Kirkland Correctional Center: Alex Murdaugh's grim new home filled with 'worst of worst' offenders
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA: Convicted legal scion Alex Murdaugh will be now spending the rest of his life behind bars in a state prison surrounded by the country's "worst of the worst" offenders. For the next 45 days, Murdaugh will be imprisoned in the city of Columbia's Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center - a maximum-security, level-three facility with "some of the most violent and dangerous offenders in the state."
Murdaugh, 54, was sentenced for the double homicide of his wife and son, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, on Thursday, March 2. "As part of the intake process, like all inmates, (Murdaugh) will undergo medical tests, mental health, and education assessments, and the South Carolina Department of Corrections will gather other additional background information," the South Carolina Department of Corrections said in a statement. After the evaluation, the 54-year-old will be sent to one of the state's maximum-security prisons to serve out his double life sentence, the SCDC said.
READ MORE
'He's convicted of a violent crime!'
Murdaugh will have to adapt to a life that is far different from the “lifestyle of privilege” he was born in and lived for 54 years of his life. "Kirkland is also responsible for the maximum security unit which houses some of the most violent and dangerous inmates in the state," the site's website says. Kirkland is home to more than 1,700 of the most violent offenders in the state. "Furthermore, Kirkland Correctional Center houses inmates who are in the statewide protective custody program," reported Daily Mail.
Trial attorney Robert Rikard tweeted ahead of Murdaugh's sentencing saying, "Tomorrow will be a much different day for Murdaugh. After sentencing instead of going to the county jail he will go to Reception and Evaluation on Broad River Rd. They'll shave his head and put him through a battery of tests that vet weeks. Then he will be assigned to a SC Department of Corrections facility. Because he's convicted of a violent crime, he will go to a facility that only houses the violent criminals. The worst of the worst. It will be a much different scene than the county jail. These are brutal environments and it will be quite a shock after the privileged life he has lived."
'One of the most troubling cases!'
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman said, "You’ve engaged in such duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom, here on the witness stand and as established by the testimony. This has been, perhaps, one of the most troubling cases, not just for me as a judge, for the state, for the defense team but for all of the citizens in this community."
Before the disgraced scion was charged with the murder of his wife and son Murdaugh was in jail awaiting trial on about 100 other charges ranging from insurance fraud to tax to embezzling millions from clients and other attorneys. He will soon be facing a legal proceeding for the same.