# I Pit Michael Skakel **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070 "2004-02-13T17:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/1 "2004-02-13T17:39:30Z")
Yanno, the whole Michael Skakel/Martha Moxley case pisses me off. Immensely. First off, let’s look at fact number one: For 25 years Michael Skakel was the prime suspect in the case. However, it wasn’t until he said something less than complimentary about Ted Kennedy during Teddy’s most recent rape trial that the wheels of justice were finally allowed to start turning again. I don’t think there’s a single informed adult in this country who doesn’t believe that the Kennedy machine had been used to keep Skakel from being prosecuted for the crime. Certainly I believe that’s what happened. Then, when the investigation is allowed to go forward, it’s forgotten, completely and utterly forgotten. And people wonder why I think the Kennedy’s are scum. (Well, at the very least Teddy.) And that they can get away with murder, and the media will forget it out of hand. Secondly, even after 25 years, the evidence is so compelling that Skakel was convicted by a jury of his peers. Now, look at this appeal - [http://www.courttv.com/trials/moxley/112403\_appeal\_ctv.html](http://www.courttv.com/trials/moxley/112403_appeal_ctv.html) . He’s upset he wasn’t tried as a minor? WTF? The man lived as a free, and ‘innocent’ man for 25 years. IMNSHO, every day that he denyed he was responsible for killing this girl, every day that continued the lie, every day that he made the decision to keep up his facade of innocence was another crime. That he may have been drunk out of his mind when he killed the girl is one thing. But for him to go on about his primary concern being for his son seems a just a bit self-serving. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/2 "2004-02-13T19:33:51Z")
He committed the crime as a minor. Under the lawin force at the time, he would have been tried as a minor. So what’s the problem with his claim that he should have been tried as a minor? ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/3 "2004-02-13T20:14:26Z")
Out of curiosity, at what point does a person go from “allegedly committed the crime” to “committed the crime”? Is it after conviction, or after all appeals have been exhausted, or is it a generally meaningless distinction? ---
**Author:** ![wakimika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f08c70/32.png) [@wakimika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wakimika)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/4 "2004-02-13T20:43:54Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > However, it wasn’t until he said something less than complimentary about Ted Kennedy during Teddy’s most recent rape trial… Ted Kennedy was on trial for rape? How did I miss this? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/5 "2004-02-13T21:20:26Z")
“But for him to go on about his primary concern being for his son seems a just a bit self-serving.” Ha, he’s not only a murderer, he’s a _lying hypocrite_! The cad!! ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/6 "2004-02-13T21:31:10Z")
Have you read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Atlantic Monthly [piece](http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/01/kennedy.htm) on the matter? After reading it, I’m not so sure Skakel is guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/7 "2004-02-13T22:26:21Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Have you read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Atlantic Monthly [piece](http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/01/kennedy.htm) on the matter? After reading it, I’m not so sure Skakel is guilty. After reading it, two things come to mind. One, I get the feeling that the Skakel household (with all of its various characters) was probably not the ideal place to host a Campfire Girls meeting. Two, we have all these polygraph tests given to the suspects and witnesses over the years. What happened to Michael Skakel? You’d think that somewhere along the line, especially after suspicion turned to him, that he’d have come in to police to show that _he_ could pass a polygraph. But unless I missed something, the only evidence along those lines is a claim by a family attorney that years ago he passed some sort of sodium pentothal examination sponsored by the family. Not totally convincing. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/8 "2004-02-13T22:36:48Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > He committed the crime as a minor. Under the lawin force at the time, he would have been tried as a minor. > > So what’s the problem with his claim that he should have been tried as a minor? Okay, he did it as a minor. Sentence him for the murder as a minor, too. Then sentence the adult for abetting murder, one count for every day as an adult, that he didn’t 'fess up. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/9 "2004-02-13T23:01:38Z")
> [@wakimika](#): > > Ted Kennedy was on trial for rape? How did I miss this? And not only that, but he’s been tried more than once! The OP refers to the “most recent rape trial”. I’ve got to start keeping up with the news. My only comment on the OP would be to echo **Bricker** ’s question. ---
**Author:** ![kmg365](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ec9cab/32.png) [@kmg365](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kmg365)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/10 "2004-02-13T23:37:31Z")
> [@wakimika](#): > > Ted Kennedy was on trial for rape? How did I miss this? I think he meant William Kennedy Smith and his trial for raping a Florida woman at the Kennedy family compound in West Palm Beach. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/11 "2004-02-14T00:12:02Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > Okay, he did it as a minor. Sentence him for the murder as a minor, too. Then sentence the adult for abetting murder, one count for every day as an adult, that he didn’t 'fess up. Unfortunately for you, your novel legal insight runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees that no person may be compelled to incriminate himself. For this reason, a person may not be charged for failing to confess to a previously-committed crime. I do appreciate your concession with respect to the trial-as-a-minor issue. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/12 "2004-02-14T00:19:25Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > Okay, he did it as a minor. Sentence him for the murder as a minor, too. Then sentence the adult for abetting murder, one count for every day as an adult, that he didn’t 'fess up. Here’s the Connecticut Penal Code…the crime you’re probably thinking of is hindering prosecution: [http://www.cga.state.ct.us/2003/pub/Chap952.htm](http://www.cga.state.ct.us/2003/pub/Chap952.htm) but hindering prosecution requires that you actively hide or help somebody else. What you’re suggesting, that he be charged for not confessing to a crime, would almost certainly violate the 5th amendment protection against self incrimination. It’s not the suspect’s job to give the state the evidence needed to convict him…the burden is on the state. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/13 "2004-02-14T00:22:12Z")
