very good friday morning to you, i'm jim sciutto. >> and i'm erica hill. this hour, convicted murderer

alex murdaugh the disgraced former south carolina attorney will be sentenced after a jury found him guilty of killing his wife maggie and 22-year-old son paul. the jury deliberating less than three hours thursday afternoon, this follows more than a month of testimony. the convicted murdaugh on two counts of murder, two counts of possessing a weapon while committing a crime. one of those jurors speaking out on abc this morning. >> about 45 minutes later we -- after all our deliberating, we figured it out. >> that's really fast. >> the evidence was clear. >> the state says it is not seeking the death penalty, instead prosecutors are pushing for life in prison without the possibility of parole. the judge denied a defense motion to declare a mistrial saying there was overwhelming evidence to convict murdaugh. the main prosecutor also spoke after the verdict was read. >> justice was done today.

it doesn't matter who your family is, it doesn't matter how much money you have or people think you have, it doesn't matter what you think, how prominent you are, if you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, then justice will be done in south carolina. >> we begin this hour with cnn national correspondent dianne gallagher, she is outside the courthouse in walterboro, south carolina. we have sentencing today coming up in hour. tell us how these events will proceed from here, including victim statements. >> reporter: that's right, jim. so we anticipate around 9:30 a.m., so about half an hour from now, judge clifton newman will return. i can tell you the attorney general is already here waiting and sort of talking to people about what happened yesterday. once we get into court alex murdaugh who is in custody at this point, we do not anticipate him to be in a suit, necessary custody, he will probably be in a jumpsuit, potentially even

shackled coming into the courtroom to hear his sentence. judge clifton newman will make the ultimate decision, the attorneys can plead their cases. he is facing between 30 years as a minimum and life in prison without the possibility of parole as a maximum for those two murder convictions, killing his wife maggie and his son paul. now, we do anticipate to hear victim impact statements. some of what is unfortunately unique about this case is that many of the defendant's family members would also then give those victim impact statements because this is a case of a husband being convicted of killing his wife and his son. his surviving son buster, we are waiting to see if he will be here, fell speak. there is also, of course, maggie's family as well, maybe even some of paul's friends. again, we do not know at this point who is going to speak. during this nearly six-week trial we heard from more than 70 witnesses, all sorts of data and

forensic evidence, but according to that juror that you heard from there it was the video, that video that was on paul murdaugh's phone, it wasn't found for more than six months until the u.s. secret service was able to get into his iphone that placed alex murdaugh at the kennels minutes before maggie and paul according to the state were shot and killed in that exact location. according to that juror, that's what it was about. alex murdaugh got on the stand trying to tell the jury that he had lied about that, but it was because of paranoia from drug abuse and long-term addiction that he had suffered to opioids, but the juror says they didn't buy it. >> do you feel like he was a liar? >> a good liar, but not good enough. i didn't see any true remorse or any compassion or anything. >> even though he cried a lot on the stand. >> he never cried. >> he never cried?

what do you mean by that? >> all he did was blow not. >> did you not see tears? >> no tears. >> how did you know he wasn't crying? >> because i saw his eyes. i was this close to him. >> reporter: we didn't really see tears from alex murdaugh as the verdicts were read yesterday, either. less than three hours of deliberation the jurors saying that it took just 45 minutes for them all to truly come to a consensus. he sort of shook his head, stood stonefaced, mouthed something to his buster behind him. we will see what the reaction nay be today. jim, erica, i spoke briefly with defense attorney jim griffin who delivered the closing arguments, he told me they were dis appointed in the verdict but would have more to say after sentencing it would not be appropriate he said to comment before that. >> deanne, we know you will stay with us, we will check back with you shortly. joining us to discuss further joey jackson and sara ford, the

