Experts Handicap Odds Of Skakel's Release

Experts handicap odds of Skakel's release The Skakel family has publicly blamed Michael "Mickey" Sherman for losing the case that sent Michael Skakel to prison for killing his Greenwich neighbor, Martha Moxley, in 1975. Sherman subsequently served prison time himself on charges of federal tax evasion. Other legal experts, with no attachment to the case, predicted it is unlikely Skakel will win over the parole board. Frank Riccio II, a Bridgeport criminal defense lawyer who has handled parole hearings, said he would avoid any new claim of innocence or defense because, for the parole board, that would fall on "deaf ears, given there has already been a trial and an appeal." Jeffrey Meyer, a former federal prosecutor in Connecticut who teaches law at Quinnipiac University and Yale University law schools, said any prisoner facing a parole board for the first time faces an uphill climb. Michael Fitzpatrick, a Bridgeport lawyer who is preparing for what could be one of the state's last death penalty cases, and a former president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said it is rare that he would give any defendant a 50/50 chance on their first parole hearing. Fitzpatrick reasoned that Skakel "is not the type of defendant that's going to land the parole board on the front pages" for committing another violent crime. Joseph Collarusso, a Stamford attorney, stressed that anyone handicapping the odds of Skakel's release should not discount the influence of the Moxley family, who are opposed to his release.

Sections:  u.s.   
Topics:  Connecticut   Fairfield County   Danbury   
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