Michael Skakel's conviction was overturned in 2013.
The Connecticut Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday on whether Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel should be sent back to prison for the 1975 murder of Greenwich resident Martha Moxley.
Skakel was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in 2002. After filing a writ of habeas corpus – one of the final chances for an inmate to file an appeal – Skakel’s conviction was overturned by Superior Court Judge Thomas Bishop in 2013.
Bishop ordered a new trial, and Skakel was free on bond, ruling that Skakel’s lead attorney in the 2002 case, Mickey Sherman, provided inadequate counsel for Skakel during the trial.
State prosecutors appealed Bishop’s decision Wednesday by saying that Skakel's defense met the constitutional requisite for adequate defense in the case.
“This was far from a slipshod defense. This was a well-planned, well thought out, professional defense,” said Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Susann Gill. “It does not mean that they were incompetent just because another lawyer would’ve done it differently.”
But Skakel's attorney Hubert Santos told the justices that Sherman made a long list of mistakes during the 2002 trial -- like ignoring alibi evidence that may have cleared Skakel, and failing to introduce evidence at the trial that implicated Skakel's brother Tommy as the one responsible for Moxley's death four decades earlier.
“Then Mr. Sherman gets up, and does not mention once, the concept of reasonable doubt,” said Santos. “Now I have been doing this for a number of years, and I can assure you I can’t remember a situation where a lawyer did not mention the concept of reasonable doubt.”
Robert Kennedy, Jr. attended the hearing and told reporters outside the courthouse that he thinks two other men committed the crime.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the coming months.
This report includes information from the Associated Press.
