COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lawyers for prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh say he’s so broke he can’t pay a phone bill -- much less $7 million in bail.
Meanwhile, a court-appointed overseer said during a virtual court hearing Monday that Murdaugh needs to use whatever money he has to pay his alleged victims, not free himself from jail.
In the 90-minute hearing, attorneys combed over Murdaugh’s assets and hotly debated whether his attempt to have himself killed in the fall makes him a current risk to himself or the community.
Circuit Judge Alison Renee Lee did not immediately rule on a request from Murdaugh's attorneys to lower his bond. This was a second request made by Murdaugh's attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin.
Murdaugh has been in Richland County's Alvin S Glenn Detention Center since mid-December on a total of 48 charges stemming from multiple grand jury indictments. Judge Lee set the $7 million bond after a different judge twice denied bail for the Lowcountry lawyer.
