Michael Skakel exits state Superior Court in Stamford after being released on bond on Nov. 21, 2013. Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo / Stamford Advocate
Michael Skakel. Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo / Stamford Advocate
Michael Skakel leaves court after being granted bail during his hearing at Stamford Superior Court, in Stamford, Conn., Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013. Skakel will be released on bail after receiving a new trial for the 1975 murder of his Greenwich, Conn., neighbor, Martha Moxley, which he was convicted of in 2002. Photo: Bob Luckey / Bob Luckey / Greenwich Time
Michael Skakel, center, is led into Greenwich police headquarters by Frank Garr, right, where he was arrested and processed for the murder of Martha Moxley which occured on Oct 30th, 1975. Garr was the lead Greenwich police investigator on the case. At the far left is Skakel's lawyer, Mickey Sherman. Photo: Bob Luckey / GT
Michael Skakel reacts during testimony from Richard Hoffman at Skakel's habeas corpus hearing at State Superior Court in Rockville, Conn., on Thursday, April 18, 2013. Photo: Jason Rearick / Jason Rearick / Stamford Advocate
Hubert Santos, left, authored the appeal that released Michael Skakel, left, after being convicted of Martha Moxley’s murder. Photo: Jessica Hill / Associated Press / AP2012
FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2016 file photo, Michael Skakel enters the state Supreme Court for a hearing, in Hartford, Conn. A request by prosecutors to revoke Skakel's bail and send him back to prison while his murder case appeal is pending has been rejected. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled against the state prosecutors’ request late Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, but did not elaborate.(AP Photo/Jessica Hill) Photo: Jessica Hill, Associated Press
(FILES) This file photo taken on November 21, 2013 shows Michael Skakel as he is granted bail at Stamford Superior Court in Stamford, Connecticut. In a 4-3 decision, a divided Connecticut Supreme Court on December 30, 2016, reinstated the murder conviction of Skakel, a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy through the late attorney general's widow Ethel. Skakel was found guilty in 2002 of murdering Martha Moxley when both were just 15 years old in 1975. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Bob LUCKEYBOB LUCKEY/AFP/Getty Images Photo: BOB LUCKEY, AFP/Getty Images
Michael Skakel leaves the state Supreme Court after his hearing on Feb. 24, 2016 in Hartford, Conn. State prosecutors asked the state Supreme Court to reinstate the 2002 murder conviction against Kennedy cousin Skakel in the bludgeoning death of Martha Moxley when they were teenage neighbors in wealthy Greenwich. Photo: AP Photo — Jessica Hill / FR125654 AP
John Moxley and Dorthy Moxley, the brother and mother of Martha Moxley talk to the media prior to a hearing at the state Supreme Court on Feb. 24, 2016 in Hartford, Conn. State prosecutors asked the state Supreme Court to reinstate the 2002 murder conviction against Mickael Skakel in the bludgeoning death of Martha Moxley when they were teenage neighbors in wealthy Greenwich. Skakel, a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel, was freed on $1.2 million bail in 2013 when a lower court judge ordered a new trial. Photo: AP Photo — Jessica Hill / FR125654 AP
Prosecutors ask Supreme Court to reinstate Skakel conviction
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut prosecutors are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's murder conviction.
The state Supreme Court in May reversed its own 2016 decision and vacated Skakel's conviction in the bludgeoning death of Martha Moxley in their wealthy Greenwich neighborhood in 1975, when they were teenagers. The 4-3 majority said Skakel's trial lawyer failed to contact an alibi witness.
Prosecutors asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to hear their appeal. They argue the state court didn't properly weigh the overall performance of Skakel's defense.