Alex Murdaugh gets life in prison for double murder

Alex Murdaugh will spend his life in prison for the murder of his wife and son; Belarus jails Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

Alex Murdaugh's double murder conviction

Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

• A judge on Friday sentenced disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh to life in prison without parole for murdering his wife and son. [Vox / Aja Romano]
• It took jurors three hours to find Murdaugh guilty of killing his son Paul and wife Maggie in June 2021 to hide his opioid addiction and financial troubles. [Reuters / Nathan Layne]
• The conviction caps a dramatic fall for the Murdaugh family, which spent decades controlling the local judicial system. [Associated Press / Jeffrey Collins and James Pollard]
• During the five-week trial, Murdaugh admitted to lying to investigators on the night of the murders. Prosecutors presented a cellphone video that placed him at the crime scene. [CBS News / Elizabeth Campbell]
• Murdaugh also admitted to stealing millions from his private practice and clients to fund his drug habit. He faces more than 100 additional charges including money laundering and fraud. [USA Today / N’dea Yancey-Bragg]

Belarus jails Nobel Peace Prize winner

• A Belarusian court on Friday sentenced top human rights activist Ales Bialiatski to 10 years in prison for financing anti-government protests. [Reuters / Andrew Osborn]
• The European Union said the conviction was an attempt to silence opposition to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has led the country since 1994. [BBC News / Oliver Slow]
• Bialiatski was arrested during massive 2020 protests over elections that gave Lukashenko another term. More than 1,400 political prisoners remain detained. [AP News / Yuras Karmanau]
• Bialiatski spent decades fighting for democracy in Belarus. He won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Russian and Ukrainian rights groups, for documenting abuses during the war in Ukraine. [CNN / Sharon Braithwaite and Nadine Schmidt]

The Supreme Court might not hear a case on independent state legislature theory that threatens to upend US elections. [Vox / Ian Millhiser]

• Amazon is stopping construction at its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia; the company laid off 18,000 workers in January. [Washington Post / Teo Armus and Rachel Lerman]
• The US on Friday announced $400 million in additional military aid and weapons to help Ukraine fend off Russia’s invasion. [The Hill / Brad Dress] 
• Walgreens won’t sell abortion pills by mail in states where they’re legal due to objections from Republican attorneys general. [Politico / Alice Miranda Ollstein]

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“Over the past century, your family, including you, have been prosecuting people in this courtroom and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct.”

[Judge Clifton Newman on Alex Murdaugh’s life sentence / CNN]

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