Dorthy Moxley is a friend of mine. She is also the mother of Martha Moxley, who was bludgeoned to death by Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel on October 30, 1975. On June 7, 2002 Skakel was convicted of murdering Martha Moxley and sentenced to 20-years to life in prison.
Despite numerous failed appeals over the years, Connecticut Judge Thomas Bishop yesterday granted Skakel a new trial on the grounds that he received inadequate trial representation from his high profile attorney, Michael (Mickey) Sherman.
In death penalty cases it is common for appeals attorneys to claim that trial counsel was ineffective. Proving that their lawyer was ineffective at trial is a way for convicts and their appeals lawyers to get their convictions overturned. This is a right that is protected by the sixth amendment to the United States Constitution.
Unfortunately, Dorthy Moxley has no such rights. Unlike Michael Skakel she will never be free. Over the years Dorthy has attended numerous court hearings over Skakel’s appeals and parole. “It’s a tough lesson to learn but you realize it never goes away,” she said.
Dorthy Moxley is a gentle, soft spoken soul. She is diminutive in size, but gigantic in character. I just wish that Connecticut’s criminal justice system gave her the respect that it has doled out to a convicted killer. Then, perhaps, justice would finally be served.
I just wanted to say that I pray for the family of Martha and have followed this story for a very long time and law is law and that’s what we are founded on and we all have to live by our justice system(really, rather if we like it or not). If they found him not guilty 30 yrs ago we wouldn’t be here or if he exhausted every bit of rights. It’s ok to find someone guilty and as long as each person agrees or disagrees, then, well the world keeps turning. Who really knows what happened but every person in America deserves and is entitled to a fair due process not matter what one opinion is. Well, there’s mine! By the way, sounds like the woman on here that commented about that man being a sex offender, why go to like 5 different sites just to say “hey, there is a sex offender”, your a prime example of labeling and profound injustice to what’s wrong with law in the jury part of trial. Seen it a thousand times in court. Law is law, not opinion, is what needs to be addressed and the witch hunts are by far very old and incorrect, just as an example. Sue, Texas criminal trial defense attorney
Thinking of Dorthy Moxley and remembering her beautiful daughter Martha at this time. Hoping justice does not end here. This family deserves a full accounting for the death of their daughter.