current legal director for the south carolina victim assistance network. good to have both of you with us this morning. joey, if we could pick up where diane left out, what we heard from the juror and the reaction from the juror to alex murdaugh's testimony and his demeanor in court. how impactful do you think that was overall on this jury and their ultimate decision that he was, in fact, guilty. >> erica, good morning to you. jim, sara. listen, the reality is this, is that that jury sat there for a period of six weeks listening to testimony day in and day out. the judge instructs them not deliberate or speak about the case, keep an open mind. when he took the stand, alex murdaugh, that was his opportunity to state his claim. it was a hard sell, however, in as much as you deny, deny, deny being at the kennels, you took the stand because it came out that you were there, cellphone and car data put you there, in addition to the fact that your own voice put you there by

virtue of what your son recorded. now you're trying to explain that. i think the narrative really, erica, was that you lied to your clients, took money from quadriplegics, took money from minors and teenagers, looked them in the eye like you looked the jury in the eye, what is to say you're not lying to us. by virtue of what that juror said, clearly he was of the view, that juror, that he was continuing to lie. i think that told the whole story in town. >> sara ford, to your credit you were predicting on this broadcast that a conviction was likely here. to joey's point, the juror who had spoken out said it was that video, to hear the voice of alex murdaugh in that time period when prosecutors said the murder took place and to have murdaugh say after having denied it that that was my voice. the defense argument in effect was that the window of death was boarder than that period of time as prosecutors described. are you surprised that that

piece of video seemed to be the damning evidence here? >> i'm not surprised, jim. it's very -- it's clear to see from those of us who have watched the trial from the beginning how each piece of evidence built upon each piece guilt upon each additional piece of evidence. that video was absolutely damning to him. and he really had no choice other than to take the stand and clarify that. the jury did not buy that clarification. he was lying long before he walked into that courtroom, long before he took the stand and that jury believed that he was lying to them on that stand. >> sentencing set to start just over half an hour or so from now. share ration as i understand it, part of what you do is actually help those who will be giving victim impact statements. we are still waiting to see who, in fact, we will hear from this morning. as you are speaking with people in a moment like this, what is that direction, what is that

counsel you give them in terms of making sure that they get across the message that they want to deliver? >> it's essential for victims when giving an impact statement to talk about who they are, not who they were after the victimization, but who they were and how this has affected them. humanizing themselves or for survivors of homicide, humanizing the victims, talking about them as people, and really drawing a light to their life. and then asking the court for what they want to see. it's essential for victims, they have the right to ask the court just like the defense has the right to ask the court for what they want to see, and victims need to advocate for that. so really humanizing the victim and making clear to the judge what they feel is or not and what they want the sentence to be. >> joey jackson, this was fairly fast, less than three hours of deliberations before the jury returned to this verdict. i didn't talk to a lot of people

who expected that. now you have a judge with a decision on sentencing, prosecution seeking life sentence without parole, does the swiftness of the jury's decision, based on the weight of evidence as well, what you've seen here, do you expect the prosecution to get what they want in terms of a sentence here? >> jim, i see no set of circumstances, no set of circumstances, wherein murdaugh sees the light of day again. and so that -- we look there in terms of what the prosecution's closing arguments were, right, three hours, defense closing arguments, jury deliberation. that jury was crystal clear with respect to what they believed occurred. let's be clear about what the judge's role s during the course of the trial the judge is a referee, wants to ensure that the defendant gets a fair fight, makes rulings on the issues and decisions. once that jury says that you are guilty they are the finder of fact. now it's up to the judge to act as a proxy for the state of south carolina and met out justice. what i see are multiple life sentences being issued by this

judge today no matter what the defense says. >> wow. >> multiple life sentences. i mean, that is -- yeah. interesting to see. also interesting to note, too, the judge last night clear when denying the mistrial motion, he called the evidence overwhelming. there will be a lot to cover as we wait for this. joey, sarah, i know you will stay with us for that. that sentencing expected to begin 20 minutes from now, we will bring that to you live. we are watching several other major stories this morning, tornado watches in effect right now in five states as we get images like this one, funnel clouds spotted in texas and louisiana. that is a scary sight to see coming your way. live in shreveport with a look at the damage. details on where the storm is headed next. plus dramatic images of a bridge that served as a main supply route to ukrainian forces on the front lines, destroyed in a russian attack. cnn is in eastern ukraine as the battle for the town of bakhmut rages on.

and the house ethics committee says it is launching an investigation now into embattled congressman george santos. we will tell you where they plan to focus that investigation just ahead. it's your customers getting what they ordered when they expect it. it's having an ecommercrce solution that scales with your bubusiness as you grow. it's using innovatitive technology that manages your inventory and ororders. discover how ryder ecommerce makes your customer's experience ever better. (vo) if you've had thyroid eye disease for years and your enflamed eyes are so watery, they need windshield wipers, it's not too late for anoer treatment option. to learn more visit treatted.com. that's treatt-d.com.

