Attorneys Ask Judge to Release Michael Skakel From Prison

Lawyers for Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel say keeping him in prison while he awaits a new trial in the 1975 slaying of neighbor Martha Moxley "would be a miscarriage of justice of the highest order."

Defense attorney Hubert Santos wrote in a legal brief Monday that a judge who overturned Skakel's murder conviction last week has the authority to grant him bail. The judge said last week that he is not sure he has the authority to release Skakel from prison while Skakel awaits a new trial.

Connecticut Judge Thomas Bishop ruled that Skakel's trial attorney failed to adequately represent him in 2002 when he was found guilty in Moxley's golf club bludgeoning. Skakel and Moxley were 15-year-old neighbors in wealthy Greenwich at the time of her death.

Bridgeport State's Attorney John Smriga has said prosecutors will appeal both the decision and the request for bond.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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