![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.eldigitaldeasturias.com\/noticias\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/administration-1846270_1280-360x270.jpg\")
Los Angeles (tca\/dpa) \u2014 It could ultimately be up to Gov. Gavin Newsom to determine whether the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 should be paroled.<\/p>\nLos Angeles (tca\/dpa) \u2014 It could ultimately be up to Gov. Gavin Newsom to determine whether the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 should be paroled.<\/p>\n
Sirhan Sirhan \u2014 who was 24 when he shot and killed the former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate at a Los Angeles hotel in 1968 \u2014 was deemed suitable for release by a two-person parole panel Friday afternoon. Sirhan, now 77, later admitted to the killing and has been in prison for 53 years. He originally faced the death penalty but his sentence was commuted to life after the state briefly outlawed capital punishment in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
Members of the Kennedy family have been publicly divided on the question.<\/p>\n
Supporting parole<\/p>\n
Two of Kennedy\u2019s children submitted letters on Sirhan\u2019s behalf. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. \u2014 who has previously expressed doubt about Sirhan\u2019s guilt and echoed others\u2019 claims that a second gunman actually killed the senator \u2014 said he believed his father might extend mercy to Sirhan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile nobody can speak definitively on behalf of my father, I firmly believe that based on his own consuming commitment to fairness and justice, that he would strongly encourage this board to release Mr. Sirhan because of Sirhan\u2019s impressive record of rehabilitation,\u201d Kennedy Jr. wrote in a letter submitted in advance of Friday\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times late Friday, Kennedy Jr. said he was \u201cvery happy\u201d Sirhan had been recommended for release and reiterated concerns that the wrong man was convicted.<\/p>\n
Kennedy, who was a teen at the time of the murder, pointed to an autopsy report indicating the senator had been shot from behind when Sirhan had been standing in front of Kennedy. Some have argued that this would have made it impossible for Kennedy to have been shot in the back by Sirhan, while others have said that Kennedy turned after the first shot.<\/p>\n
Authorities rejected this theory when Kennedy first made it in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis comments are just way off base,\u201d Russell Iungerich, who worked as a deputy attorney general for the state of California when officials reopened the Kennedy case from 1975 to 1976, told the L.A. Times that year.<\/p>\n
Opposing parole<\/p>\n
In a joint statement late Friday, six of Kennedy\u2019s surviving children \u2014 Joseph P. Kennedy II, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Christopher G. Kennedy, Maxwell T. Kennedy and Rory Kennedy \u2014 said they were devastated that the man who murdered their father received the recommendation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur father\u2019s death is a very difficult matter for us to discuss publicly and for the past many decades we have declined to engage directly in the parole process,\u201d according to the statement.<\/p>\n
The six Kennedy siblings said they adamantly opposed Sirhan\u2019s parole and release, and were \u201cshocked by a ruling\u201d they believe ignores standards for paroling \u201ca confessed, first-degree murderer in the state of California,\u201d according to the statement.<\/p>\n
The siblings said that the parole board\u2019s decision \u201chas inflicted enormous additional pain,\u201d and that they were in disbelief that Sirhan would be recommended for release.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge the Parole Board staff, the full board and ultimately … Newsom, to reverse this initial recommendation,\u201d according to the statement. \u201cIt is a recommendation we intend to challenge every step of the way, and we hope that those who also hold the memory of our father in their hearts will stand with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n
Sirhan\u2019s fate could now lie with Newsom.<\/p>\n
Erin Mellon, a spokeswoman for Newsom, said the governor will review Sirhan\u2019s case if it is presented to him.<\/p>\n
Newsom has not hesitated to reject the recommendations of parole boards in the past. In November, Newsom blocked the release of Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten. He did the same just last month for Royce Casey, one of three men who brutally murdered a 15-year-old boy in Nipomo more than two decades ago.<\/p>\n
Still, earlier this month Newsom faced harsh criticism for not blocking the release of David Weidert, who served four decades in prison for killing a developmentally disabled Clovis man whom he buried alive.<\/p>\n
Although Sirhan\u2019s case would not reach the governor\u2019s desk until after the Sept. 14 recall election, the decision could still affect Newsom politically if he remains in power beyond next month.<\/p>\n
James Queally, Leila Miller and Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Los Angeles (tca\/dpa) \u2014 It could ultimately be up to Gov. Gavin Newsom to determine whether the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 should be paroled. Sirhan Sirhan \u2014 who was 24 when he shot and killed the former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate at a Los Angeles hotel in 1968 \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":971860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1098055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualidad"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t