- [announcer] payroll takes too long. at least it used to. now, there's roll, the app that makes payroll as easy as sending a text. you. you're slinging tacos and you've got a minute between orders to handle payroll. what do you do? step one, type 'run payroll', respond to a couple questions, and that's it... done! and they're paid tomorrow, not four days from now. if you know how to send a text, you know how to use roll. go to getroll.com/tv and get your first three months free and unlimited payroll.

♪ at morgan stanley, we see the world with the wonder of new eyes, ♪ helping you discover untapped possibilities and relentlessly working with you to make them real. ♪ because grit and vision working in lockstep ♪ puts you on the path to your full potential. ♪ introducing new sweet and savory crepes. whether you like the flavor of cinnamon bun after sunset. or prefer to wake up to a little eggs and bacon. day or night, it's always time for crepes. for a limited time, buy one, get one free

with five flavors that are delicious any time of day. only from ihop. download the app and earn free food with every order. a storm system that spawned tornadoes, powerful winds and golf ball sized hail, that can hurt, in texas and louisiana is now heading northeast, threatening to bring more severe wea weather. >> holy [ bleep ]. >> where is it going? >> that way. >> lord. i mean, those things move so quickly, if you see that coming please get in your basement. the video was from northwest of dallas, at this hour more than 92,000 homes without power in texas, just over 10,000 waking up in darkness in texas and louisiana. >> as the system moves tornado watches are now in effect across multiple states, you can see the size of that system there.

high wind and flood alerts impacting millions on this friday morning. chad miles following the system from atlanta and carlos suarez in shreveport, louisiana. carlos, we see a little bit of the damage behind you, but now that you have full daylight i imagine it's revealed a lot more. >> reporter: yeah, that's exactly right. so that tornado was on the ground for a relatively short time. we're talking about well under a minute and the worst of the damage really was in this one neighborhood in shreveport, this tornado damaged several businesses, a gas station, an insurance business as well as this laundry mat. this is the worst of the damage we've seen. you can see exactly what i'm talking about, there are three cars that are parked in this parking lot, they were all damaged by this debris. most of this debris came from the roof of that business. the sign of this place, this laundromat, fell in this middle car. as you can imagine, folks that

were inside at the time, they were quite worried about what was going on because that emergency alert went out shortly before 6:00 in the afternoon telling everyone to take shelter. there was one man who was inside of the business, he said he was talking to another woman whose kids were in one of these cars and that's when they decided whether or not to go and grab them from the car, but he said it was too dangerous, far too windy, not safe for them to do so. here is what he told our cnn affiliate here in shreveport. >> that's when the winds started picking up and this lady said my babies were in the car and she wanted me to help her and i said let's go, but then all of a sudden the wind got so bad i said, no, ma'am, don't go out, that's her car underneath that sign. if we had gone out there that baby -- i mean, we would have been hit by that sign. >> reporter: and so the rebuilding effort, the recovery effort at least on this stretch of block in this neighborhood is well under way. folks have already started to

pick up their debris, some insurance adjusters are out here and police have closed off a good part of this neighborhood only because they're trying to get traffic out of the way. the good news in all of this is that there were no serious injuries reported across the shreveport area and that last check in this neighborhood alone about 1,000 customers or so are still without power, but the expectation is, the hope is they are going to be able to get a lot of these folks back online because this tornado was on the ground for a relatively short period of time and so the damage right now does seem to be pretty much contained. we were able to drive around the neighborhood earlier this morning, we saw a couple of homes that had some downed fences as well as some damage to the roof, but, again, the good news at this hour is that it does not appear anybody was hurt in any of this. guys? >> it's amazing, they're lucky. carlos suarez, thank you. chad myers in the weather center, i feel like every other day we talk to you about a powerful storm moving across the country. tell us where this one is

