The Murdaugh trial is getting loads of public consideration, which has led some to ponder whether the jury in the trial is being sequestered.
Although homicide trials all the time come with a definite stage of intrigue, it's very uncommon for an ordeal to be so saturated in the media that it requires a jury to be sequestered from the public.
Now, as Alex Murdaugh's trial for the murder of his wife and son continues, some are wondering whether or not the jury in the trial has been sequestered. Here's what we know.
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Is the jury in the Alex Murdaugh trial sequestered?
According to WCBD, as of Wednesday, March 1, "A decision has not yet been made on whether the jury will be sequestered." Sequestration is a heavy burden, as it requires jurors to seriously prohibit contact with the outside world for the length of the trial, which in some instances may also be several months or much more.
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Still, there are many who suppose sequestration can be appropriate on this case, in part on account of the amount of consideration that the trial has been getting from the public. Netflix has even released a documentary known as Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal that main points the case, which any juror may theoretically watch in between days of the trial. The documentary would indisputably have an affect on how they view the details of the case.
For a jury to be sequestered, even though, they've to be supplied with food and housing, which can be a considerable expense of the court docket. Given the release of the Netflix documentary and the persevered public passion, it is nonetheless conceivable that a request could be submitted, however it hasn't came about yet.
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Some criminal experts would sequester the jury.
In an interview with News Nation Now, New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Andrew Napolitano stated that he would have sequestered the jury.
“I would sequester them. The state’s entitled to a good trial, the defendant is entitled to a good trial," he said. "Neither should concern about the jurists being influenced via what they learn in the newspapers or hear on television."
On March 2, one of the jurors in the case was dismissed for having "unsuitable discussions" outside the courtroom.
One of the jurors in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial was removed and replaced with an alternate on the morning of Thursday, March 2. Judge Clifton Newman said the juror had "engaged in fallacious discussions out of doors the court," per NBC News.
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The juror, only known as juror No. 785, denied having these discussions, but two people who were interviewed about their contact with the juror "waffled on the nature and the extent of the touch."
Although it eventually became clear that the juror's discussions were not "intensive" regarding case matters, her contact with those outside the courtroom was still a concern for defense lawyer Richard Harpootlian.
A somewhat strange detail in the whole ordeal is that when the juror was dismissed, the judge asked her if she had anything of hers that she needed to take with her. She pointed out that she left a dozen eggs in the back room that she needed to collect. Hey, with the egg shortage and prices the way they are, you need to keep track of your eggs.
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The jury visited the Murdaugh estate.
On March 1, the jury was taken to the Murdaugh estate in Islandton, S.C., where Alex's wife and son were found fatally shot in the summer of 2021.
The judge agreed to allow jurors to visit the property over objections from prosecutors, who said that it had changed since 2021.
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The bodies were found near the kennels where the family kept their hunting dogs, and it wasn't the first time that a death had been associated with the property.
Gloria Satterfield, who had labored as a housekeeper for the Murdaughs, died about 3 weeks after she sustained an damage all through a fall on the property. Over three years later, an investigation was once opened into her loss of life as a result of inconsistencies in the way it have been reported.
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