The Wisdom of Judgment: An Alex Murdaugh Digest
An exploration and study of the sentencing of Alex Murdaugh.
What did I feel when the text came in with the guilty verdict, proud, relieved, sorry for Buster, and shocked that after all that Alex Murdaugh has been through his life, it ends with being found guilty for a double murder. Watching the final two weeks of the trial, and becoming familiar with the story, it is astonishing how many opportunities someone has to reverse course, had only they known at each juncture where the devils path would lead. I’m sure most recognize, though some clearly don’t, like the person who yelled “Buster is next,” to Alex as he was leaving the courthouse, that while this family was no doubt corrupt and most definitely had blood on their hands, they still did not deserve to die.
It is not often the world can spit out a villain as Alex Murdaugh, the fuse stretched over a century, making the implosion ever sweeter to a fixated media. When the Judge says the man who committed the crime is not the man who stands before him now, I believe best explains the story of Alex Murdaugh.
What better admission of guilt than to arranged your own suicide. Alex must’ve flinched in the moment of truth, because no one agrees to kinda get shot in the head. Alex demonstrated what he was willing to do to not face the consequences of his lies.
Through discussion of the case I’ve come to a theory of the case that I call the “Timmy Theory.” As referenced in the HBO and Netflix series on the Murdaugh’s, when Paul got really drunk he would become a different person, his hands would go wonky and he’d generally become an asshole. This occurred with enough regularity for his friends to recognize the shift, and began referring to this version of Paul as “Timmy.” Those who were with Paul the night of the boat crash all agree that Timmy made an appearance that night. Paul Grand Daddy concluded when he saw him in the hospital that night he was, “drunker than Cooter Brown.”
For Paul to have such a distinct dissociative ability usually means it was passed down to him, these things are not learned, they’re manufacturer defects. Clearly Alex’s opioid addiction did not cause him to dissociate the way Paul did, because his addiction was so pervasive the behavior would’ve presented itself. Though Alex did admit to having paranoid thoughts which he attributed to his opioid addiction. What presented itself in Paul when he drank to excess, contributed to Alex’s paranoid thoughts that lead to him killing his wife and son.
A token of irony, it has been established that the boat crash that resulted in the death of Mallory Beach was the catalyzing event of Alex Murdaugh’s down spiral. Paul by all accounts was the one who was driving the boat at the time of the crash. How strange then that Paul’s snapchat video taken minutes before his death, to be the piece of evidence to contradict his father’s story, ultimately forcing Alex to admit his lie. During the trial Paul was referred to as “the little detective,” funny how his actions were both inciting and deciding in the end.
During the State’s rebuttal closing argument the attorney mentions despite Paul’s phone showing a single digit battery life, like so many of his generation that did not stop him from attempting to facetime RoRo or take the last video, pushing the envelope and thank god he did.
While it is the jury who controls the fate of any defendant, it is the judge who decides the appropriate sentencing. In this case Judge Clifton Newman presided with the grace of an even hand despite a litany of conflicting interest. The wisdom of judgment, the judge methodically dissects the confluence of factors that eroded the moral character of Alex Murdaugh. The Judge gives more than a sentence, but true judgment and that is the best we can hope for in these situations. For reference see the video found here.
Something I enjoyed with this trial was the lens into a part of the country I’m unfamiliar with. Note the space between words. The language throughout this trial reminds us that each state has it’s own way of doing things, and therein lies the beauty.
Take it away Judge…
0:51 Judge begins “Perhaps one of the most troubling cases…”
Criminals like Alex Murdaugh aren’t made everyday. Is it not the natural course of things for empires to crumble? The Murdaugh’s had a large footprint in what remains a small town, such unimpeded influence can only go untapped for so long.
3:26 The Judge continues “it’s also particularly troubling.”
3:40 “You’ve practiced law before me.”
4:22 “And you’ve engaged in such duplicitous conduct.”
5:30 “I’ve yet to find a defendant who could go there.” The judge is honest, he really wants to know what was going through a person’s mind. Also, the judge may know that admitting it will ease the existence he has left.
6:47 Alex’s head cocks to the side, thinkin now Judge you ain’t gunna kill are ya?
7:02 Reflecting on the history of court, the broad scope, weighing the scales of justice, many have received the death penalty for lesser crimes. Hard to sentence someone to death in front of their son, Alex did show emotion for Paul and Maggie, perhaps a colder character would’ve been put down, lies withstanding.
7:45 “Remind me of the expression you ahh gave on the witness stand.” Someone jumps in with the expression Alex used, “what a tangled web we weave.” “What did you mean by that?” asks the Judge.
8:01 Alex says, “I meant that when I lied, I continued to lie.”
10:10 “And I know you have to… see Paul and Maggie during the night time when you’re attempting to go to sleep, I’m sure they come and visit you.”
What an impactful thing to bring up, putting himself in Alex’s shoes. What must he be going through?
10:25 To which Alex replies, “all day and every night.”
Judge, “I’m sure I’m sure and they will continue to do so.”
“and continue to reflect on the last time you looked them in the eye.”
You can see the guilt in Alex’s face as the Judge makes this suggestion.
11:20 “such friendly people, including you. To go from that to this, so unfortunate.”
The Judge getting personal, crediting him, not making him out to be something he’s not. The complexity of human beings, who stole and lied, and killed, but for the most part he was a good guy.
12:00 At “it’s really surprising,” Buster’s head tilts back to get a look of his Daddy, as the Judge tees up a possible confession, ending on “you have an opportunity to do so.”
12:28 the people over Alex’s right shoulder lean in,
12:32 Buster’s head returns to level after his dad says, “Judge I’ll tell you again.”
Then the Judge hits him with it, “it might not have been you, it might’ve been the monster you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, opioid pills, maybe you become another person.”
He’s seen it before the Judge says. “How the person standing before me is not the person who committed the crime though it’s the same individual. We’ll leave that at that.”
The monster you become, the Judge knows the slope to which we all cling, holding on to what we must, to brave the next storm.
13:50 The Judge’s comment gets a smile from John Marvin, Alex’s brother.
16:16 “I can just imagine on that day June 7th.”
Also, in full appreciation of Judge Newman, it is worth seeing how he closes the case with the banging of the gavel.