HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel’s conviction for a 1975 murder was the result of a myriad of poor decisions by his trial lawyer, who failed to tell jurors that his brother might have committed the killing, Skakel’s appellate attorney told the Connecticut Supreme Court on Wednesday. Outside the courtroom, Skakel’s cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeated previous statements he has made about evidence showing two other men killed teenager Martha Moxley, who was bludgeoned to death with a golf club in the wealthy Greenwich neighborhood where she and the Skakel family lived at the time. On Wednesday, state prosecutors said that Mr. Skakel, 55, did not deserve a new trial and that his conviction should be reinstated. Mr. Skakel, a relative of the Kennedy family, was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 20 years to life. But he was released from prison after 11 years in 2013, when a judge ruled that his lawyer at the time, Mickey Sherman, had not provided an adequate defense and that Mr. Skakel should be retried. Assistant State's Attorney Susan Gill told the justices Wednesday that Skakel's new defense team may disagree with some of Sherman's tactical trial decisions, but that doesn't make Sherman wrong. “This was far from a slipshod defense,” Gill said. “This was a well-planned … well-thought-out defense. Mr. Sherman pulled in a lot of resources and presented a coherent defense.” 
 
 “DID NOT GET A FAIR SHAKE” 
 
 Hubert Santos, Skakel’s appellate lawyer, said Sherman made numerous poor decisions, including not focusing on Skakel’s older brother, Thomas Skakel, as a possible suspect.  Photo 
 
 HARTFORD — More than 40 years after 15-year-old Martha Moxley was found beaten to death near her home in Greenwich, Conn., a lawyer for the man convicted in the killing laid out a litany of reasons that his client, Michael C. Skakel, “did not get a fair shake” during his 2002 trial. “The weight of the evidence is that Tommy Skakel killed Martha Moxley.” 
 
 Santos also said Michael Skakel had an alibi on the night of the killing at 10 p.m., the time that he said evidence shows Moxley was killed. Santos accused prosecutors of moving the time of the killing to an undetermined time between 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 30, 1975, and 5:30 a.m. the next day, in response to Skakel’s alibi. On Wednesday, a now-familiar cast of characters surrounding the case convened in a courtroom to rehash arguments about the believability of witnesses, timelines, alibis and a lack of physical evidence linking Michael Skakel to the murder. He said Sherman's failure to tell the jury that the police considered Thomas Skakel a suspect was an inexplicable lapse.
– More than 40 years ago, 15-year-old Martha Moxley was found beaten to death near her home in the exclusive community of Belle Haven in Greenwich, Conn. On Wednesday, the lawyer for Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, who was convicted in 2002 of murdering her, told a panel of six Connecticut Supreme Court justices that his client "did not get a fair shake," the New York Times reports. The justices must decide whether Skakel, 55, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, was denied his right to a fair trial. "The weight of the evidence is that Tommy Skakel killed Martha Moxley," attorney Hubert Santos told the court, referring to Michael Skakel's older brother, who had been a prime suspect in the 1975 murder. It's the third time the Supreme Court has heard arguments in the case, the Hartford Courant reports. Santos contends that Skakel's previous lawyer failed to provide an adequate defense. In 2013, he convinced a lower court justice that Skakel likely would have been acquitted if not for tactical errors by Michael Sherman (who was later sent to prison for dodging federal taxes). Since then, Skakel has been free on $1.2 million bail, per the AP. On Wednesday, prosecutor Susann Gill argued that Skakel had received a "well-planned, well-thought-out defense," which included four lawyers and several investigators. “This was far from a slipshod defense,” she said. Moxley's mother, Dorthy, who was in court, says she is convinced Michael Skakel killed her daughter. "I'm sure Michael is the young man who swung the golf club," she told reporters. "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind about that," adding, "Michael got a fair trial." If the justices agree with Santos, prosecutors must decide whether to retry Skakel, per the Courant. If they rule for the prosecution, he will likely go back to prison.