Curse you, Bricker, with your speedy posting! There should be something in the Penal Code against that…\ 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/14 "2004-02-14T01:07:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Unfortunately for you, your novel legal insight runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees that no person may be compelled to incriminate himself. For this reason, a person may not be charged for failing to confess to a previously-committed crime. > > I do appreciate your concession with respect to the trial-as-a-minor issue. > > - Rick Hey, you never said I had to be rational, here. Or even follow proper legal codes. And I admit you’re right about the 5th Amendment, too. I’m venting spleen more than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/15 "2004-02-14T14:57:05Z")
One thing you have to understand…the Kennedy family is immensely powerful, and it has no compunction about using its power. Case in point: Ted kennedy left mary Joe Kopechne dead in his car, at Chappaquiddick Island. He then carried on as if nothing had happened…and was eventually charged with leaving the scene of an accident! In 1991, Ted had his son and nephew (William Smith) down at their Palm Beach mansion, for a “Traditional Easter Weekend”. Smith and Patrick kennedy picked up two girls, one of which Smith raped. When confronted with this, Ted hired atty. Roy Black, who earned $2 million getting Smith off. If you DARE to tangle with the Kennedy family, you had better: -have a LOT of money! -have a lot of proof…they have a way of smearing the best witnesses Of course, they prefer to buy people off (court trials are messy and lead to negative publicity for the family image). ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/16 "2004-02-14T15:58:51Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > One thing you have to understand…the Kennedy family is immensely powerful, and it has no compunction about using its power. Case in point: Ted kennedy left mary Joe Kopechne dead in his car, at Chappaquiddick Island. He then carried on as if nothing had happened…and was eventually charged with leaving the scene of an accident! First of all, your summary is inaccurate. Kennedy didn’t “carry on as if nothing had happened.” He reported the accident to police. Admittedly, he waited a suspicious eight hours before doing so, but he didn’t do anything else. Under these circumstances, what crime do you contend he committed? > [@](#): > > In 1991, Ted had his son and nephew (William Smith) down at their Palm Beach mansion, for a “Traditional Easter Weekend”. Smith and Patrick kennedy picked up two girls, one of which Smith raped. When confronted with this, Ted hired atty. Roy Black, who earned $2 million getting Smith off. You claim there was a rape. The jury heard all the evidence and found there was not enough evidence of the rape to convict him of a crime. If I come along and claim that Smith was innocent, I can at least point to the jury verdict. What’s your evidence in support of your claim? > [@](#): > > If you DARE to tangle with the Kennedy family, you had better: > -have a LOT of money! > -have a lot of proof…they have a way of smearing the best witnesses > Of course, they prefer to buy people off (court trials are messy and lead to negative publicity for the family image). This is ironic, since your post constitutes a smear of the family. Doesn’t it? - Rick ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/17 "2004-02-14T18:08:20Z")
So you think ted kennedy did the honroable thing by mary Joe Kopechne! Well, to begin with: -the autopsy report indicated that she was most likely alive for several hours after the car rolled off that bridge! if Kennedy had been a man, he would have called the police immediately…poor mary Joe wpould probably be alive today! instead, he had his aides cook up a story about his whereabouts that night. Eyewitnesses state that Kennedy showed no sign of concern when the MV Police found Ms. Kopechne dead…his oly concernwas how this would affect his election prospects. So yes, kennedy was guilft of manslaughter (at least). As for the palm Beach incident, kennedy changed his story several times…and yeah, Roy Black did a good job with the jury…does that make “Willy” Smith innocent? NO! ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/18 "2004-02-14T18:50:14Z")
He’s a Kennedy, what do you expect? Getting mad at a Kennedy for being a scumbucket is like getting mad at a dog for licking his own balls. ---
**Author:** ![schplebordnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@schplebordnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schplebordnik)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/19 "2004-02-14T18:57:31Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Have you read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Atlantic Monthly [piece](http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/01/kennedy.htm) on the matter? After reading it, I’m not so sure Skakel is guilty. My reaction when I read it was that Jr. did an amazing job of pointing out similarities in the guy he fingered for the crime and Skakel, but in each case attributing a sinister character or motivation to his suspect, and an innocent or altruistic motivation for Skakel. That, and a lot of “blame the lawyer.” Which, to me, is a good indication that he is guilty. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070/20 "2004-02-14T23:30:56Z")
So in summary: Michael Skakel is icky because he’d rather not spend the rest of his life in prison; **ralph124c** is pathological on the subject of Ted Kennedy; and **SnoopyFan** thinks the dog ball joke is still funny. Got it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-michael-skakel/229070.md?page=2)