Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel’s murder conviction reinstated
http://nypost.com ^ | 12/30/2016 | n/a

Posted on 12/30/2016 2:09:20 PM PST by heterosupremacist

HARTFORD, Conn. — A divided Connecticut Supreme Court Friday reinstated the murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, rejecting a Superior Court judge’s finding that Skakel’s trial was tainted by ineffective lawyering and setting the stage for Skakel’s return to prison after three years of freedom.

“Because we conclude that the petitioner’s trial counsel rendered constitutionally adequate representation, we reverse the judgment” of the lower court, a 4-3 majority of the Supreme Court wrote in a decision released Friday afternoon.

Skakel was convicted in 2002 in the bludgeoning death 27 years earlier of Greenwich neighbor Martha Moxley, when she and Skakel were both 15. The case has generated headlines for four decades because of Skakel’s Kennedy connection — he is a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel — and the window the case provided into the privileged lives of Greenwich’s monied residents.

Skakel received a sentence of 20 years to life. But his conviction was overturned in 2013 after a Superior Court judge declared that Skakel’s defense attorney had botched the case.

“The defense of a serious felony prosecution requires attention to detail, an energetic investigation and a coherent plan of defense capably executed,” Judge Thomas Bishop wrote in October 2013. “Trial counsel’s failures in each of these areas of representation were significant and, ultimately, fatal to a constitutionally adequate defense.”

A month later, Skakel was out on bail. And the state began an effort to put him back behind bars, ultimately filing a 249-page appeal refuting Bishop’s conclusion that Skakel’s conviction was marred by ineffective assistance of counsel by lawyer Mickey Sherman. They said Bishop’s conclusions amounted to second-guessing Sherman’s reasoned defense strategy.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: camelot; connecticut; greenwich; kennedy; marthamoxley; michaelskakel; skakel; whiteprivilege
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-28 last
To: heterosupremacist

Happy Damn New Year Scumbag Skakel.

He’s a most deserving GUILTY criminal PERVERT.


21 posted on 12/30/2016 3:55:10 PM PST by onyx (`)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rfp1234

Good. I am familiar with this case. Good.
Kennedys, Kerrys, Clintons, Skakels, Shrivers...
Not with a bang but a whimper.


22 posted on 12/30/2016 5:04:49 PM PST by golux
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Joe 6-pack

Oh my goodness.


23 posted on 12/30/2016 5:07:40 PM PST by golux
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: heterosupremacist

Safe space! Safe space!


24 posted on 12/30/2016 5:08:45 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist (STOP THE TAPE!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: golux
The Skakels own Great Lakes Carbon.
They operated docks around the Great lakes that took in petroleum coke.
Most went overseas or into cement kilns and utility coal blending...
25 posted on 12/30/2016 5:18:55 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: ImJustAnotherOkie
"That's the guy, used the old 'Spanking the Monkey Defense'."


26 posted on 12/30/2016 5:43:10 PM PST by PLMerite (Lord, let me die fighting lions. Amen.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: rfp1234

Did they DNA test the tree?


27 posted on 12/30/2016 5:52:01 PM PST by a fool in paradise (The COM-Left is saddened by the death of the Communist dictator Fidel Castro. No surprise there.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: heterosupremacist

LOL! A Kennedy claiming incompetent defense representation - I guess any time one is convicted, the standard will be to make the same claim...


28 posted on 12/31/2016 3:29:44 AM PST by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-28 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson