Alex Murdaugh was ordered to serve two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of killing his wife and son. More than two years after his sentencing, the disgraced former attorney is working in an entirely new career field amid hopes that the court will grant him a new trial.
Since August 2023, Murdaugh, 57, has been working behind bars as a wardkeeper’s assistant, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections records. Wardkeeper’s assistants reportedly help run the day-to-day operations at a correctional facility, according to the New York Post.
When he’s not working his day job in prison, his lawyer, Dick Harpootlian, told the Daily Mail that Murdaugh is busy crafting his appeal in hopes of receiving a new murder trial. While he was also sentenced to more than 60 years behind bars combined for both state and federal financial crimes, Harpootlian believes it’s possible his client’s murder convictions could be overturned — even though Murdaugh isn’t fully “confident” that will happen.
“I think Alex understands he did a bad thing in stealing all that money,” the lawyer explained. “He is adamant he didn’t kill Paul and Maggie. He always has been … and when we get a fair trial, I think the jury will determine he didn’t do it.”
In the meantime, Harpootlian said it’s been easier to work with Murdaugh than other inmates who lack the disgraced lawyer’s legal background.
“You can talk to him, unlike normal clients who have no concept of the appellate process or how all this works,” he added. “He is interested because he is a lawyer, so we talk about where we’re at and what we think the grave issues are with the case and what our weaknesses are.”
In June 2021, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead near the dog kennels on the Murdaugh family’s South Carolina property. While Alex initially told investigators that he hadn’t been anywhere near the kennels that night, video footage confirmed that he had not been truthful. He later apologized for the lie in court, claiming that he hadn’t been “thinking clearly” and didn’t think he’d been “capable of reason” at the time, but maintained that he “didn’t shoot” his wife or his son “anytime, ever.”
He was found guilty of their murders on March 2, 2023.
Two years later, a television series detailing the high profile case was released on Hulu. In November 2025, Alex’s legal team released a statement saying they were “deeply disappointed and disturbed” by the alleged “inaccuracies and misleading portrayals” in Murdaugh: Death in the Family.
“It totally mischaracterizes Alex’s relationships with his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul, both of whom Alex loves so dearly,” his legal team said at the time.
“Equally concerning is the lack of engagement by the producers or actors to understand the individuals portrayed,” the lawyers continued. “No one from Hulu ever reached out to Alex, his son Buster, anyone in the Murdaugh family or Alex’s attorneys to hear their perspective or verify the facts.”
