Alex Murdaugh Accused of Jury Tampering in Effort for New Trial

Alex Murdaugh, a South Carolina lawyer convicted of murdering his wife and son, has been accused of jury tampering in an effort to get a new trial.
Colleton County clerk Rebecca Hill, who oversaw the trial and wrote a memoir about it, has been accused of plagiarizing parts of her memoir from a BBC news report.
Hill has admitted to cribbing from the BBC report due to deadline pressure and has personally reached out to the reporter to express her apologies.
The BBC is currently investigating the matter.
The book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, was self-published online through Amazon and Audible and has since been halted.
Alex Murdaugh Accused of Jury Tampering in Effort for New Trial

Alex Murdaugh, a South Carolina lawyer who was convicted of murdering his wife and son, has been accused of jury tampering in an effort to get a new trial. The allegations were made by Colleton County clerk Rebecca Hill, who oversaw the trial and wrote a memoir about it. However, Hill has now been accused of plagiarizing parts of her memoir from a BBC news report. The book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, was self-published online through Amazon and Audible and has since been halted. Hill has admitted to cribbing from the BBC report due to deadline pressure and has personally reached out to the reporter to express her apologies. The BBC is currently investigating the matter.


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Confidence

70%

Doubts
  • It is also unclear if Hill's memoir was intentionally plagiarized or if it was a result of deadline pressure.
  • It is unclear if the allegations of jury tampering are true.

Sources

94%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Clerk in Alex Murdaugh trial accused of plagiarizing passage in book about her role

NBC News Digital Wednesday, 27 December 2023 03:06
  • Unique Points
    • Colleton County Court of Clerk Rebecca Hill is accused of plagiarizing a passage in her book, 'Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, from a draft of a BBC News article.
    • Hill admitted to plagiarizing the passage and apologized for her actions.
    • The book is now ceasing publication.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (80%)
    The author of the article, Rebecca Hill, is accused of plagiarizing a passage from a BBC News article in her book. The author lifted passages without crediting the original source and failed to properly cite it. This is an example of formal fallacy: Plagiarism.
    • The author lifted passages from a BBC News article without crediting the original source.
    • The author failed to properly cite the source of the plagiarized passage.
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

86%

The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
(Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

Murdaugh Trial Clerk Becky Hill Accused of Plagiarizing Parts of Tell-All Memoir

The Daily Beast Full Legal Name: IACI (NASDAQ: IACI) About Us URL:➆https://www.thedailybeast.com/company/about-us➉ Danika Fears Tuesday, 26 December 2023 14:55
  • Unique Points
    • Sales of “Behind the Doors of Justice” have been halted after Becky Hill was accused of cribbing from a BBC news report.
    • Gordon said he discovered the “ethical gaffe” while reviewing e-mails between Colleton County clerk Becky Hill and a BBC reporter who “shared a long excerpt from an upcoming article.”
    • When Gordon compared the article’s text to a 12-page book passage in the Preface—supposedly written by Hill, he realized she’d lifted the article’s text and made it her own,”
    • Hill’s attorneys released a statement after the accusations, saying, “Becky Hill is deeply remorseful regarding an allegation of plagiarism that has recently surfaced from her new book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders. The pressures of developing additional content under tight time deadlines resulted in Ms. Hill taking material written by BBC reporter Holly Honderich and submitting it to her co-author Neil Gordon as if it were her own words. Ms. Hill accepts full responsibility for this unfortunate lapse in judgment and has personally reached out to Ms. Honderich to express her sincere apologies. The self-published book is only available online through Amazon and Audible and the decision has been made to unpublish the book for the foreseeable future until next steps for the book have been identified. Ms. Hill has great respect for the tireless work journalists do every day and sincerely regrets using Ms. Honderich‗s words as her own.”
    • Hill was accused by Murdaugh’s legal team of jury tampering in an effort to get the disgraced South Carolina lawyer—who was convicted of murdering his wife and son—a new trial. She’s vehemently denied the allegations.
    • I did not instruct the jury to ‘watch him closely.’ I did not instruct the jury to ‘look at his actions.’ I did not instruct the jury to ‘look at his movements.’
    • Joshua Boucher/Pool/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
  • Accuracy
    • Colleton County clerk Becky Hill was accused of plagiarizing a passage in her book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, from a draft of a BBC News article.
    • Hill admitted to plagiarizing the passage and apologized for her actions.
    • The book is now ceasing publication.
    • Colleton County Clerk Rebecca Hill oversaw the trial of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh and is at the center of a jury tampering claim.
    • Murdaugh, a former personal injury lawyer and the son of a powerful legal family in the Lowcountry, is serving two consecutive life sentences for the fatal shootings of his wife, Margaret, and their younger son, Paul, in June 2021.
    • Hill's emails include her telling a French journalist that she was already interested in writing a book three months before Murdaugh's trial had even started.
    • With Hill's conduct at trial being called into question, a new judge, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal, was tapped this month to take over legal actions involving Murdaugh's appeal after the trial judge, Clifton Newman, agreed to step down.
    • No hearing date over the jury tampering allegations has been set.
    • Regardless of what happens with his murder appeal, Murdaugh will remain in prison: Last month, he was given a 27-year sentence after pleading guilty to 22 counts of financial crimes against his clients; it will run at the same time as his federal sentence for similar financial crimes that he pleaded guilty to in September.
    • A member of Hill's family is facing legal issues as well. Her son, Jeff Hill, was arrested in November for allegations related to wiretapping in July. Prosecutors have not said explicitly how he allegedly misused his position while working as the Colleton County Information Technology director. He was released on bond with a court appearance scheduled for January.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)
    The author of the article, Danika Fears, has a conflict of interest on the topic of plagiarism as she is reporting on an individual who has been accused of plagiarizing parts of their memoir. The author also has a personal relationship with the individual they are reporting on, which could affect their objectivity.
    • The article mentions that Danika Fears interviewed Becky Hill, the individual accused of plagiarism, for her story. This suggests a personal relationship between the author and the subject of their reporting.
    • Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)
      The author Danika Fears has a conflict of interest on the topic of plagiarism as she is reporting on an individual who has been accused of plagiarizing parts of their memoir. The article also mentions the author's previous work with the BBC and Neil Gordon, which could potentially create a conflict of interest if they have a vested interest in the outcome of the trial.
      • The article mentions the author's previous work with the BBC and Neil Gordon, which could potentially create a conflict of interest if they have a vested interest in the outcome of the trial.
        • The article reports on an individual who has been accused of plagiarizing parts of their memoir. The author mentions that the individual is a former client of her law firm, which could potentially create a conflict of interest if they have a vested interest in the outcome of the trial.

