RFK's son favors parole for father's assassin Sirhan Sirhan

[orleans]

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The youngest son of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy spoke Friday in favor of paroling his father’s assassin at a hearing in which prosecutors declined to attend to argue he should be kept behind bars.

Douglas Kennedy, who was a toddler when his father was gunned down in 1968, said he was moved to tears by Sirhan Sirhan’s remorse and should be released if he’s found to not be a threat to others.

“I’m overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face,” he said. “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, who was in a blue prison uniform with a paper towel folded like a handkerchief and tucked into his pocket, smiled as Kennedy spoke.

more at link
https://www.khon2.com/news/national/rfks-son-favors-parole-for-fathers-assassin-sirhan-sirhan/

[greenjar_01]

1. Parole Board panel voted to release Sirhan

Up to Governor Newsom now.

[ColinC]

2. Ooof.

Not the best time for this decision right now. Can he make it after the recall election??

[TheProle]

6. The NYT doesn't address a timeline; only:

The recommendation from the two commissioners does not necessarily mean Mr. Sirhan, 77, will walk free, but will put his fate in the hands of Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is in the final stretch of campaigning before a recall election that will determine his political future. A spokeswoman for Mr. Newsom declined to say whether he would approve the recommendation, only that he would review it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/us/sirhan-sirhan-parole-rfk.html



EDIT: per this thread, it's a 30-day window for the guv AFTER a 90 day review

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215789479

[drray23]

7. I believe he has 30 days.

So he can defer it to after the election.

[ColinC]

12. Good

[maxsolomon]

3. 53 years in Prison. 77 years old.

If he's ever going to be granted Parole, this is probably the time.

RFK Jr. thinks there was a 2nd gunman, but he is also a prime source of anti-vax misinformation in this country, so I don't buy anything he sells. Baby with the bathwater.

[orleans]

5. yeah, i was gonna say can we really trust rfk jr's word? nt

[ProfessorGAC]

9. He Sure Buys Into Unprovable Theories

Not sure it's wise to consider his opinion to be weighty.

[mn9driver]

4. Not a fan of Mr. Sirhan.

RFK was the real deal, and I can hold a grudge for a very long time. It’s a character flaw on my part, I know.

[JanMichael]

8. In 2016 he showed no remorse as he denied doing it.

"Now 71, Sirhan has steadfastly maintained that he has no memory of the 1968 shooting, while various parole boards have asserted that he has not shown remorse for his crime or acknowledged the historic gravity of his actions.

“I don’t remember pulling a gun from my body,” he told board officials in 2011. “I don’t remember aiming it at any human being. Everything was always hazy in my head. I don’t remember anything very clearly.”

He added: “I’m not trying to evade anything.”"

"Steadfastly maintained" means fuck you assholes.

[WHITT]

10. No Surprise

As, Cyril Wecht, the most prominent and expert Forensic Pathologist on the planet, stated the barrel of the gun that shot RFK was inches away, so close as to cause powder burns on the skin, but Rosie Grier had Siran's arm holding a gun pinned-down six feet or more away, and he was never any closer.

Simple forensics.

[dalton99a]

11. Sirhan: "Thanks, suckers!"

"I'm overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face. 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," Douglas Kennedy, who was a toddler when his father was gunned down in 1968, said during the virtual hearing.

Sirhan smiled.

"I do have some love for you," Douglas Kennedy told Sirhan, who nodded and lowered his head.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has favored Sirhan's release in the past, wrote in support of parole. He said he was moved when he first met Sirhan -- "who wept, clinching my hands and asked for forgiveness" -- and offered to be "a guiding friend for him."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/27/us/sirhan-sirhan-parole-rfk-assassination/index.html