Posted on 04/11/2007 6:04:54 AM PDT by Lance Romance
Skakel Witnesses: RFK Jr., Trial Lawyer
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
Associated Press Writer
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Michael Skakel plans to call his cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and a celebrity attorney as witnesses as he appeals his murder conviction next week, according to a list filed Tuesday.
Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, is seeking a new trial based on a claim by Gitano "Tony" Bryant, who implicated his friends in the killing of 15-year-old Martha Moxley. Skakel, 47, was convicted in 2002 of bludgeoning Moxley to death with a golf club in 1975 in Greenwich and is serving 20 years to life in prison.
Bryant made the claim in 2003 in a videotaped interview with Skakel's private investigator, Vito Colucci Jr. But Bryant and the two men he implicated have invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Bryant said he was with two friends from New York in Greenwich the night Moxley was killed. According to court papers, Bryant said one friend had met Moxley and "wanted to go caveman on her," and that after Bryant left them that night, they later told him, "We did what we had to do."
Prosecutor Jonathan Benedict called Bryant's account "a complete fabrication."
The wife of one of the men Bryant implicated has called the claim a lie, while the other man has not returned telephone calls.
Prosecutors say in court papers that they plan to call Skakel and his sister, among other witnesses. Skakel is expected to exercise his Fifth Amendment right not to testify if called.
A non-jury hearing on Skakel's petition for a new trial is to start April 17 in Stamford Superior Court. To win a new trial, Skakel's defense must show that Bryant's account is evidence discovered after the conviction and that it likely would have changed the verdict.
Skakel's trial attorney, Michael Sherman, is on the witness list for both sides. Sherman, who frequently appears on TV shows about high-profile trials, will testify about whether he knew of Bryant's claim before the trial.
Skakel's appeal also challenges the testimony of Gregory Coleman, who said Skakel confessed to him when they attended a reform school in Maine in the late 1970s. Coleman died of a drug overdose.
In November, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to take up Skakel's appeal, which claimed a statute of limitations had expired before he was charged.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our
This turkey is no kennedy......Ethyl alone married a kennedy, not the lot of her family. Makes good reading, though.
Members of my family have had run-ins with Skakel - he’s a complete lunatic.
But thanks to the Kennedy arrogance he's gonna do some serious time...regardless of how many appeals he files.
...and they are all going to drive to court in a hyannis orcinus chauffered oldsmobile...
...and they are all going to drive to court in a hyannis orcinus chauffered oldsmobile...
He's not a Kennedy by blood but he is a Kennedy in every other sense.Otherwise no member of the *real* Kennedy family would have the slightest inclination to become involved.
i have to take the other track on this folks; His Kennedy-esque status will get him sprung and we will end up with an Alger Hiss-ish ‘he was/he was not’ story that will be around forever (probably turned into a movie with Sean Penn, Geweneth Paltro as Martha the hard bitten future serial killer, and Johnny Depp or Leo DeCaprio as the misunderstood Michael).
Boy,if that's the case then he's off to a slow start.How many appeals have been turned down so far...including one to the SCOTUS?
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.