Murdaugh jurors reveal whether they'd have sentenced murderer to death

Three jurors in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial have come forward revealing their thoughts and feelings toward the case, including what they would have done if the death penalty was on the table.

The jurors, Gwen Generette, James McDowell, and Amie Williams waived their right to anonymity to sit down withTODAY on Monday.

The three were part of the 12-person jury that found Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, after six weeks of trial.

After closing arguments, the jury took only three hours to deliberate before handing over the decision.

“Witness testimony was very believable,” Williams said. “The kennel video definitely played a major part and [Murdaugh’s] testimony.”

The three agreed that Murdaugh’s decision to take the stand ultimately did not help him as they “read right through” his tears.

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Generette said, “I didn’t think he was crying, he turned it on and off.”

But reflecting on the case, the jurors debated whether or not they would have found Murdaugh guilty if the death sentence was on the table.

Williams said, “It would have been hard for me.”

“Death is a hard thing, the family suffered a lot and I feel like this way he gets to think about it, focus on what he did. That’s more of a punishment to have to live with that,” Williams added.

The jurors said at first, not every juror believed Murdaugh was guilty but after asking questions, going through the evidence, and speaking - all 12 became convinced.

McDowell said the jury became "close-knit" throughout the trial since they had to spend so much time together. Some of the jurors even returned to the courthouse for sentencing.

"We spent six weeks there, we bonded we’re a very close-knit jury," McDowell said. "It was important for us to go back and see it to the end."

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