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[bacasper]

As I recall, this murder occurred in 1975 when Skakel was still a minor. He was not charged until 2002 when he was in his 40's so he was charged as an adult. It seems to me that if you commit a crime as a minor you ought to be charged as a minor.

Right now it looks like he'll have to finish out his 20-to-life, but he still has a federal appeal pending.

Kennedy cousin loses appeal in murder conviction

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, Associated Press Writer John Christoffersen, Associated Press Writer � Mon Apr 12, 9:30 pm ET

NEW HAVEN, Conn. � The state Supreme Court on Monday rejected Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's bid for a new trial in the 1975 killing of his 15-year-old neighbor, ruling that a claim implicating two other men, including a large black man, was not credible.

The court ruled 4-1 against Skakel's request, saying the evidence doesn't back up the alternate claim.

Skakel � a nephew of Robert Kennedy's widow, Ethel � was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in 2002 for fatally beating Martha Moxley with a golf club in a wealthy Connecticut suburb.

Prosecutor Susann Gill said she was pleased with the ruling denying Skakel a new trial and "hopefully sparing the Moxley family any further ordeal."

Skakel's attorneys, Hope Seeley and Hubert Santos, said it was a "travesty" that Connecticut courts won't allow a jury to evaluate the evidence.

"Fairness and justice require no less," they said in a statement.

Seeley told The Associated Press she will file another appeal in the coming weeks arguing Skakel had ineffective legal counsel when he was represented by Michael Sherman. Seeley has said Sherman failed to fully investigate witnesses because he had financial difficulties, a claim Sherman denies.

Skakel, 49, sought a new trial after Gitano "Tony" Bryant, who attended the same private school as Skakel, implicated two friends in the killing. A judge turned down that request in 2007, and Skakel then appealed to the state's highest court

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In 2006, Skakel lost an appeal before the state Supreme Court in which he argued, among other things, that the statute of limitations had expired when he was charged in 2000. He still has an appeal pending in federal court.

full article at link