California Governor Gavin Newsom Indicates He May Oppose Release of RFK Assassin
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Update 9/16/21: A California state parole board recommended that Sirhan Sirhan be released from prison. Since then, many members of the Kennedy family have come out opposing Sirhan's release. California Governor Gavin Newsom will have final say on the matter, and he is currently indicating that he will go against the recommendation.
According to Politico, Newsom "emphasized that Kennedy looms large as a personal hero whose image adorns the governor’s office and his office at home."
"I think that gives you a sense of where I might be leaning right now," Newsom then said.
On Friday, August 26, Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of murdering Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, will seek parole. The Washington Post reports that this will be the first instance where prosecutors will not oppose Sirhan's release.
Sirhan, now age 77, will go before a two-person parole panel with a new lawyer, who, per The Week, "plans to argue that he doesn't pose a threat to society and has had a clean record in prison." No one from Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón's office will attend the hearing, indicating a lack of prosecutor opposition.
Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, on June 5, 1968, soon after winning California's Democratic presidential primary. Sirhan was arrested at the scene. He was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. In 1972, his sentence was reduced to life with possibility of parole, when California abolished the death penalty. Notably, Sirhan has maintained that he does not remember the shooting; in 2011, his lawyer suggested that he had been "hypno-programmed."
This will be the 16th time Sirhan has sought parole, after being in prison for 53 years. The hearing comes after Los Angeles elected Gascón, a new district attorney, who said, per The Week, that "he would support the release of certain inmates who have served their mandatory minimums and are older and at low risk of re-offending." The Post did note that Gascón's office would also not be submitting a letter in support of his parole.
In 2018, the Sirhan's case received renewed attention when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told The Post that he did not believe Sirhan killed his father. Per The Hill, Kennedy Jr. said this week that he supports Sirhan’s effort to be released on parole.
You Might Also Like
