Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has been placed in protective custody in a maximum-security prison after mental health and prison experts reviewed his case. The South Carolina Department of Corrections said Friday that it had moved him to a specialized unit called the statewide protective custody wing.
Murdaugh was convicted last month of killing his wife and son on their family’s estate in Colleton County. He also faces a wave of financial charges, including allegations that he embezzled millions from his law firm and clients.
Convicted Murderer Alex Murdaugh Moved to Protective Custody
Inmates who ask for protective custody are placed in a separate unit from the general population, isolated and protected. The units typically are stand-alone and have their own eating facilities, shower areas, recreation yards and visiting rooms, but can also be incorporated into general-population prisons.
Protective custody often happens for celebrities or people who are accused of heinous crimes or who have been linked to a crime. It’s generally a last resort, though, as it can entail months in solitary confinement and limited contact with the outside world.
Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife and son earlier this year, was moved to protective custody after a review board recommended it Thursday. That board includes security, mental health and classification experts.
South Carolina’s Department of Corrections Confirms
South Carolina’s Department of Corrections confirmed Friday that Alex Murdaugh has been placed in protective custody after a four-member review board met Thursday. The panel includes mental health, safety and classification experts who reviewed the case.
The decision comes after prosecutors argued that the former attorney was motivated by his family’s longtime power in southern South Carolina. The Murdaughs founded the region’s most powerful law firm a century ago.
They also dominated the legal scene in neighboring Hampton County. For years, it was virtually impossible to get a case tried on either side of the law in Colleton or Hampton counties without a Murdaugh watching your back.
On Thursday, a jury found Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and son on their property in Islandton, Colleton County. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Murdaugh’s Custody Recommendation
After a grueling trial that riveted the nation, a jury found Murdaugh guilty of the 2021 murders of his wife and son. He was then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The former attorney and Hampton County judge reportedly will be kept in protective custody in prison, where he will be housed in an 8-by-10-foot cell that contains a bed, toilet and sink. He will be separated from the general population for safety and security reasons, according to Chrysti Shain, the spokesperson for South Carolina’s Department of Corrections.
A four-member prison board decided to keep Murdaugh in protective custody after evaluating the case, including the enormous amount of publicity it generated and psychiatric and other tests. The convicted killer will be housed in a specialized unit within a maximum-security facility, a corrections department statement said.
Murdaugh’s Classification
Having spent the last four weeks at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia after his sentencing, disgraced former lawyer Alex Murdaugh has now been moved to an undisclosed maximum-security prison. He’s now in protective custody, according to a statement from the South Carolina Department of Corrections on Friday.
It is standard procedure for the department to place inmates in protective custody when facing serious charges. This includes serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer and mob gangster James “Whitey” Bulger.
Once an inmate is in this type of security, they’re not allowed to interact with the general population. This is a precaution to protect them from other inmates who might try to harm them or smuggle contraband into the prison.
This is why the state’s four-member prison board that reviews an inmate’s classification annually recommends protective custody. The board includes experts in security, mental health and classification. They’ll now assess whether Murdaugh should be moved into the general population, or kept in protective custody, for one year.