SC - Paul Murdaugh, 22 and mom Margaret, 52, found shot to death, Islandton, 7 June 2021 #2

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Google corrupt police and sheriff's offices in any state and especially small counties. It's called buying influence either with cash, legal and/or political favors, jobs, construction contracts, licensing, etc. The M's have wielded power in Hampton/Colleton counties since 1910. A smaller scale, but no different than Ted Kennedy getting away with leaving Mary Jo Kopechne in the water at Chappaquiddick.

SC is full of . small counties but I think the numbers are excessive. The last 2 sheriff’s in Union county have left office in handcuffs, the next county over is under federal investigation. Just a long history across the state of this. I’m sure the bigger areas have their share but it’s a terrible problem here.
 
RBBM.

I do expect law enforcement, including the prosecutor’s office, to “totally follow the rules.” They represent the rule of law and have ethical as well as legal standards to meet. Perhaps that hasn’t been the history in this county, and a history of misconduct may eventually shift the balance of power.

If LE does not follow defined procedure, then no one can and will be certain beyond reasonable doubt that they will ever “get to the truth.”

My statement was not a general one but only aimed at past precedent in Hampton/Colleton/Beaufort counties.

Did LE follow the rules in the SS investigation ? The boat accident ?

Not likely according to what I've read so I wouldn't expect them to toe the line in the Murdaugh murder case.
 
RBBM.

I do expect law enforcement, including the prosecutor’s office, to “totally follow the rules.” They represent the rule of law and have ethical as well as legal standards to meet. Perhaps that hasn’t been the history in this county, and a history of misconduct may eventually shift the balance of power.

If LE does not follow defined procedure, then no one can and will be certain beyond reasonable doubt that they will ever “get to the truth.”

SLED has a pretty solid record of getting to the truth in cases. Of course they have more resources, but they are generally successful. Several local cold cases in the upstate have been cleared up after the state gets involved.
 
My statement was not a general one but only aimed at past precedent in Hampton/Colleton/Beaufort counties.

Did LE follow the rules in the SS investigation ? The boat accident ?

Not likely according to what I've read so I wouldn't expect them to toe the line in the Murdaugh murder case.

I don’t understand why any local agency was allowed near that boat case. A state prosecutors son being involved should have excluded DNR,SLED, or any county LE. That really should be the case with this murder since AMs employer will be in charge of it.
 
My statement was not a general one but only aimed at past precedent in Hampton/Colleton/Beaufort counties.

There are legal remedies for misconduct of county officials, and they should be pursued for county officials, IMHO. It sounds like @worm is saying those remedies have been pursued in other counties in the same state.

Did LE follow the rules in the SS investigation ? The boat accident ?

I don’t know, I haven’t looked into these cases. Did they?

Not likely according to what I've read so I wouldn't expect them to toe the line in the Murdaugh murder case.

Again, there are legal remedies for misconduct.
 
RBBM.

I do expect law enforcement, including the prosecutor’s office, to “totally follow the rules.” They represent the rule of law and have ethical as well as legal standards to meet. Perhaps that hasn’t been the history in this county, and a history of misconduct may eventually shift the balance of power.

If LE does not follow defined procedure, then no one can and will be certain beyond reasonable doubt that they will ever “get to the truth.”

I expect LE to follow rules and be fair, but I think this family has a lot, a lot of influence and will put out all blocks it can in the way of justice. People are either afraid of the family, owe them favors, or it’s the ‘good old boy’ syndrome. I see this case ending up like Jon Benet Ramsey….there will be no,justice, even if LE, public, WS highly suspect or know. The murder(s) will be free.
 
Usually when the possibility of any conflict can be present, the local LE will turn it over. Spartanburg had a shooting incident just this week involving a LE officer and city utility employees so Sburg recused themselves from the investigation. That seems pretty standard. With this murder involving a state prosecutors family, it should be handled by federal LE.
 
I don’t understand why any local agency was allowed near that boat case. A state prosecutors son being involved should have excluded DNR,SLED, or any county LE. That really should be the case with this murder since AMs employer will be in charge of it.

AM is not employed by the state if you believe he only does volunteer work for the prosecutors office.
 
I have heard it said that the Murdaugh's are the law in that part of the state and I believe it.
After only three weeks and without giving the investigation a chance to run its course, they went on national television and put up a reward both undermining law enforcement and going over their heads at the same time.
Also, by informing the public that PM had been threatened they could get someone killed. If these threats were made via social media then there's people out there that know who made them.
The egotism that's involved in this is off the charts.
 
The question to be answered is whether not "following the rules" is the same as misconduct when it comes to LE.

Some examples related to this and other local "related" cases :
  • 911 calls are supposed to be public but AM's call has not been released in the PM/MM murder investigation
  • The boat occupants were not given sobriety tests when MB was thrown from the boat and killed
  • SS's death was reported as a hit-and-run despite no evidence of the sort and a gunshot wound above his eye
  • AM/RM3 preventing blood alcohol test on PM after the boating accident - legal misconduct or good strategy
  • PM given no restrictions while awaiting trial on the BUI charges
I'm sure there are more that can be brought to light.
 
AM is not employed by the state if you believe he only does volunteer work for the prosecutors office.

