Everything We Know About Alex Murdaugh's Life Behind Bars

In 2023, the trial that's already been dubbed one of the biggest trials of the century took place. That's right; we're talking about the conviction of disbarred former lawyer Alex Murdaugh. For generations, his family ruled over the Lowcountry, South Carolina. While there have long been whispers about things happening behind the scenes, things really took a turn in 2021.

Alex Murdaugh was accused of ending the lives of his wife and youngest son, with him eventually facing the music two years later when he was found guilty of both counts. He's already serving two life sentences, but things are far from over. After all, Alex still has his financial crimes to face in court. Still, everything we know about Alex Murdaugh's life behind bars shows that things are far from through.

Alex Murdaugh was immediately sent to Kirkland Correctional Institution

His sentencing was just the beginning for Alex Murdaugh, who was allegedly immediately moved to the Kirkland Correctional Institution before the state could decide where he should be permanently housed. However, he could only be kept here for a maximum of 45 days, as Alex needed to go through several evaluations before they could decide where was best. Chrysti Shain, the Department of Corrections Communications, told Greenville News that it was likely Alex would be moved to a maximum-security prison, but they wouldn't be sharing the location.

The former lawyer was kept separate from the rest of the inmates

Just because he was in prison didn't mean Alex Murdaugh was treated the same as every other prisoner in Kirkland. After all, the buzz around his crimes likely spread through the other inmates like wildfire, and it's said that he was kept separate from the other inmates until he was assigned a permanent prison. Most of this was down to safety concerns. Still, things wouldn't have been comfortable for the former lawyer. Cells in Kirkland are known to be made from concrete, only containing a sink, toilet, and steel bed. Plus, all of his meals would have been brought to him by a guard instead of Alex eating in the cafeteria with the others.

It will take years before Alex Murdaugh's security level changes

Being sentenced to two life sentences meant Alex Murdaugh was immediately given an inmate number. It's said that Alex was also assigned a room at Kirkland and his own bunk, but it's believed he was still the only one in his cell. While he wasn't held in solitary confinement, it's thought Alex would have been treated as all the other maximum-security prisoners in Kirkland, meaning he was accompanied at all times and only had limited movements outside of his cell. In fact, it could take at least seven years before that level is downgraded to medium-security, and even then, it's only if Alex is deemed to have shown good behavior.

There's a chance several evaluations took place for Alex Murdaugh

Kirkland was more than just a holding place for Alex Murdaugh. The prison also allowed professionals to evaluate the prisoner to see where he would be best suited. There's a good chance that all of these took place through video calls, meaning Alex wouldn't have left Kirkland once the trial was through. Only once these examinations and interviews were through could officials start to think about where to house Alex for the remainder of his sentence. Still, inmates at Kirkland have the chance to buy a TV for their cells and can pay to use the phone. It's unclear if this happened with Alex.

No one is entirely sure where Alex Murdaugh will be permanently housed

If the timeline was stuck to as it should, Alex Murdaugh would have been moved from Kirkland at the end of March 2023 and sent to his new permanent prison. However, it's unclear where that will be. The problem? His legal issues are far from over. Right now, we still have no idea if his other trials will be tried separately or lumped into one more court appearance, as he has 99 other charges of fraud, wrongful passings, and narcotics use to face. Although he hasn't pleaded in any of these cases, Alex did confess to a lot of the crimes while on the stand in his most recent case, so there's a chance they might not go to trial at all.

It seems that Alex Murdaugh's life behind bars is already off to a rocky start, with the inmate being isolated for much of his time in prison. Still, it could be years before his time in court is finally through, meaning there could be more moves to come before he finds a permanent home.