When Is Alex Murdaugh’s Sentencing? Does SC Have the Death Penalty?

After a 28-day trial that involved testimony from countless witnesses and experts and even Alex Murdaugh himself, the jury handed down a unanimous guilty verdict.

Murdaugh stood silently with no discernible emotion passing over his face while his remaining son Buster Murdaugh was equally as stoic. When will the sentencing occur? Here’s what we know.

Judge Clifton Newman wasted no time in deciding when Murdaugh would be sentenced. Friday March 2 at 9:30 a.m. he will be back in court to hear his fate. According to The New York Times, “the minimum sentence for murder is 30 years in prison. Prosecutors have said they will seek life in prison without the possibility of parole.”

After establishing when the sentencing would occur, Judge Newman thanked the jury saying, “It’s not often you’re called upon to sit in judgment of the actions of your fellow man.” He understood the gravity of the situation and agreed wholeheartedly with their decision.

“All of the evidence pointed to one conclusion and that’s the conclusion that you all reached,” he said to the jury. The jurors were also invited to return the following day for the sentencing, but this time would be in the audience.

Regarding what the jury is able to discuss moving forward, they were informed by Judge Newman that they can speak about the case with anyone including the press.

“If you decide that you want to speak with anyone local, state, nationally, or internationally that’s your prerogative however, if anyone harasses you please let me know and I’ll address those issues,” he assured them.

The nonprofit organization known as Death Penalty Information Center confirms that South Carolina does have the death penalty and has overseen 43 executions since 1976.

In January 2023, “South Carolina’s highest court heard arguments…on whether a newly organized firing squad or the old electric chair are legal ways to execute inmates in the state, which has been unable to obtain drugs for lethal injections,” per the Associated Press.

In September 2022, a lower court judge ruled that lawmakers in South Carolina “‘ignored advances in scientific research and evolving standards of humanity and decency’ when they passed a law effectively forcing condemned prisoners to choose between electrocution or the firing squad.” A decision on this case will not be handed down for several months. In the meantime, it look as if Murdaugh won’t receive the death penalty though we’ll know more after the sentencing.