Alex Murdaugh has taken the stand in his own defense in an attempt to beat the charges filed against him of murdering his own wife and son. The trial has gained worldwide attention, even more so since Netflix cleverly timed the release of a three part series based on the Murdaugh family. The release came just days before Alex took the stand in his defense.
If you have watched any of Alex’s testimony, you may have noticed that he repeats himself quite often. In addition, he speaks directly to the prosecutor and often times challenges him. At times, you wonder who is questioning who.
Mr. Murdaugh comes from a family of lawyers…he is well aware of the law and while he knows how to uphold the law, he is quite open about how he understands how to break the law as well.
But is Alex just a rambling, nervous mess on the stand? Or is he putting on an incredibly strategic show on the stand for the jurors?
After watching countless hours of his testimony, I personally would say that he is being incredibly strategic, knowing what he can and can’t get away with on the stand. After all, he has been in a court room most of his adult life.
Alex appears to answers questions, without actually answering them. In addition, he admits to being a liar and stealing money from his clients (a charge which he was found guilty for). But by admitting that you are a liar, that you have lied and that you have done horrible things to good people and following that up with sorrow and remorse…goes a long way with a jury.
It is my opinion that Alex is creating mass confusion on the stand. At the end of the questioning, you remember very few things that were even talked about. You remember that Alex is remorseful for stealing and lying to prior clients and police and that’s really it.
Alex has an answer for everything and the answer is almost always a work around to what the prosecution actually wants to hear.
For example, in the beginning of the questioning of Alex, the prosecution tried desperately to get Alex to admit that he was a POS, lying, stealing, manipulative man — one that can do all those things with ease at the drop of a hat. But Alex wouldn’t let that happen. Instead, he kept repeating over and over that he admits to those acts, is sorry for those acts and on the stand — somehow shows sadness for those acts.
If anything, Alex’s testimony is creating doubt and where there is doubt — there are hung jury’s.
What are you thoughts? Is Alex just playing the system and doing on the stand, exactly what he and his law firm have instructed witnesses to do for years? Or is he just a rambling fool?