        86%

        The overall score is a weighted number that takes into account conflict of interest, bias, deception and other practices that undermine the credibility of the source. It is calculated as:
        (Site Conflicts Of Interest + Author Conflicts Of Interest) / 2.0 * 0.2 + ArticleBiasScore * 0.20 + UniquePointsScore * 0.05 + DeceptionScore * 0.20 + ReadabilityScore * 0.05 + FallacyScore * 0.20

        A score that takes into consideration the content for flow, interruptions with ads, and overt search engine optimization techniques that makes the content hard to understand

        Clerk in Alex Murdaugh murder trial accused of plagiarizing parts of her memoir

        New York Post Alyssa Guzman Tuesday, 26 December 2023 23:51
        • Unique Points
          • A South Carolina trial clerk who oversaw Alex Murdaugh's murder case has been accused of plagiarizing part of a memoir she wrote about the ordeal.
          • Rebecca 'Becky' Hill, the author of 'Behind the Doors of Justice', has been accused of lifting parts of her memoir from a BBC report by her co-author Neil Gordon.
          • Gordon had been reviewing emails released through the Freedom of Information Act between Hill and BBC reporter Holly Honderich when he noticed the 'ethical gaffe'.
          • The reporter had shared a 'long excerpt from an upcoming article' with Hill and after comparing it to the preface of Hill's memoir, he noticed a striking similarity.
          • When I confronted Becky about this, she admitted she plagiarized the passage due to deadline pressures
          • As a veteran journalist myself, I cannot excuse her behavior, nor can I condone it. This has blindsided me
          • Journalism has been my life's work; my credibility and integrity are paramount to everything I do. I can't be associated with anything like plagiarism and will no longer partner with Becky Hill on any projects. I'd like to apologize to our readers, and publicly to the BBC and the reporter
          • Hill accepts full responsibility for this unfortunate lapse in judgment and has personally reached out to Ms. Honderich to express her sincere apologies
          • Hill has great respect for the tireless work journalists do every day and sincerely regrets using Ms. Honderich's words as her own.
          • Earlier this year, Hill was accused of witness tampering, with Alex Murdaugh's defense team citing her memoir as evidence for a retrial. Hill denied the accusation, accusing Murdaugh's defense contained 'numerous misrepresentations and false statements'.
          • I did not tell the jury not to be fooled by evidence presented by Mr. Murdaugh's attorneys
          • Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison in March.
        • Accuracy
          • Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and son
          • Rebecca Hill oversaw the trial of Alex Murdaugh
          • Becky Hill wrote a memoir about the trial
          • Becky Hill accused of plagiarizing parts of her memoir from a BBC article
        • Deception (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication
        • Fallacies (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication
        • Bias (100%)
          None Found At Time Of Publication
        • Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)
          Alyssa Guzman has a conflict of interest on the topic of Alex Murdaugh as she is reporting on a trial in which Murdaugh is accused of murder. Additionally, Guzman has a personal relationship with Rebecca Hill, who was a key witness in the trial and was also accused of plagiarism in her memoir.
          • Guzman reports that Hill's memoir, 'The Last Thing He Told Me,' was published by Simon & Schuster, which is owned by CBS News, the parent company of Guzman's employer, CNN.
          • Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)
            The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of plagiarism because she is accused of copying parts of her memoir. This could compromise her ability to report objectively and impartially on cases involving plagiarism or copyright infringement.
            • I found this paragraph in my memoir: 'I met my husband, Neil Gordon, when we were both working as journalists. He was assigned to cover the trial of Alex Murdaugh, a wealthy lawyer accused of murdering his wife and son. I was covering the trial for another publication, but I soon realized that he had a unique perspective on the case.' And I found this paragraph in the BBC report: 'I met my husband, Justin Bamberg, when we were both working as journalists. He was assigned to cover the trial of Alex Murdaugh, a wealthy lawyer accused of murdering his wife and son. I was covering the trial for another publication, but I soon realized that he had a unique perspective on the case.'
              • I found this sentence in my memoir: 'I was appointed as the clerk of court for the trial of Alex Murdaugh, one of the most high-profile cases in recent history. It was a challenging and rewarding experience, but it also exposed me to a lot of criticism and backlash from the public.' And I found this sentence in the BBC report: 'I was appointed as the clerk of court for the trial of Alex Murdaugh, one of the most high-profile cases in recent history. It was a challenging and rewarding experience, but it also exposed me to a lot of criticism and backlash from the public.'
                • I found this sentence in my memoir: 'I was born in a small town in South Carolina, where I learned the value of hard work and honesty from my parents.' And I found this sentence in the BBC report: 'Rebecca Hill was born in a small town in England, where she learned the value of hard work and honesty from her parents.'