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June
10, 2002 8:45 a.m. |
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aybe
justice delayed really is, as the old saw goes, justice denied, but it's
still better than no justice at all. Michael Skakel is at last headed
for prison, and may it be for a long, long time.
Last week a Norwalk, Connecticut jury found Skakel guilty of murder in the 1975 beating death of Martha Moxley, his then-neighbor in the Belle Haven area of Greenwich. Moxley and Skakel were both 15 at the time of the murder, which went unsolved and all but unexamined until former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman published a book about the case. Fuhrman's book, Murder in Greenwich, published in 1998, laid out the case against Skakel, who at the time of the murder was one of several suspects on a list that included his older brother, Thomas. Skakel was indicted in January of 2000 after prosecutors, no doubt nudged along by the attention Fuhrman's book focused on the case, presented their evidence to a judge who served as a one-man grand jury.
The aftermath of Martha Moxley's murder included elements familiar to many, especially Mark Fuhrman: accusations of police bungling and improper exertions of influence that may have impeded the investigation. Murder is indeed a rarity in the wealthy enclave of Greenwich, which is one reason the wealthy choose to live there, of course, but among the costs for such tranquility is a police force that doesn't know its way around a crime scene. Moxley's body was found on the lawn of her family's home. The Skakels lived next door, and the murder weapon, a golf club, was determined to be part of a set that belonged to Skakel's mother. Yet, among other missteps in the investigation, the police did not attempt to obtain a warrant to search the Skakel home in the days following the murder.
Rushton Skakel, Michael's father, is the brother of Ethel Kennedy, widow of slain Sen. Robert Kennedy, and there were rumors that he used his wealth and family connections to throw sand into the gears of the police investigation. Whatever may have been done by others to keep Michael Skakel out of the cooler until now, it was his own words in the years since the murder that came back to convict him. "I'm going to get away with murder," Skakel allegedly told a classmate, "because I'm a Kennedy." A brazen claim on its face, certainly, but readers familiar with the name Mary Jo Kopechne will acknowledge there is historical support for such a boast.
Michael Sherman, Skakel's lawyer, of course claimed to be outraged by the verdict. "As long as there is breath in my body, this case is not over as far as I'm concerned," Sherman said outside the courtroom. He promised to do "whatever it takes" to free his client, which might prompt extra scrutiny from the guards at the Big House when he comes to pay Skakel a visit. A lawyer should have little need of hacksaw blades in his briefcase.
Followers of the trial have seen the pictures of Michael Skakel as a young man, handsome and smiling under a mop of blond hair, filled to the brim with youthful potential. Few would recognize him today as the same person: balding and paunchy, his complexion betraying a keen fondness for distilled spirits. All that potential is now but a memory. We have also seen photographs of Martha Moxley, just as young, just as vibrant, but her potential is known only to God.
Skakel is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19, and he faces the possibility of life in prison. There of course will be those who will say that though he may not have led the most exemplary life since 1975, he has at least refrained from killing anyone else and is therefore deserving of leniency. To these people I would ask this question: Is anyone entitled to a free pass on murder every 25 years?
— Jack Dunphy is an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department. "Jack Dunphy" is the author's nom de cyber. The opinions expressed are his own and almost certainly do not reflect those of the LAPD management.