A handout picture obtained from the California Department of Corrections shows Sirhan Sirhan, who was convicted of assassinating Senator Robert Kennedy, the Democratic presidential candidate, in 1968.
California Department of Corrections/AFP
- A California review committee recommended that Sirhan Sirhanbe be released from prison on parole.
- The latest decision of the parole hearing committee panel now requires a 120-day review by the committee’s legal staff.
- Sirhan, 77, had previously been denied parole 15 times.
On Friday, a California review committee recommended that Palestine refugee Sirhan Sirhan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the assassination of US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy in 1968, be released on parole.
Sirhan, 77, had previously been denied parole 15 times.
The latest decision of the parole hearing committee now requires 120 days of review by the committee’s legal staff, during which time the case may be submitted to the full committee for further evaluation before a final decision can be made.
Then, the Governor of California has 30 days to revoke the board’s actions or leave it as it is. Assuming he can survive the recall election scheduled for September, this process is likely to hand Sirhan’s fate to the current Governor Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat.
If the governor does not take any action on the parole permit, the prisoner will be arranged for release.
On June 5, 1968, Sirhan, born in Palestine, was convicted of shooting 42-year-old Kennedy in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
The shooting occurred minutes after the US senator from New York and the former US Attorney General gave a victory speech after winning the California Democratic primary.
Kennedy died the next day.
Sirhan said he did not remember being killed, although he also said that he shot Kennedy because he was angry with Israel’s support.
According to the Los Angeles Times, two members of the senator’s family who were killed, including his son Robert F Kennedy Jr, sent a letter to the Parole Committee in support of Sirhan’s release.
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Sirhan’s lawyer Angela Berry told the newspaper that her client has never been accused of serious prison violations and prison officials believe his risk is low.
The parole board official and his lawyer did not immediately comment.
Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder and was detained at the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
Sirhan was sentenced to death in 1969, but after the death penalty was banned in California, his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.
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