headed. >> and it's always the day after or the day after that a snowstorm that happens in california because it's the same low that rolls through california, through the four corners and event lie into the east. we are expecting the storms to increase in this area over the next few hours. going to warm things up a little bit, the sun trying to come out, that increases the instability of the atmosphere. something else we're watching, the snow up here, it will be snowing in lansing, detroit, back toward gary, indiana, maybe even south side of chicago, i think the heaviest snow is south of you, chicago, but it will be certainly across the turnpike for sure there across northern indiana. here is how we get here, we're going to have an awful lot of rainfall, we have had rain already most of the night, some spots over 6 inches. we have hundreds of miles of flash flood warnings going on right now. when it gets dark, make sure you're more careful because you can't tell how deep that water it, don't drive through it any

wash way. there is your avocado with where the biggest threat of severe weather will be today, louisville back down to mississippi and alabama as the storms start to rotate later today. you will see that in the line here but there won't be a solid line all day like a squall line that typically limits the amount of tornado activity. sometimes the storm will be separate and when they separate like that that's when we could begin to get the significant tornadoes coming through, ef-2s and 3s possible even for today as the severe storm prediction center is saying here. there is your snow for detroit, lansing, up to the thumb, the snow for parts of upstate new york. they will take it in the ski resorts for sure across parts of new england. this to be 8, 12 inches in some of these places, rutland, sugar bowl, we will take the snow here, anything natural that people in the east can ski on is

better than ice. >> when you're born on ice and learn to ski in the east coast you can ski anywhere. a new englander. >> she's tougher than both of us, chad. thanks so much. we appreciate it. continue to watch overseas now. right now russian forces are advancing, trying to on bakhmut after they blew up a key bridge for ukrainian forces overnight. it's the last main supply route from bakhmut to a nearby village which means the ukrainian military and civilians are now forced to use dirt roads for evacuation and supplies. >> those russian advances come as president biden is hosting the german chancellor today at the white house where he is expected to announce additional military aid for ukraine. cnn's senior national security correspondent alex marquardt is live in eastern ukraine. so as you look at things this morning and what has played out, is there any sign at this point, alex, of a ukrainian withdrawal? >> reporter: good morning, erica and jim. no signs of a mass withdrawal.

certainly no announcement, but if you are reading the tea leaves carefully there are indications that it could be under consideration. a well-known reconnaissance brigade they were immediately pulled out overnight, their commander saying on social media that they weren't given a reason why. a railway bridge in eastern bakhmut was blown up by the ukrainians, they blew it up to make sure the russians couldn't use it. there is no doubt they are in a tough spot, surrounded from the south, either and north. they are trying to be encircled by the russian forces. as you mentioned there is only one main supply route west out of bakhmut, i was on that road yesterday, it was very heavily trafficked with military vehicles going up and down. overnight we learned that a missile according to a soldier in bakhmut had taken out that bridge, effectively severing that road and the ability of ukrainian forces to supply their forces to withdraw if that's what they plan on doing and to

pull people out. if they're going to do that now they're going to have to do it across muddy fields or dirt roads, that of course is very difficult, you need certain types of vehicles, you leave yourself quite exposed. so the ukrainians in a very tough spot. they say that they are going to keep fighting. we did hear from the leader of the wagner forces, his forces have been leading this fight for the russian side in bakhmut. he called on president zelenskyy to withdraw his forces, essentially to save their lives. he said they will be fully surrounded in one or two days. that of course has not been announced but it has to be something that they are considering. we've also seen the head of ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country visiting the front line very recently, so ukrainians appear to be trying to stand their ground, knowing that if bakhmut were to fall it would be a major victory for the russian side and that they would try to use that as a jumping off point to drive deeper into eastern ukraine. erica and jim?