According to the News and Observer article…’His father, Randolph Murdaugh III, who retired as 14th Circuit solicitor in 2005, worked on a contract basis for $2,500 per month for his successor, Duffie Stone, wrote Stone’s spokesman, Jeff Kidd, citing records that date to 2015.’

Is that the type of ‘volunteer’ AM is? I’m reminded that the N&O had to file a FOIA to get some of this information after being ignored for weeks.
 
According to the News and Observer article…’His father, Randolph Murdaugh III, who retired as 14th Circuit solicitor in 2005, worked on a contract basis for $2,500 per month for his successor, Duffie Stone, wrote Stone’s spokesman, Jeff Kidd, citing records that date to 2015.’

Is that the type of ‘volunteer’ AM is? I’m reminded that the N&O had to file a FOIA to get some of this information after being ignored for weeks.

According to what I read, AM was indeed a volunteer and not paid for his legal advice. But who knows ...
 
RBBM.

I do expect law enforcement, including the prosecutor’s office, to “totally follow the rules.” They represent the rule of law and have ethical as well as legal standards to meet. Perhaps that hasn’t been the history in this county, and a history of misconduct may eventually shift the balance of power.

If LE does not follow defined procedure, then no one can and will be certain beyond reasonable doubt that they will ever “get to the truth.”

Well said @ElementalLaura!

This case is being followed in the news internationally and perhaps this will make a difference as to the transparency of the investigation.

I still wish that the F.B.I. would be called in to take over this investigation. Not only would this give more assurance to citizens, but the F.B.I. have such incredible investigative and technical tools at their disposal.

Just my own opinions.
 
The question to be answered is whether not "following the rules" is the same as misconduct when it comes to LE.

Some examples related to this and other local "related" cases :
  • 911 calls are supposed to be public but AM's call has not been released in the PM/MM murder investigation
  • The boat occupants were not given sobriety tests when MB was thrown from the boat and killed
  • SS's death was reported as a hit-and-run despite no evidence of the sort and a gunshot wound above his eye
  • AM/RM3 preventing blood alcohol test on PM after the boating accident - legal misconduct or good strategy
  • PM given no restrictions while awaiting trial on the BUI charges
I'm sure there are more that can be brought to light.
 

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On the law firm website, AM describes himself this way….’part-time prosecutor.’

Attorney Profiles | Our Team | PMPED Law Firm

‘Alex represents injured persons in all areas of personal injury law, including trucking cases, products liability and wrongful death. He also serves as a part-time Prosecutor for the 14th Judicial Circuit.’

His father was paid $2500 a month for his services. Perhaps he paid his son for his assistance?

From the N&O article…

‘From 2008 to 2019, Randolph Murdaugh, working under contract, was lead attorney prosecuting at least eight cases, mostly violent crimes, with his son Alex assisting with some of them. All but one case were prosecuted in Hampton County. Alex Murdaugh was lead attorney for one case in 2019, Kidd
wrote.

The agency did not have records of exactly how many cases Alex Murdaugh assisted his father in prosecuting. He is “the only attorney who has served as a prosecutor in a volunteer capacity” between 2006 and 2021, Kidd said.
 
It’s just so common in these small counties to see a family name woven all thru county governments, boards, perk jobs, etc. and once they get into that power structure, they establish themselves. The Ms seem to have that going on in the Lowcountry and as I stated in an earlier post here, the good old boy system is alive and doing very well in SC.
 
Could be one of the main reasons the bros went on national TV is to let people know their brother had an airtight alibi and how distraught he was over the phone when AM called each of them, and then how AM requested they (the brothers) call Buster as he couldn't do it. And then how they had to console him once they arrived on scene.

If there was a hint that AM had something to do with the murders, as family, they (all 3 of the brothers) had to make sure they quickly buried that notion. (Whether real or not).
 
Watching the video of the brothers discussing the case, you’d have to have a heart of stone to not acknowledge the enormity of their grief. Two people they loved are gone from this earth. Their brother’s life, their nephew’s life will never be the same. Every holiday, every celebration will carry fresh pain for the absence of MM and PM.

They asked the public…please involve yourself, please come forward with tips, please help us find justice.

I wonder if at any time, maybe some quiet moment, in their own sorrow, they might have had a thought …of the grief of SS’s Mother…and MB’s parents. I wonder if they chided themselves for not doing all they could to help assuage that grief by cooperating, by helping THEM find their justice?

They are expert practitioners of the law. I’m going to presume that everything they did or didn’t do was legally sound…but in protecting themselves, their family …did they set a precedence far different from what they now would like other families to follow? Because now they are the ones grieving, needing cooperation, needing information.

They are asking people now to step up, give tips, name others, maybe be interviewed by LE, give a statement. How does it feel asking others to take that risk of getting involved for them…now…as they consider their own actions in the past?

There’s equity in the suffering of grief. The pain of that loss manifests itself in the same way, whether rich, poor, hunting lodge or trailer park. I’ve seen it be a unifier between people who had little in common before.

I’d like to think that whatever power and influence this family has left after this case is solved, that they might direct what remains… toward finding justice for SS and MB…whatever that means.

just my humble opinion.
 
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