Robert F Kennedy’s killer Sirhan Sirhan has been blocked on parole after a review by Gavin Newsom and the family ‘extremely relieved’

CALIFORNIA Governor Gavin Newsom refused to pardon Sirhan Sirhan, who served 53 years in prison for the shooting that killed Senator Robert Kennedy.

“We greatly appreciate the Governor’s consideration of the facts and his application of the law of loyalty,” said several members of the committee. The Kennedy Family said in a statement.

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Kerry Kennedy shared family press release on Twitter.

“By reaffirming that freedom depends on responsibility, the Governor protects Californians and people around the world – and that is tradition, and fidelity to Robert Kennedy’s legacy,” the statement read. .

Newsom argued that Sirhan’s lack of “insight” from his crimes prevented him from making “the same kinds of dangerous decisions” again.

“Mr. Sirhan’s assassination of Senator Kennedy is one of the most notorious crimes in American history,” Newsom said in a statement.

“After decades in prison, he failed to address the flaws that led him to assassinate Senator Kennedy.”

Robert Kennedy was killed on June 6, 1968, after being shot down in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

He was shot three times by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, of Palestinian descent, and died the next day after failing to regain consciousness.

Born in Jerusalem in 1944, Sirhan’s family moved to the United States when he was 12 years old, amid escalating violence in the Middle East.

Motivated by the New York Senator’s support of Israel, Sirhan assassinated Bobby exactly one year after the conflict began.

The shooter pleaded not guilty to the murder, saying he was drunk when Kennedy was shot.

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In a series of hearings and interviews, Sirhan repeatedly stated that he remembers almost nothing of the crime.

Sirhan was originally sentenced to death after a three-month trial in 1969.

However, three years after he was convicted, the United States Supreme Court overturned California’s death penalty law in 1972.

In August 2021, an amnesty panel ruled that Sirhan Sirhan must be eligible for pardon.

California Parole Board employees then sent it to Governor Newsom’s desk for final approval.

Kennedy’s son Douglas cheered the board’s decision.

“I was overwhelmed to be able to see Sirhan face to face,” he said.

“I think I’ve lived my whole life in fear of him and his name in one way or another.

“And today I am so grateful to see him as a man worthy of mercy and love.”

However, former U.S. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II and his five siblings including Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Christopher Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy and Rory Kennedy released an earlier statement saying that they were “consistent” firmly opposed” Sirhan’s release and was “devastated” that he had been offered parole, according to Reuters.