Convicted murderer Michael Skakel returned to court today to urge a three-judge panel to shorten his prison sentence. Skakel, a former Greenwich resident, was found guilty in 2003 of bludgeoning neighbor Martha Moxley in 1975. His lawyers are pressing for a more lenient judgment since he was 15 at the time of the murder, but was not sentenced until he was 40 years old. He was handed a term of 20 years to life. Moxley's mother says Skakel's connections to the Kennedy family helped keep evidence hidden for decades. She agreed with prosecutors that the original sentence was appropriate. Skakel's attorney says he expects the appeal panel to give its decision in two months.Hearing today in Skakel appealCT Supreme Court denies Skakel appeal request