>> alex marquardt, thanks so much. the house ethics committee making it official, they do plan to investigate republican congressman george santos. santos of course has faced very cloud and consistent calls to resign amid mounting legal issues as he has lied about his education, his career, his biography. the probe, though, will dig deeper than santos' resumé. >> melanie zanona joins us from capitol hill. this is significant, one, mccarthy said if it is found santos broke the law he would remove him with political consequences and also the ethics committee in the past has had some teeth. >> reporter: absolutely. this is a very serious threat to congressman santos' political career and could wind up with him being kicked out of congress. a little context here, the house ethics committee is a bipartisan panel, it's made up of equal number of republican and democratic lawmakers so their work is bipartisan. they aren't bound by any sort of

timelines but they do have the power to move quickly if they want to, and in the end depending on what they find they can make recommendations for disciplinary action, whether that's something like censure or something as far as expulsion. now, it still would be up to the full house to act on any of those recommendations, expulsion would require two thirds of the house in order for it to work, but it would be very hard for members of congress, including gop leadership, to ignore those bipartisan findings, especially because santos has been under such scrutiny up near on capitol hill. i want to read for you everything that the house ethics committee is looking into because it is a pretty long list. today they are investigating the following, they are looking into whether santos engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign, they are looking into whether he failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the house, they're looking into whether he violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection to his role in a firm providing

fiduciary services, and finally they are looking into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his office. santos for his part says he is fully cooperating but will not be commenting further at this time. jim and erica? >> see where it goes. certainly lots of investigative threads. melanie zanona on the hill, thanks so much. all right. main story in just a few minutes, the sentencing hearing will begin for alex murdaugh after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife and son after less than three hours of deliberations last night. we will be live at the south carolina courthouse coming up. please stay with us. you don'e getting into, but at the end of the day,y, you know you have a team behind you that can h help you. not having to worry about t the future makes it possible to make the present as b best as it can be for everybody.

hi, my name's steve. i lost 138 pounds on golo and i kept it off. so with other diets, you just feel like you're muscling your way throu it. the reason why i le golo is plain andimple, it was easy. i didn't have torit my teeth and do a diet. golo's a lifestyle change and you make the change and it stays off. golo's changed my life in so many ways. i sleep better, i eat better. took my shirt off for the first time in 25 years. it's golo. it's all golo. it's smarter, it's better, it will change your life forever.

kids are so expensive, dad. now katie needs braces. maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. i don't know, dad. ♪ maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. that's a great idea, tv dad. but i said the exact same thing. some day when you're a father, you'll understand. i'm his father. it's not a competition. listen to your tv dad. drivers who switch and save with progressive save nearly $700 on average. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ start your day with nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. ♪ next on behind the series... let me tell you about the greatest roster ever assembled. the monster, the outlaw... and you can't forget about the boss. sometimes- you just want to eat your heroes. the subway series. the greatest menu of all time.

any moment now a judge will sentence alex murdaugh now a convicted murderer after a jury found him guilty last night of killing his wife maggie, and son paul. they deliberated morales than three hours. he is now facing a sentence including the possibility of life in prison without parole. >> cnn nash yanl correspondent dianne gallagher has been covering this from the beginning. she is outside the courthouse in walterboro, south carolina. you just got the opportunity to speak with the south carolina attorney general as people arrive. what did the ag tell you? >> reporter: erica, jim, i also just saw defense attorney jim griffin arrive as well. proceedings are supposed to be getting under way any moment now, we do know the torrence are here. that's usually a good sign that things are going in the right direction for them to begin. i spoke with attorney general allen wilson who was not the lead prosecutor on this case,

that was creighton waters, but attorney general wilson did do some cross-examination during this and he said that he was happy to allow creighton waters to do this. he had been diligent about this case for more than a year. he described to me sort of staying at the same hotel in walterboro that all of us are staying at right now, this hampton inn, calling it almost like a dorm room life where they were staying up to midnight, going over the case, revising how they were going to do things. he acknowledged as they have the entire time, the defense tried to create this idea that there would be too much reasonable doubt, because much of the case was built on circumstantial evidence, but attorney general wilson says that even though there was circumstantial evidence, alex murdaugh choosing to get on the stand, coupled with that video found on paul's phone with alex's voice putting him at the kennels before the state says paul and maggie were murdered is what he believes got them this guilty verdict.

