Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

Prosecutors Accuse Murdaugh Defense of False Polygraph Claim, Lawyer Apologizes Before 2027 Retrial

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

Prosecutors Accuse Murdaugh Defense of False Polygraph Claim, Lawyer Apologizes Before 2027 Retrial

Q: Was the defense's false polygraph claim an accidental blunder or a calculated move to manipulate the future jury pool?

It is not possible to say definitively from the public record that the false polygraph claim was a calculated attempt to manipulate a future jury pool, but the available facts point more strongly to an unsupported misstatement than to proven strategy. The strongest evidence for an accidental blunder is Harpootlian’s written apology to Judge Debra McCaslin, in which he said he misspoke and mixed up facts. Prosecutors say the only known polygraph Murdaugh took was in fall 2023 during an FBI financial-crimes investigation, not on the murders, and they say that test did not show he “passed.” The judge then barred any mention of polygraphs at retrial, underscoring that such evidence is generally unreliable and inadmissible. Still, prosecutors plainly suspect something more than a simple slip. In their filing, they said Harpootlian’s statement was false and noted that other defense lawyers appeared visibly surprised in court. That detail cuts both ways: it may suggest the comment was not coordinated, but it also shows why prosecutors viewed it as serious enough to seek a firm ban before jury selection in a case saturated with media attention. What can be said with confidence is that the remark carried risk. In a high-profile retrial where venue, juror impartiality and pretrial publicity are central issues, even an inaccurate suggestion that Murdaugh “passed a polygraph” could shape public perception. But absent evidence of planning, intent remains unproven.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 20

A new South Carolina filing says Alex Murdaugh’s defense falsely told the court he passed a murder polygraph, prompting attorney Dick Harpootlian to apologize to the judge and prosecutors.
At an Aug. 14 hearing, Harpootlian said Murdaugh passed a test “with flying colors,” but prosecutors said Murdaugh never took any SLED or government polygraph about the 2021 killings.
Prosecutors said the only lie-detector test Murdaugh took came after his 2023 murder trial, when the FBI was investigating him for serious financial crimes.
Judge Debra McCaslin has already barred any mention of polygraph results to jurors and ruled such evidence inadmissible in the retrial.
Murdaugh’s original 2023 conviction and two life sentences were overturned in May over jury tampering, and his new trial is set for April 2027 outside Colleton County.