Podcast: Murdoch Retrial and Social Media's Hold on Justice

Podcast host Woody Overton devoted the May 14, 2026 episode of True Crime Time to a phenomenon that is reshaping criminal cases around the world: the growing influence of social media, public pressure, and modern media culture on police investigations, trials, and verdicts.

The Murdoch Retrial Takes Center Stage

One of the episode's most prominent subjects is the ongoing retrial proceedings in the Murdoch case — one of the most widely discussed criminal cases in the United States in recent years. Alex Murdoch, a former attorney from South Carolina, was sentenced in 2023 to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for the murders of his wife Maggie and his son Paul. Since then, however, the case has refused to settle. Questions about the integrity of the evidence, prosecutorial conduct, and new legal arguments have kept the debate alive over whether Murdoch received a fair trial.

In the episode, Overton analyzes how the massive media attention surrounding the case — from documentary series to TikTok videos and Reddit threads — has constructed a public narrative that is increasingly difficult to separate from legal reality. The central question is whether the convicted man was sentenced on the basis of evidence, or whether the media had already decided the case before the jury began deliberating.