Alex Murdaugh gets 2 life sentences in murder of wife, son

Alex Murdaugh, the patriarch of a once-powerhouse legal dynasty in South Carolina, received two consecutive life sentences after being found guilty of murdering his wife and youngest son.

“I am innocent. I would never hurt my wife, Maggie, and I would never hurt my son,” Murdaugh said as he addressed the court Friday before his sentencing.

But prosecutor Creighton Waters said the only just consequence for Murdaugh would be a life sentence.

“This man should never be allowed to be among free, law-abiding citizens again,” Waters said.

The jury in the double murder trial reached a verdict at 6:41 p.m. ET Thursday, just two hours and 51 minutes after it began deliberations.

“This is a great day for the people of South Carolina where they get to see justice delivered to someone who desperately needed a measure of it,” South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson told “Morning in America” host Adrienne Bankert.