A South Carolina law clerk who oversaw the Alex Murdaugh murder case has been accused of plagiarizing part of a memoir he wrote about the ordeal.
Rebecca “Becky” Hill, author of “Behind the Doors of Justice,” has been accused of lifting parts of her memoir from a BBC report written by her co-author Neil Gordon.
Gordon had been reviewing emails released through the Freedom of Information Act between Hill and BBC reporter Holly Honderich when he noticed the “ethical error.”
The journalist had shared a “long excerpt from a forthcoming article” with Hill and after comparing it to the preface to Hill’s memoir, he noticed a striking similarity.
“When I confronted Becky about this, she admitted that she plagiarized the passage due to deadline pressures.” Gordon said in a statement. “As a veteran journalist, I cannot excuse his behavior nor can I condone it.
“This has taken me by surprise,” he said.
He reported the plagiarism to the BBC reporter and was told that the British network would investigate.
Rebecca “Becky” Hill, author of “Behind the Doors of Justice,” has been accused of lifting parts of her memoir from a BBC report written by her co-author Neil Gordon.
Sales of the book have stopped and the memoir has not been published since the revelations.
“Journalism has been my life’s work; My credibility and integrity are paramount in everything I do. I cannot be associated with anything resembling plagiarism and will no longer collaborate with Becky Hill on any project. “I would like to apologize to our readers and publicly to the BBC and the journalist,” Gordon apologized.
Hill apologized through his attorney Justin Bamberg, who said the trial clerk was “deeply sorry for an allegation of plagiarism that has recently surfaced.”
Gordon had been reviewing emails released through the Freedom of Information Act between Hill and BBC reporter Holly Honderich when he noticed the “ethical error.” TNS
“EM. Hill accepts full responsibility for this unfortunate error in judgment and has personally contacted Ms. Honderich to express her sincerest apologies,” Bamberg wrote in X. “Ms. Hill has great respect for the tireless work she journalists do every day and sincerely regrets having used Ms. Honderich’s words as her own.”
Honderich has not responded publicly.
Earlier this year, Hill was accused of witness tampering, and Alex Murdaugh’s defense team subpoenaed her memoir as evidence for a new trial.
Hill denied the allegation and charged that Murdaugh’s defense contained “numerous misrepresentations and false statements.”
The journalist had shared a “long excerpt from a forthcoming article” with Hill and after comparing it to the preface to Hill’s memoir, he noticed a striking similarity.
“I did not tell the jury not to be misled by the evidence presented by Mr. Murdaugh’s attorneys,” Hill insisted in a sworn statement.
Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison in March.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn