By admin 
South Carolina Judge Debra McCaslin has picked Sumter County as the site for Alex Murdaugh’s new double-murder retrial.
Read more U.S. Supreme Court rejects Missouri’s push to overturn gerrymandered map ruling
“After careful review of potential venues and courthouse facilities throughout the state, the court finds that Sumter County is an appropriate venue for the retrial of (Murdaugh),” McCaslin wrote in an eight-page order handed down late Tuesday afternoon.
“Sumter County provides an appropriate forum in which (Murdaugh) can receive a fair trial, while also offering the security measures, courtroom facilities, and technological capabilities necessary for the safe, orderly and efficient conduct of these proceedings,” McCaslin wrote.
McCaslin made her ruling after granting a motion by Murdaugh’s lead attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, to move the trial out of the five-county 14th Judicial Circuit because of the potential bias of jurors in that five-county region.
Murdaugh comes from an influential political and law enforcement family in one county — Hampton — in the 14th Judicial Circuit and the killings he is charged with committing happened in another county — Colleton — in that circuit.
Read more Two people shot at a Circle K convenience store in South Carolina, police say
In 2023, after a six-week trial, a Colleton County jury convicted Murdaugh of two counts of murder in the 2021 fatal shootings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. The conviction and sentences were overturned in May by the S.C. Supreme Court, which ruled that jury tampering by the former Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill deprived Murdaugh of his constitutional right to a fair trial.
In her ruling, McCaslin said that she was moving the trial from Colleton on several grounds, including “community prejudice” arising from long-standing association of the Murdaugh family with people in the 14th Judicial Circuit and the “unprecedented breadth, substance and form of the publicity surrounding this prosecution.”
The Sumter County courthouse, located about 45 miles east of Columbia, takes a little more than an hour to reach from downtown Columbia, depending on the traffic, road construction and time of day.
Read more 1 injured, multiple suspects detained after Richland County shooting Tuesday
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.