>> this was a circumstantial evidence case, but what people have to understand, circumstantial evidence is just as powerful as direct evidence. as you heard, i think the kennel video hung him and i think when he took the stand and they heard his voice and heard him try to manipulate them -- remember, alex murdaugh is someone who is a master manipulator and liar and he had spent his career being theatrical in front of juries, getting closing rg amounts and great verdicts for his clients. this was his closing argument in his own murder trial and i think the jury saw how he was trying to manipulate them, saw how he was lying, read through it, heard the kennel video and they made the right decision. >> reporter: so let's talk about how this is going to happen here this morning. judge clifton newman will bring them into the courtroom, there is no jury anymore, their job is done, although the jurors he told them they could come back and watch this, sort of see this as completion as members of the gallery. we're going to hear from the attorneys themselves, we are also going to hear potentially

those victim impact statements. jim, erica, this is a verdict, this is a guilty verdict, a conviction of a man for killing his wife and his son. so we have this unfortunate overlap of those people who may be with the defendant and those who are also the victims in this case. buster murdaugh, for example, lost his mother and his brother and now his father potentially could go to jail for the rest -- prison for the rest of his life. there are many people we could potentially hear from, mare yan proctor the sister of maggie murdaugh who testified for the state about her feelings and some strangeness she felt, she said, that alex murdaugh asked maggie to go to moselle that say da i that she was murdered, that she hadn't planned to go there. alex murdaugh testified differently on the stand, but she is also a potential that we can maybe hear from and maybe even maggie murdaugh's parents. we haven't heard from them yet. they were on a witness list,

they were never called, but we're not sure, again, who we are going to hear from. alex murdaugh he will be in a jumpsuit, potentially shackled as he is in the custody right now. he will then go through the custody of the department of corrections after conviction. >> dianne gallagher, thanks so much. let's bring back joey jackson and sarah ford as we await the judge heading into the courtroom. sarah, there is a broader issue here, the influence that the murdaugh family had in these counties for more than 100 years. former u.s. attorney for south carolina bill neville said last night with this case you have an example perhaps of the end of a situation where there were, he says, no checks or balances on unbride nd power. he described it as taking the throat of justice off the throat of those counties there. the murdaugh family highly involved in this county for so many years with great influence on how the law was applied and here him facing justice. >> i think it's the ultimate

fall that we could possibly imagine. you know, from a family that were elected prosecutors for decades, a century, and then their son, their grandson, potentially being sentenced to life in prison today. it's tremendous. it also goes to show how power and privilege, they are no longer unchecked in colleton county and in south carolina. so often we see how folks with power and privilege are able to avoid justice, but i'm very pleased to see the result of this jury, how they listened diligently to all of the evidence and how they weren't influenced by the prestige and the power that the murdaugh family held over colleton college and the low county of south carolina and more. >> yeah. that is such an interesting part of this story and i think part

of what drew so many people around the country to it as well as they tried to wrap their heads around that. stay with us. we are, of course, waiting on this sentencing, so stick with us for that. we will bring it to you as soon as it does begin. going to fit in a quick break here. we will see you on the other side. what if we live to 100. i don't want to outlive our money. i keep eating all these chia seeds. i could live to be 100. we work with empower, even if we do ve to 100 we don't have to worry. eh, not worried. take control of your financial fure empower what's next.

if your business kept on employees through the pandemic, getrefunds.com can see if it may qualify for a payroll tax refund of up to $26,000 per employee, even if it received ppp, and all it takes is eight minutes to get started. then we'll work with you to fill out your forms and submit the application; that easy. and if your business doesn't get paid, we don't get paid. getrefunds.com has helped businesses like yours claim over $2 billion but it's only available for a limited time. go to getrefunds.com, powered by innovation refunds. (vo) if you've had thyroid eye disease for years and you can't get any shut eye because you can't shut your eyes, it's not too late for another treatment option. to learn more visit treatted.com. that's treatt-e-d.com. type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone.

