He said Benedict would make the motions and he did not want to anticipate what he will do. In 1975, the maximum juvenile penalty for murder was four years. The maximum penalty for murder for an adult was 25 years to life. Skakel also may be able to ask for dismissal of the charge by arguing that the statute of limitations for the crime has expired. Some lawyers say the 1975 law appears to impose a five-year statue of limitations on murder.
Today there is no limit.
Benedict says a 1986 Connecticut Supreme Court ruling makes it clear that murder is a crime that can always be prosecuted. Sherman said his argument defending Skakel's innocence is that he simply did not kill Martha Moxley. Moxley was found beaten and stabbed to death on the grounds of her family's home with a golf club belonging to a set owned by the Skakels. Skakel's older brother Thomas and the Skakel's live-in tutor at the time of the murder were both prime suspects for many years. In June 1998, a grand jury was convened, and after 18 months it issued a report that found probable cause to arrest Michael Skakel in the murder.