Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared on NBC's
"Today" show Tuesday to insist upon the innocence of his cousin Michael Skakel in the grisly 1975 murder of Martha Moxley.
"I strongly believe that he is innocent," Kennedy said as he promoted his new book,
"Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison for a Murder He Didn't Commit," published by Skyhorse.
"That belief should not persuade anybody that he is innocent. What people should be persuaded by is the facts."
Skakel — a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel — was convicted 27 years after the killing and spent 11 years behind bars. In 2013, his conviction was vacated when a judge ruled Skakel wasn't afforded a proper defense. He is free while
prosecutors work to get the conviction reinstated.
In the book, Kennedy points to two "city kids" as possible suspects in the murder of the 15-year-old blonde teenager in the tony Connecticut suburb of Greenwich — although both have denied involvement and neither have been charged.
He also denies a conspiracy by the Skakel family to cover up for Michael, who was also 15 at the time of Moxley's death.
"The Skakels … are very, very pious Catholics. They would never ever lapse into the kind of a perverse family loyalty to protect a murderer," he told interviewer Matt Lauer.
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