in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. join the millions already taking ozempic®. ask your health care provider about the ozempic® tri-zone.

when you shop wayfair's spring savings you get deals so big... we'll have you saying... am i a big deal? because it's a big deal when you get a big deal. wayfair deals so big that you might get a big head. because with a sale this big, you can get your dream sofa for half the price. shop wayfair's spring savings now through march 6th! ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ ♪hit it!♪ ♪it takes two to make a thing go right♪ ♪ ♪it takes two to make it outta sight♪ ♪it takes two to make a thing go right♪ ♪ ♪it takes two to make it outta sight♪ ♪one, two, get loose now! it takes two to make a-♪ ♪it takes two to make a- it takes two to make a-♪

♪it takes two to make a- it takes two to make a-♪ ♪it takes two to make a-♪ stay two nights and get 8,000 bonus points. book now at bestwestern.com live pictures from the courtroom, they have just reconvened, judge clifton newman speaking now as he prepares to sentence alex murdaugh, pictured there live following his conviction last night on double murder. let's listen in. >> -- no prior record and the state has no victim impact people who would want to speak at this time, but i will address

the court briefly. i don't need your honor to repeat the evidence that your honor just heard for the past six weeks, but it is overwhelming and it shows this man to be a cunning manipulator, a man who placed himself above all others including his family. a man who violated the trust of so many including his friends, his family, his partners, his profession, but most of all, maggie and paul. this is a very complicated situation and i want to offer my condolences to the family that has suffered here. we have tried very hard to be respectful and sensitive regardless of what position any person took, because this family has suffered and they have had to suffer in the public eye and i want to offer my condolences to this family. i want to offer it for maggie and paul and mr. randolph, too,

who i had the pleasure of working with on one occasion. but the reality remains is that despite all this attention this case is about maggie murdaugh and paul murdaugh and i'm so thankful that the jurors gave them a voice. you heard about paul, obviously there was the boat case, but you also heard him described as a fun-loving young man, a person who loved life, a person who would do anything for his friends, for anyone, and he was cut down as he was just starting to live his life. you heard about maggie, you heard how sweet she was, you heard that she was a girl's girl who adapted to the outdoorsman life of her sons, how much she loved her sister and her brother-in-law and their children, and she was cut down in the prime of her life. both of them, like everyone

else, was unaware of who he really was. no one who thought they knew this man, no one who thought they were close to this man knew who he really was and, your honor, that's chilling. i've looked in his eyes and he liked to stare me down as he would walk by me during this trial and i could see the real alex murdaugh when he looked at me. the depravity, callousness, selffulness are stunning. the effortless way in which he lies including sitting right over there on this witness stand. your honor, a man like that, a man like this man, should never be allowed to be among free law-abiding citizens again. i would submit to you that the only just sentence here to give justice for maggie and paul is the maximum and that would be

two consecutive life sentences. thank you, your honor. >> you indicate that no one -- no victim would like to speak at this time -- >> so you've just been listening there to prosecutor creighton waters. we will take a quick break here. stick with us as we continue with the sentencing of alex murdaugh. to balance risk and reward. with one element securing poportfolios, time after time. gold. agile and liquid. a proven protectctor. an evever-evolving enabler of bold decisions. an asset more relevant than ever before. gold. your strategic advantage.

