Sirhan Sirhan, who shot and killed Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, was granted parole on August 27.
Los Angeles County prosecutors declined to intervene, and argue that Sirhan, 77, should remain imprisoned under District Attorney George Gascon’s policy that prosecutors’ role “ends at sentencing.” Two of Kennedy’s sons argued in favor of his release.
“I’m overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face,” Douglas Kennedy said during the parole hearing. “I think I’ve lived my life both in fear of him and his name in one way or another. And I am grateful today to see him as a human being worthy of compassion and love.”
Sirhan, a Palestinian Christian with Jordanian citizenship, had admitted to killing Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the one-year anniversary of the Six Day War because of Kennedy’s vocal support for Israel; five others were wounded. “I did it for my country,” he said at the time, according to Britannica. Sirhan has since claimed that he doesn’t remember the shooting.
During the parole hearing, Sirhan said that he now has a better grip on his anger and vowed a path of “peace and non-violence” going forward. When he was asked about his current views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he reportedly broke down into tears and said that it’s “painful” for him to think about the suffering of the Palestinian refugees. Sirhan also said that he doesn’t follow the conflict closely anymore and will continue to remain uninvolved in the matter.
Sirhan’s lawyer, Angela Berry, told the Associated Press, “To justify denying [parole] based on the gravity of the crime and the fact that it disenfranchised millions of Americans is ignoring the rehabilitation that has occurred and that rehabilitation is a more relevant indicator of whether or not a person is still a risk to society.”
Some members of law enforcement and the Kennedy family reportedly voiced opposition to Sirhan’s release in letters to the parole board. Laurence Tribe, a Harvard University Law Professor Emeritus, was among those who voiced opposition to Sirhan being granted parole on Twitter.
“I fail to see why Bobby Kennedy’s assassin should ever be released from prison,” Tribe wrote. “Even at 77, he could be a threat. And the enduring harm he inflicted was incalculable. But for his vicious act, the rest of U.S. history would’ve been different.” Kennedy had just won the California Democratic presidential primary the night of the shooting.
I fail to see why Bobby Kennedy’s assassin should ever be released from prison. Even at 77, he could be a threat. And the enduring harm he inflicted was incalculable. But for his vicious act, the rest of U.S. history would’ve been different. https://t.co/QevhN39Bsq
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) August 26, 2021
Sirhan was denied parole 15 times prior to August 27 because the parole board didn’t think he showed sufficient remorse over Kennedy’s killing. Sirhan was initially sentenced to death when he was convicted, which was later reduced to a life sentence after California removed the death penalty in 1972.
The Parole Board will now have 90 days to review the decision before Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is currently in the midst of a recall election, makes the final call.
Should Sirhan’s release be upheld, he would likely face deportation to Jordan.
This article has been updated.
