Posted on 11/13/2006 11:55:37 AM PST by mathprof
The Supreme Court on Monday let stand the murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, who is serving a prison term of at least 20 years.
The justices declined, without comment, to take Skakel's appeal of his conviction in the beating death of his Greenwich, Conn., neighbor, Martha Moxley, 31 years ago when the two were teenagers. Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, was convicted in 2002.
Now 46, Skakel is serving 20 years to life in prison.
"We're very pleased," said prosecutor Jonathan Benedict. "This has been researched for years. This is not unexpected."
Skakel's lawyer, former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, had argued that the deadline for prosecuting Skakel passed 19 years before he was arrested in January 2000.
At the time of Moxley's killing, Connecticut had a five-year statute of limitations on murder cases that did not involve the death penalty. One year later, in 1976, the state legislature removed the five-year deadline in such cases.
The Connecticut Supreme Court upheld Skakel's conviction, overturning its earlier holding that the new law did not apply to crimes committed before its enactment. The legislature intended to remove the deadline for prosecution for all crimes, like Moxley's killing, for which the statute of limitations had not yet expired, the state court said.
(Excerpt) Read more at heraldsun.com ...
John Adams represented several British soldiers accused of murdering 4 colonists in the Boston Massacre. One was aquitted; two others were found guilty of manslaughter. Adams was able to sleep with himself at night and went on to champion independence for the colonies.
Wow!
Chalk one up for Mark Fuhrman.
This was a state (Connecticut) conviction, not a federal conviction, so the President couldn't pardon him.
OK...but that doesn't necessarily mean that Adams didn't agree with my basic position.Maybe he was convinced,or strongly suspected,that his clients were innocent.
< Wow!
Chalk one up for Mark Fuhrman. >
You are exactly right. How sweet it is.
The Skakel family was richer than the Kennedys. Much richer.
Most lawyers do what they have to do, they know, except for the moonbats, if you accept the case you have to present the best defense, if you loose, you loose.
Yes they had more bucks but the Kennedys earned theirs with whiskey. The Skakels were in dirty furnace fuel. I guess you'd have to fully understand the word "snob" to get it...
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