The man convicted of assassinating presidential candidate and former Sen. Robert Kennedy in 1968 is asking a judge to free him from prison, arguing that he no longer poses a danger to society.
Sirhan Sirhan, 78, is serving life in prison in California for Kennedy’s murder, in which he shot the New York senator after he won California’s Democratic presidential primary, jurors found. Five others were wounded during the shooting in Los Angeles at the Ambassador Hotel. Sirhan’s attorney, Angela Berry, stated in his request for release on Wednesday that her client is not a danger to the public anymore.
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Berry filed a writ of habeas corpus to have the judge rule that Sirhan violated state law, per the Associated Press. If the judge rules Sirhan violated state law, the law states that inmates should be paroled unless they pose a current unreasonable public safety risk.
Wednesday’s request is challenging California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) decision to reject Sirhan’s request for parole in January. In a previous statement to Politico, Newsom said Sirhan’s assassination of Kennedy is “among the most notorious crimes in American history.”
“He has failed to address the deficiencies that led him to assassinate Sen. Kennedy,” Newsom said. “Mr. Sirhan lacks the insight that would prevent him from making the same types of dangerous decisions he made in the past.”
Berry stated in the request that the governor “acted with personal bias, incorporated the wrong law, ignored mitigation evidence, and did not afford Sirhan the same rights as others eligible for parole.”
Newsom overruled a two-person parole board that granted Sirhan parole in August 2021 after two of Kennedy’s sons, Douglas and Robert Jr., spoke in his favor, stating they could tell he was “a human being worthy of compassion and love.” However, Kennedy’s wife, Ethel, and his nine children were not supportive of Sirhan’s release.
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While it’s unclear how quickly a judge might rule on this request, Sirhan is set for a new parole hearing on March 1.
