Why do juries view crime scenes like the Murdaugh estate?

By JAMES POLLARD and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Associated Press/Report for America

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jurors in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial got a chance to see for themselves the rural hunting estate where his wife and son were killed. Crime scene visits by juries are relatively rare. The disgraced South Carolina attorney was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son at dog kennels near their home on June 7, 2021. He denied any involvement. Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said the jury needed see the sprawling property to “appreciate the spatial issues.” Bu prosecutors opposed the visit because the scene had changed significantly in the 20 months since the killings.