to you, it may just be an elevator. here goes nothing. but for a young homeowner becoming their parents, it's a learning opportunity. come on in. [ chuckles ] the more, the merrier. paris, huh? bonjour! we got any out-of-towners in the elevator? tom. it is not easy. 10th floor, huh? must be a heck of a view. okay, see how everyone else is facing this way? progressive can't save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. okay, that was terrible. okay, let's hang back. we're gonna try that again. back live to courtroom and

we are hearing alec murdaugh speaking before the sentencing. let's listen in. >> anything further? >> i don't think that further comment is necessary, your honor. >> then the court will will address you for sentencing. this is one of the most troubling cases for the judge, the state, the defense, the

media coverage throughout the nation. you have a wife who has been murdered. a son who has been savagely murdered. a lawyer, a person from the respected family who has controlled justice in this community for over a century, a person whose grandfather hang at the back of the courthouse who i had to have ordered removed in order to ensure that a fair trial was had by both the state

and the defense. and i have sat through the trial, and not only sat through the trial but as the presiding judge of the state grand jury and sat through and participated in the issuance of the search warrants of various sorts, bond hearings and have had to consider many things. we have this case, and i am also assigned to preside over 99 others at least, 99 others. and the testimony has come up regarding those other cases.

i will not make any comment with regard to any other pending matter as i have been assigned those cases as well. it is also particularly troubling, mr. murdaugh, because as a member of the legal community, you have practiced before me, and we have seen each other at various occasions throughout the years, and it was especially heartbreaking for me to see you go in the media as a grieving father who lost a wife

and son to being a person who was indicted to the person who killed them, and then you have engaged in duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom, here on the witness stand, and as established by the testimony throughout the time leading from the time of the indictment and prior to the time of the indictment to this point in time, certainly you have no obligation to say anything other than saying not guilty. obviously, as appeals are probably expected or absolutely

expected, i would not expect a confession of any kind. in fact, as i have presided over murder cases over the past 22 years, i have yet to find a defendant who could go there, who could go back to that moment in time when they decided to pull the trigger or the otherwise murder someone. i have not been able to get anyone, any defendant, even though who have confessed to being guilty to go back to explain to me what happened at that moment in time when they opted to pull the trigger, when they opted to commit the most

heinous crime known to man. in this case, it qualifies under our death penalty statue based on the statutory aggravating circumstances of two or more people being murdered by the defendant by one act or pursuant to one scheme or one course of conduct. i don't question at all the decision of the state not to pursue the death penalty. but as i sit here in the courtroom and look around at the many portraits of judges and other court officials and reflect on the fact that 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. remind me of the expression that you gave on the witness stand. oh, what tangled web we weave. what did you mean by that? >> i meant that when i lied, i continued to lie. >> and the question is when will it end? when will it end?

and it has ended already for the jury, because think have concluded that you have concluded to lie and lied throughout your testimony. and perhaps with the throng of people here they have perhaps all believe or 80% or 99% believe that you lie now when your statement of denial to the co court. perhaps you believe it does not matter that there is nothing that can mitigate a sentence given the crime, crimes that were committed. and i notice that an alibi was

filed in this case in november in a pretrial hearing in which you claim to have been someplace else at the time of the crime, and then when you were placed at the scene of the crime in the last minutes or days, you switched courses and admitted to being there. and then that necessitated more lies and continued to lie. and i said when is that is going to end, and it has ended for many who have heard you and concluded that it willner end but within your own sole, you will have to deal with that. i know that you have to see paul

and maggie in the nighttime to see them in your sleep. i am sure they come and visit you. i am sure. >> all day and every night. >> i am sure. and they will continue to do so, and reflect on the last time that they looked you in the eyes, as you looked the jury in the eyes. i don't know a person who has always been a friendly and gregarious friendly person cause your life to be tangled in such a web and cause you have to be in such a web that you have been spun into. it is so unfortunate, because

you had such a lovely family of such friendly people, including you, and to go from that to this. you know, your license to practice law has been stripped away from you. turned from lawyer to witness. and now have an opportunity to make your final appeal as an ex-lawyer. it is really surprising that you are waiving this right at this time. and if you opt to do so, it is up to you.

you are not compelled to do so, but you have the opportunity to do so. >> i will tell you again, that i respect this court. i am innocent. i would never under any circumstances hurt my wife maggie and i would never under any circumstances hurt my son paw-paw. >> and it might not have been you. it might have been the monster that you have become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills, and maybe you become another person. i have seen that before. the person standing before me is not the person who committed the crime, though it is the same individual.