UPDATE (Thursday, March 2, 2023, 8:00 p.m. ET): Alex Murdaugh was found guilty on Thursday evening of murdering his wife and son.
There’s a scene in the 1997 movie “The Devil’s Advocate” when Keanu Reeves — former small-town lawyer turned big-time city legal gunslinger, courtesy of Satan in the flesh, Al Pacino — delivers a (very objectionable and argumentative) opening statement to the jury in his client’s murder trial.
Reeves’ character bluntly tells the jury, “I don’t like Alexander Cohen,” referring to his client. “I don’t think he’s a nice person. I don’t expect you to like him. He has been a terrible husband. … He’s cheated the city, his partners, his employees. … I’m going to tell you some things during the course of this trial that are going to make you like him even less. But this isn’t a popularity contest; it’s a murder trial. … I want one thing from you, that’s it. One thing. I want you to ask yourself: Is not liking this man reason enough to convict him of murder?”
We witnessed a real-life version of that scene play out in a South Carolina courtroom when accused double-murderer Alex Murdaugh took the stand in his own defense last week. It was further emphasized by an unflattering Netflix docuseries that delivered a unsparing account of Murdaugh’s character, actions and family legacy.
Just like the saying, “doctors make the worst patients,” lawyers can make the worst clients in their own defense.
As soon as he was sworn in to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, Murdaugh immediately confessed to the jury that he had lied to law enforcement, his family and the world at large for 20 months, while denying that he was physically present at the scene of the double homicide of his wife and his son back in June 2021. Murdaugh tearfully explained that his addiction to painkillers made him “paranoid” and caused him to lie to investigators, originally claiming that he last saw his wife and son at dinner and that he was not at the dog kennels/crime scene that bloody and violent night. Later, and only after video evidence revealed he was in fact present at the scene, did Murdaugh admit to his prior lies.
In yet another defense seemingly ripped directly from “The Devil’s Advocate” playbook, Murdaugh’s attorneys, during two days’ worth of direct examination and cross-examination, allowed him to freely admit that he also repeatedly lied to dozens of clients when he practiced law prior to being disbarred, as well as his law partners, from whom he is accused of stealing more than $9 million in diverted settlement funds. Over and over again, he acknowledged that he had represented these individuals in cases, often involving grievous personal injury or wrongful death, and that he would steal their settlement funds to pay for his lifestyle and drug addiction.
At the end of each admission, Murdaugh told the jury that he knew what he had done was wrong and that he knew that he was stealing from his clients when he did so. Jurors left at the end of each day with his confessions ringing in their ears. But, he repeatedly denied that he had murdered his wife and son.
The decision to have a criminal defendant testify is not one that is easily made; the potential for disaster usually far outweighs any true benefit. Before Murdaugh was disgraced and disbarred, he had a long career as a trial lawyer, likely leading him to believe he is smart enough and experienced enough to outwit and outmaneuver the prosecutor. But, just like the saying, “doctors make the worst patients,” lawyers can make the worst clients in their own defense.
It should be noted that Murdaugh, unlike other witnesses in this case, was also able to sit through the entire multiweek trial thus far, including, most importantly, the presentation of the prosecution’s case-in-chief, before he made the decision to take the stand. In my opinion, that direct window into all of the evidence presented thus far must have served as a huge factor in the calculus to have him testify in a criminal trial in which he is looking at a mandatory minimum of 30 years to life in prison without parole should he be convicted for the murders.
Murdaugh has already delivered a win for the prosecution when it comes to the complete eradication of his trustworthiness, and therefore credibility
In the case at hand, Murdaugh’s choice to make the witness stand a de facto confession booth also creates even more potential for a conviction for the homicides because the jurors could, in fact, decide that because they don’t like him, he must be guilty. I submit that in doing so, the jurors wouldn’t be abiding by their duties as jurors to follow the law — but the reality is that regardless of what the law requires them to consider, it’s basic human nature to judge. And juries do exactly that: They judge the credibility and the trustworthiness of a witness who testifies in court. Murdaugh has already delivered a win for the prosecution when it comes to the complete eradication of his trustworthiness, and therefore credibility, by admitting that he has built a house of cards on lies. By testifying in his own defense, he, not his counsel, has asked these jurors to agree with him that he may be a thief and a drug addict, but that he is not a murderer.
With Murdaugh looking the jurors directly in the eyes — just like he looked his former clients and law partners in the eyes when he lied to them — and testifying that he is a confessed liar, he runs the risk of tainting the entire well of his credibility. To complicate matters for the Murdaugh defense team, Netflix released, just days before Murdaugh testified, a limited docuseries entitled, “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.” Just three episodes long, it’s a compelling deep dive into the background of Paul Murdaugh (Alex’s son) and the lengths that the family would go to protect the family legacy and how a good old boy network of influence resulted in money buying Lowcountry justice. The docuseries focuses heavily on the 2019 boating accident that killed Mallory Beach and for which Paul Murdaugh was charged with boating under the influence and which resulted in a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Murdaughs. It’s that wrongful death lawsuit that was the first of several dominos to fall, ultimately leading to the prosecution of Alex Murdaugh for more than 100 crimes, including insurance fraud and theft, as well as murder. The series paints an exceptionally unflattering picture of the Murdaughs. Former friends and acquaintances reveal allegations of Paul’s underage drinking and relentless reckless behavior, and his verbal, emotional and physical abuse of his then-girlfriend and friends. The docuseries also shows the extent of the enabling and questionable parenting by Alex and Maggie Murdaugh when it came to their son. Allegations of corruption and collusion with local law enforcement to protect Paul from the consequences of that boating accident are brazenly made, including attempts to frame one of his childhood friends, and the swath of destruction left in the wake of the Murdaugh family is highlighted throughout the episodes. There is nothing positive about Alex Murdaugh in that docuseries, and although the jurors have been instructed not to watch or read anything about the myriad of cases, should a juror stray from those instructions, that juror would be left with an even less favorable impression of the entire Murdaugh family. In the era of true-crime entertainment, it’s a risk attorneys are increasingly forced to navigate inside the courtroom with high-profile criminal cases such as this. At one point during his direct examination, Murdaugh states, with no apparent irony: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave,” when admitting to making up lies upon lies to hide his stealing and dishonesty with investigators. But he didn’t finish that quote: “… when first we practice to deceive.” By his own admission, Murdaugh has had lots of practice to deceive. And by taking the stand in his own defense, his practiced deceit is on full display. At his arraignment, Murdaugh was asked by the judge: “How shall you be tried?” His response: “By God and my country.” But lest he forget, he’s also being tried in the court of public opinion, and by all accounts, the verdict is leaning toward one of unmitigated guilt.
Katie S. Phang
Katie S. Phang is the host of "The Katie Phang Show," which airs Saturdays at 12 p.m. ET on MSNBC. She is a legal contributor for NBC News and MSNBC based in Miami. She leverages her significant trial attorney experience to provide analysis and commentary on the latest legal issues. 
