In 2012 he killed for $1 million, now see why he wants a new trial

A man convicted of murdering two in exchange for a $1 million life insurance policy asked for a new trial, arguing his lawyer was ineffective and his constitutional rights were violated.

Odom Bryant, 27, filed paperwork this week in Horry County court requesting the new trial.

He currently is serving two life sentences for the Aug. 19, 2012, shooting deaths of Amos Hatfield and his son Thomas “Tommy” Hatfield. The shooting happened inside a Red Bluff Road trailer.

Prosecutors say Bryant, along with Amos Hatfield's wife, Sandy Lee Locklear, conspired to kill the two in exchange for the life insurance policy. She was sentenced to life behind bars. Nehemiah James Evans also was convicted of murder for the incident and sentenced to 30 years incarceration.

In his filing, Bryant argues that his lawyer was ineffective as he failed to properly investigate the case. He offered no details to support his claim.

Bryant also contended the court lacked proper jurisdiction and that the burden of proof during the trial fell to him and not on the state. Again, he didn't offer details on either of those two issues in his filing.

In July 2017, the state's Supreme Court rejected Bryant's appeal. In the appeal Bryant argued the court was wrong when it denied his motion for a mistrial after allowing a witness to testify that a codefendant "cut a deal."

Bryant imprisoned at the Broad River Correctional Institution.

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 11:14 AM with the headline "In 2012 he killed for $1 million, now see why he wants a new trial."