Colleton County Courthouse with his ineligible team, including Dick Harpootlian, middle, and Jim Griffin, right, arsenic his attorneys sermon motions successful beforehand of Judge Clifton Newman successful a December 2022 hearing. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service)

Harpootlian is optimistic that they volition get a caller proceedings based connected the "misconduct of the clerk of court," helium said. He inactive talks to Murdaugh erstwhile a week, helium said.

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"He truly takes everything successful stride and erstwhile you see wherever helium was and however acold he's fallen," Harpootlian said of Murdaugh. "I mean astir folks would beryllium curled up successful a fetal presumption successful their compartment refusing to travel out. That ain't Alex."

While Harpootlian is known for defending Murdaugh successful the treble execution trial, his nonrecreational acquisition successful the courtroom dates backmost to the 1980s. When helium graduated from Clemson University successful 1975, Harpootlian said helium was a "sort of a long-haired hippie" who opposed the decease punishment and the Vietnam War.

Dick Harpootlian began his vocation arsenic a authoritative successful the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office successful the 1980s. (handout)

When helium began his vocation arsenic a authoritative successful the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, his position connected the decease punishment began to shift. He has since prosecuted hundreds of execution cases and 12 decease punishment cases, including the prosecution of Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins, who was South Carolina’s astir notorious serial killer.

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Harpootlian discusses the lawsuit and his shifting position connected the decease punishment successful his caller book, "Dig Me a Grave: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer who Seduced the South," co-authored with Shaun Assael.

Gaskins — nicknamed Pee Wee due to the fact that of his abbreviated stature astatine 5 ft. 2 successful — confessed to 13 murders successful an effort to person a beingness condemnation alternatively than the decease punishment successful the 1980s,. He disposed of his victims' bodies successful the swamplands of coastal South Carolina.

Harpootlian discusses the Pee Wee Gaskins lawsuit and his shifting position connected the decease punishment successful his caller book, "Dig Me a Grave: The Inside Story of the Serial Killer who Seduced the South," co-authored with Shaun Assael. (handout)

However, helium was yet sentenced to decease aft being hired to termination a antheral successful prison. In 1982, a antheral named Tony Cimo of Murrells Inlet hired Gaskins to termination Rudolph Tyner, who was connected decease enactment for murdering Cimo's adoptive parents. However, the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the determination to condemnation Tyner to death, declaring "the decease punishment statutory construct" prosecutors were utilizing astatine the clip to beryllium "unconstitutional," Harpootlian said.

"When [Gaskins] said helium liked killing, helium truly did."

"The Department of Corrections knew that [Gaskins] had skills arsenic an electrician, a plumber, and they made him the caput trustee of the compartment artifact to the astir unafraid compartment artifact astatine our cardinal correctional institution, and decease enactment was 1 of the tiers … successful that cell," helium explained. "Cimo was upset that Tyner had not been executed, and it had been astir a decade. And truthful he, done an intermediary, contacted Gaskins by phone, and arranged for Gaskins to poison him."

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Dick Harpootlian pursued the decease punishment for Pee Wee Gaskins. (handout)

The poisoning did not work, truthful Gaskins arranged implicit the telephone to get explosives smuggled into the situation wherever helium was staying. In the call, which Harpootlian played from his telephone for Fox News Digital, Gaskins tin beryllium heard asking successful a dense confederate accent for "one electrical cap," "as overmuch of a instrumentality of damn dynamite that you tin get," and a "damn radio."

"That lad of a b---h volition spell off, and determination won't beryllium nary damn coming backmost connected that," Gaskins tin beryllium heard saying successful the recording.

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"The tapes evidently were damning, and the assemblage sentenced him to death, and helium was executed successful 1991," Harpootlian said. "By then, I was the DA, oregon the solicitor, and helium had a crippled to person his lad kidnap my 4-year-old daughter, which was uncovered 2 weeks earlier his execution. When helium said helium liked killing, helium truly did, and the week that was discovered, and my household and I lived with equipped guards for a mates of weeks until helium was lone executed successful the electrical chair."

Dick Harpootlian arrives astatine the Beaufort County General Sessions Court successful South Carolina connected Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital )

After Gaskins successfully executed Tyner, prosecutors again sought the decease punishment for the serial killer.

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Harpootlian recalled a infinitesimal helium shared with Gaskins erstwhile the serial slayer told him, "You similar killing."

"And I said what bash you mean I similar killing? And helium said: 'You similar sidesplitting me. I tin archer that you're enjoying sidesplitting me,'" Harpootlian recalled. "It became wide to me, particularly aft helium was executed, that I participated successful and instrumentality work for sidesplitting him. And past the question is, did I similar it similar helium said? Was helium right? Or was I conscionable … doing my occupation that society, the assemblage … hired maine to do?" 

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Harpootlian discusses what helium described arsenic that "moral dilemma" successful his caller book, which helium said was "cathartic" to write. The publication comes retired connected Dec. 16 but is presently disposable for pre-order.