Pretrial Hearing Held for South Carolina Murder Retrial

A pretrial hearing took place Monday in Lexington County to set evidence deadlines and trial dates for the upcoming murder retrial. The defendant appeared silently in an orange prison jumpsuit and restraints while defense and prosecution discussed logistics.

Dozens of media outlets attended the hearing in the 200-person capacity courtroom. The judge noted the full house at the start of proceedings.

Defense attorneys asked the judge to allow the defendant to wear civilian clothing at future hearings and the retrial. They also requested access to a laptop without internet in prison to review more than 20,000 pages of documents. The prosecution argued that standard security procedures require imprisoned defendants to wear restraints and jumpsuits during transfers.

The judge heard arguments on both sides but did not rule on the clothing request Monday.

Defense attorneys asked prosecutors to turn over DNA found under the victim's fingernails for independent testing at a private lab. The defense offered to pay for the testing, and the judge approved the request. Another motion seeks to move the next trial outside Colleton County, where the original trial occurred. That request was discussed but not decided.

The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the murder convictions last month. The court cited concerns over jury instructions and the volume of testimony about financial crimes. The defendant is serving concurrent state and federal sentences for financial crimes totaling 67 years. The retrial is currently scheduled for April 5.