Skakel Gets 20 Years to Life
Aug. 29 -- Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel was sentenced today to 20 years to life in prison for the 1975 bludgeoning death of 15-year-old Martha Moxley.
Skakel, the 41-year-old nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel, was convicted of murder on June 7.
In pleading for leniency, Skakel told the court he could not apologize for a crime he had not committed.
"I would love to be able to say I did the crime so that the Moxley family could have peace," a sobbing Skakel said. "But to do that would be a lie."
He spoke about his faith in God and said "his laws tell me I cannot bear false witness against anybody or myself."
He faced a minimum of 10 years to life in prison and a maximum of 25 years to life for the death of Moxley, who lived next door to the Skakel family in an affluent neighborhood in Greenwich, Conn.
Claims of Innocence Prompt Harsher Sentence
Norwalk Superior Court Judge John Kavanewsky Jr. said Skakel's refusal to take responsibility for the crime led him to impose a more severe sentence.
"For the past 25 years or more … the defendant has been living a lie about his guilt," the judge said. "The defendant has accepted no responsibility, he has expressed no remorse."
Dorthy Moxley, the mother of the slain girl, had said she hoped to hear Skakel apologize on the stand. On Wednesday she asked Kavanewsky to give Skakel a severe sentence.
Today she said she was satisfied with the outcome of the trial.
"Twenty years to life seems reasonable; it really does," she told reporters outside the courtroom.
"I have no doubt that he was the one who killed Martha."
Martha Moxley's brother, John, described Skakel's statement as "too little, too late." He said he was unimpressed with Skakel's references to his belief in God.
"I think part of being a good Catholic is confessing to your sins, not lying about them," he said.
He said he hoped Skakel would make the best of his life.
"One of the things that's really sad is that there's probably a lot of good in Michael," John Moxley said.
