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Officials Ask Court To Send Kennedy Cousin Back To Prison

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut officials are asking the state's highest court to revoke Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's bail and send him back to prison, reminding justices it has been more than a year since they reinstated his murder conviction.

The chief state's attorney's office filed the request Monday with the state Supreme Court.

Bond Set AT $1.2 Million For Michael Skakel Ahead Of New Trial
STAMFORD, CT - NOVEMBER 21: Kennedy relative Michael Skakel walks out of a Stamford, Connecticut courthouse after his murder conviction in the death of Martha Moxley was vacated last month when a judge decided he did not receive adequate representation in his 2002 trial on November 21, 2013 in Stamford, Connecticut. Skakel, who was set free on a bail of $1.2 million, was convicted of the 1975 murder of a neighbor and will now face a new trial. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Skakel, a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy and his widow, Ethel Kennedy, was convicted of murder in 2002 in the bludgeoning death of Martha Moxley in their wealthy Greenwich neighborhood in 1975, when they were both teenagers.

He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. But another judge granted him a new trial in 2013, citing mistakes by his lawyer. Skakel was then freed after being allowed to post $1.2 million bail while he awaited the new trial.

Prosecutors appealed the lower court ruling to the state Supreme Court, which reinstated the conviction in December 2016 in a 4-3 ruling. Skakel's lawyers asked the high court to reconsider the decision — a request that remains pending. Skakel has been allowed to remain free on bail pending that ruling.

In Monday's petition to the Supreme Court, prosecutor James Killen wrote the court's usual practice is to rule on a request to reconsider a decision within weeks, and it's not clear why it is taking so long.

Evidence Photos from the Skakel Trial
405754 08: A photo from the trial evidence of the Michael Skakel vs. the State of CT case, labeled "Exhibit 5 Photograph of Martha Moxley," shown May 22, 2002. Skakel is on trial accused of the October 1975 murder of then neighbor Martha Moxley, both of whom were 15 at the time. (Pool Photo/Getty Images)

"The petitioner has enjoyed more than a year of additional freedom from serving his sentence, with only the most minimal restrictions on his liberty," Killen wrote.
A spokeswoman for the state Judicial Branch on Tuesday cited a policy not to comment on pending cases.

Skakel's lawyer, Hubert Santos, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Bond Set AT $1.2 Million For Michael Skakel Ahead Of New Trial
STAMFORD, CT - NOVEMBER 21: Kennedy relative Michael Skakel walks out of a Stamford, Connecticut courthouse after his murder conviction in the death of Martha Moxley was vacated last month when a judge decided he did not receive adequate representation in his 2002 trial on November 21, 2013 in Stamford, Connecticut. Skakel, who was set free on a bail of $1.2 million, was convicted of the 1975 murder of a neighbor and will now face a new trial. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The case has drawn international attention because of the Kennedy name, Skakel's rich family, numerous theories about who killed Moxley and the brutal way in which she died. Several other people, including Skakel's brother, Tommy Skakel, have been mentioned as possible killers, but deny any involvement. Skakel's cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has written a book arguing Skakel is innocent.

The judge who ordered a new trial for Skakel ruled that his trial lawyer, Michael Sherman, failed to argue that Tommy Skakel could have been responsible for the crime and failed to present a key alibi witness for Skakel. Sherman has defended his work.

By DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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