Before imposing the sentence of life in prison, Judge Clifton Newman said, “This has been perhaps one of the most troubling cases, not just for me as a judge, for the state, for the defense team, but for all of the citizens in this community, all citizens in this state.”

“A person from a respected family who has controlled justice in this community for over a century. A person whose grandfather's portrait hanging at the back of the courthouse that I had to have ordered removed in order to ensure that a fair trial was held by both the state and the defense," he said.

To the convicted attorney, Newman said, “As a member of the legal community and a well-known member of the legal community, you've practiced law before me, and we've seen each other at various occasions throughout the years. And that was especially heartbreaking for me to see you go in the media from being a grieving father who lost a wife and a son to being the person indicted and convicted of killing them.”

“I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night when you are attempting to go to sleep,” the judge said. “I'm sure they come and visit you.”

"This case qualifies under our death penalty statute," the judge said. "I don't question at all the decision of the state not to pursue the death penalty. But as I sit here in this courtroom and look around the many portraits of judges and other court officials, and reflect on the fact that over the past century, your family, including you, have been prosecuting people here in this courtroom, and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct. … The question is, when will it end? When will it end? And it's ended already for the jury, because they've concluded that you continue to lie and lied throughout your testimony."

Alex Murdaugh was sentenced Friday to life in prison after being convicted of murdering his wife and their youngest son.

The life sentences for each murder will run consecutively.

Before the judge imposed the sentence, Murdaugh said, “I’ll tell you again. I respect this court. But I am innocent, and I would never under any circumstances hurt my wife, Maggie, and I would never under any circumstances hurt my son, Paul."

Judge Clifton Newman responded, "It might not have been you. It might have been the monster you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person. I've seen that before."

The judge said, "The person standing before me was not the person who committed the crime, though it's the same individual."

Before the sentence was announced, prosecutor Creighton Waters asked the judge to impose a maximum of consecutive life sentences.

Waters called Alex Murdaugh “a cunning manipulator, a man who placed himself above all others, including his family, a man who violated the trust of so many, including his friends, his family, his partners, his profession. But most of all, Maggie and Paul.”

“Both of them, like everyone else, was unaware of who he really was,” he said.

“I've looked at his eyes. And he liked to stare me down as he would walk by me during this trial. And I could see the real Alex Murdaugh when he looked at me,” Waters said. “The depravity, the callousness, the selfishness of these crimes are stunning. The lack of remorse and the effortless way in which he lies, including here sitting right over there, in this witness stand. Your honor, a man like that, a man like this man, should never be allowed to be among free, law-abiding citizens again.”

Alex Murdaugh gave a brief statement to the judge before sentencing, saying, “I’m innocent. I would never hurt my wife, Maggie, and I would never hurt my son, Paw-Paw.”

A new "20/20" airing at 9 p.m. ET Friday delves into the high-profile case, covering Alex Murdaugh's alleged financial crimes, an alleged assisted suicide attempt, opioid addiction and a deadly boating accident involving his son Paul in 2019.

A prominent legal family with deep roots in South Carolina's Lowcountry, the Murdaughs helped found a Hampton County law firm that's more than a century old. Several generations have worked as top prosecutors in the area.

"In the area, the Murdaughs weren't above the law, they were the law," Pilar Melendez, a Daily Beast reporter who covered the case, told ABC News.

On June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh's wife Maggie and son Paul were found shot dead near the dog kennels at the family's estate.

In the following months, Alex Murdaugh left his law firm, which sued him for allegedly embezzling money from clients and the law firm for years. He also said he entered a rehab facility.

A major twist came when Alex Murdaugh said he was shot in the head while changing a tire on the side of the road on Sept 4, 2021. He was transported to a hospital for treatment of a superficial wound to the head, investigators said. Murdaugh later claimed in an affidavit that he had asked the alleged gunman to assist him in dying by suicide, so his remaining son, Buster Murdaugh, could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. The alleged gunman denied shooting Murdaugh and claimed he wasn't aware of any alleged insurance fraud scheme.

Less than two weeks after the shooting, Alex Murdaugh surrendered to police on charges of insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report.

Alex Murdaugh was also charged with misappropriating settlement funds in the death of his former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who died in the Murdaugh family home after a falling accident in 2018.

At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial in connection with a deadly 2019 boating accident. Paul Murdaugh was accused of crashing the boat while under the influence, resulting in the death of his friend Mallory Beach.

The resulting wrongful death lawsuit filed against Alex Murdaugh by Beach's family, who alleged he allowed his underage son to drive under the influence, was one factor in bringing years of alleged theft from his law firm and clients to light.