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http://www.newsmax.com/us/skakel_appeal/2007/10/25/43857.html
Lawyer: Judge Denies Skakel's Appeal
Thursday, October 25, 2007
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A judge denied Michael Skakel's bid for a new trial
Thursday, rejecting the Kennedy cousin's claim that two other men committed
a 1975 killing that sent him to prison, his attorney said.
Superior Court Judge Edward R. Karazin Jr. ruled against Skakel based on a
week of testimony in April, said Skakel lawyer Hope Seeley.
Seeley said she was extremely disappointed, citing the quality of the
evidence. "We believe Michael Skakel was wrongly convicted, and we will
continue to pursue every legal avenue available to us," she said.
Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, is serving 20 years to life in prison for
his 2002 conviction for fatally beating his 15-year-old neighbor Martha
Moxley in Greenwich in 1975 with a golf club.
Prosecutor Susann Gill said she was pleased with the judge's decision.
"The state is grateful to see that the judge didn't find anything in the
petition that undermined the reliability of the jury's verdict," she said.
Skakel sought a new trial based on Gitano "Tony" Bryant's claim that his two
friends told him they got Moxley "caveman style."
Bryant gave a videotaped statement to a Skakel investigator in 2003, but has
since invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The two
men he implicated have done the same.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Skakel's cousin, played a central role in
investigating Bryant's claim and telling Skakel's attorneys about it.
Prosecutors have said Bryant's claim is fabricated and that nobody saw him
and his friends in the predominantly white, gated neighborhood the night of
the murder. Bryant, who attended the same private school as Skakel, and one
of the men he implicated are black; the other has been described as mixed
race.
But Skakel's attorneys said key parts of the claim were corroborated by
others and that Skakel deserved a new trial.
Bryant's claim was the latest twist in a case that was improbable from the
start, with an unusual murder weapon in a wealthy New York City suburb where
violent crime was rare.
Lawyer: Judge Denies Skakel's Appeal
Thursday, October 25, 2007
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A judge denied Michael Skakel's bid for a new trial
Thursday, rejecting the Kennedy cousin's claim that two other men committed
a 1975 killing that sent him to prison, his attorney said.
Superior Court Judge Edward R. Karazin Jr. ruled against Skakel based on a
week of testimony in April, said Skakel lawyer Hope Seeley.
Seeley said she was extremely disappointed, citing the quality of the
evidence. "We believe Michael Skakel was wrongly convicted, and we will
continue to pursue every legal avenue available to us," she said.
Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, is serving 20 years to life in prison for
his 2002 conviction for fatally beating his 15-year-old neighbor Martha
Moxley in Greenwich in 1975 with a golf club.
Prosecutor Susann Gill said she was pleased with the judge's decision.
"The state is grateful to see that the judge didn't find anything in the
petition that undermined the reliability of the jury's verdict," she said.
Skakel sought a new trial based on Gitano "Tony" Bryant's claim that his two
friends told him they got Moxley "caveman style."
Bryant gave a videotaped statement to a Skakel investigator in 2003, but has
since invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The two
men he implicated have done the same.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Skakel's cousin, played a central role in
investigating Bryant's claim and telling Skakel's attorneys about it.
Prosecutors have said Bryant's claim is fabricated and that nobody saw him
and his friends in the predominantly white, gated neighborhood the night of
the murder. Bryant, who attended the same private school as Skakel, and one
of the men he implicated are black; the other has been described as mixed
race.
But Skakel's attorneys said key parts of the claim were corroborated by
others and that Skakel deserved a new trial.
Bryant's claim was the latest twist in a case that was improbable from the
start, with an unusual murder weapon in a wealthy New York City suburb where
violent crime was rare.
