COLUMBIA, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys have petitioned the South Carolina Supreme Court to let him post bond, just hours after a state judge ordered the suspended lawyer be kept in jail indefinitely without bond.
Keeping someone jailed indefinitely without giving them a chance to post a bond is unconstitutional, said the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed Wednesday by Murdaugh’s attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin.
Habeas corpus is a centuries-old legal doctrine, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, that allows challenges to a government keeping someone jailed without just cause.
“The South Carolina Constitution guarantees every person the right to be released on bail, pending trial, except persons charged with capital offenses, offenses punishable by life imprisonment or violent offenses as defined by the General Assembly,” the petition said.
Their petition asked for a speedy review of the case.
The petition was filed Wednesday afternoon with the Supreme Court clerk of court.
Earlier Wednesday, a two-page order by state Judge Clifton Newman denied Murdaugh bond and ordered him held in jail indefinitely because he is “a danger both to himself and the community.”
“After considering the arguments of counsel, the (psychiatric) evaluation submitted, pending charges and other investigations, and the apparent character and mental condition of the defendant, the Court finds that the Defendant is a danger both to himself and the community,” Newman wrote in an order Tuesday.
The judge did not make the psychiatric evaluation public, nor did he characterize its findings.
However, in their petition, Griffin and Harpootlian disclosed that the psychiatrist who examined Murdaugh in jail is Dr. Donna Maddox, a well-known psychiatrist in South Carolina’s legal community who has testified in numerous criminal trials around the state. Maddox is the wife of state Judge Cordell Maddox of Anderson.
“Dr. Maddox did not find that (Murdaugh) is a danger to himself or to the community,” the petition said.
Maddox did diagnose Murdaugh with “severe Opioid disorder,” the petition said. Murdaugh had also been undergoing treatment at a rehabilitation facility, the petition said.
Maddox also recommended that Murdaugh continue receiving treatment at a residential facility for an additional eight to 10 weeks “followed by intensive outpatient treatment, and that Petitioner receive grief counseling and trauma therapy,” the petition said.
Murdaugh, who has admitted he is addicted to opioids, faces criminal charges of embezzling $3.3 million from the estate of his late housekeeper.
“This offense is not a capital offense, is not punishable by life in prison, and is not a violent offense as defined by the General Assembly. As a result, the S.C. Constitution guarantees Murdaugh the right to pre-trial release upon posting reasonable bond,” the petition said.
On Oct. 19 at a Richland County bond hearing, Newman denied Murdaugh bond after hearing evidence about the charges he faces, his opioid addiction and the investigations — both disclosed and undisclosed — swirling about Murdaugh.
At that hearing, state attorney general top prosecutor Creighton Waters, who is helping lead the numerous Murdaugh investigations, told the judge that he would be satisfied with a $200,000 bond and GPS monitoring.
Waters also told Newman the state had prepared an order setting bond with “additional conditions that included a waiver of extradition, no wasting of assets, surrender of all firearms in his possession, no possession of firearms,” Murdaugh’s petition said.
“We appreciate the court’s concern about Alex’s well being and whether he is at risk of harming himself,” Griffin said earlier Tuesday. “We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision to deny bond.”
Eric Bland, who urged Newman at the Oct. 19 hearing to deny Murdaugh bond, said Wednesday that Murdaugh’s quest for a writ of habeas corpus is “the desperate act of a desperate man.”
Only months ago, Murdaugh, 53, was one of the state’s most prominent lawyers. He is not only a former president of the state trial lawyers’ association, but he is a fourth-generation member of a family dynasty that before him produced three successive generations of elected solicitors, or prosecutors, in the Lowcountry.
