Calif. Gov. Newsom denies parole for Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of Robert F. Kennedy assassination

[iemanja]

Source: Washington Post

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday rejected parole for Sirhan Sirhan, the 77-year-old Palestinian immigrant who was convicted of the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.) in Los Angeles.

A two-member panel of the California parole board in August approved release for Sirhan after serving 53 years behind bars, and that ruling was then approved by the parole board’s legal staff.

But California voters amended their state constitution in 1988 to allow the governor to reverse decisions by the state Board of Parole Hearings for convicted murderers. Newsom elected to do so, saying in an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times that Sirhan, after decades in prison "has failed to address the deficiencies that led him to assassinate Senator Kennedy. Mr. Sirhan lacks the insight that would prevent him from making the same types of dangerous decisions he made in the past.”

Kennedy’s wife, Ethel Kennedy, publicly declared her opposition to parole in September, and she was joined by six of her nine surviving children. They issued a statement Thursday evening welcoming Newsom’s decision. “We are greatly appreciative of the Governor’s consideration of the facts and his faithful application of the law,” the statement said. “His decision represents the vindication of the rule of law over all who would betray it with hatred and violence..., the Governor protects Californians and people around the world—and that is in the tradition, and faithful to the legacy, of Robert Kennedy. We are deeply grateful for this decision.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/13/sirhan-parole-denied/

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[calguy]

1. Good Move

He's probably not a danger to society, but just like the Manson girls, their crimes were so heinous society will never approve of their release.

[LoisB]

3. Exactly.

[LoisB]

2. Yes!!!

[SheltieLover]

4. Good!

[hlthe2b]

5. Thank Heavens. This was beyond indefensible and I'm glad I was right about Newsome doing the

right thing.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. Thank you, Governor Newsom

[Mz Pip]

7. Good.

Sirhan’s murder of Kennedy changed our country. We ended up with Nixon. Sirhan should never be released.

[catbyte]

8. That's a relief.

I lost my childhood innocence at age 8 when JFK was assassinated in 1963. I became a cynic in April and June of 1968 when MLK and RFK were assassinated and have been cynical ever since. I don't like it much, but there you have it.

I'm glad he's not getting out. Fuck him.

[Glorfindel]

9. Good. Thank you, Governor Newsom

Sirhan is beyond any pity or redemption.

[Totally Tunsie]

10. As it should be. Thank you, Gov. Newsom.

[peppertree]

11. An old friend, who worked at Pips in Beverly Hills in the 70s, assured me Sirhan was given furloughs

During which he'd spend hours at Pips - one of the most exclusive clubs in the L.A. area back then, some will recall.

How true that is, I can't really say. But given that Nixon was the president at the time, and Reagan governor, who knows.

[iemanja]

12. I find that hard to believe

Maybe it was someone who looked like Sirhan?

[peppertree]

15. Could be

That's just what he told me - and, God rest him, this was not someone given to exaggeration.

That said, as you know there's certainly a lot of controversy as to what, exactly, Sirhan's role was.

Another patsy, maybe?

[Steven Maurer]

34. No, he absolutely shot RFK. Admitted it.

He was quite literally one of the first Palestinian terrorists.

The only real question is whether RFK's bodyguard accidentally fired the fatal shot trying to fire back or not.

[JT45242]

13. Foucaoult discipline and punishment comes to mind

What is the purpose of prison ?

Is it to punish or to to discipline, I e. teach and correct.

53 years in prison is a long time. He is no longer a threat to society.

What does incarceration serve except a very expensive way to let people feel vengeful.

[Budi]

16. It's about what he did. By his own conscience & his own hand.

I'm pleased that he should never walk freely on this earth, in his lifetime.

So be it.

[JohnSJ]

27. +++

[ZonkerHarris]

18. the man changed the direction of this country for the worse with one bullet.

[AllaN01Bear]

14. eggscllent.

[ZonkerHarris]

17. good.

[Hekate]

19. Good decision. I was in California when RFK was assassinated, working my heart out for his opponent

…Eugene McCarthy. In that moment I knew Sirhan had killed not just Bobby, but all our hopes.

Let him stay where he is. Give him 3 hots and a cot, as the saying goes. Whatever.

[JohnSJ]

25. Exactly.

[Aristus]

20. My response to his parole request would be:

"You should have thought of that before you pulled the trigger."

Why does he not think he should spend the rest of his life behind bars?

[Bristlecone]

21. Good.

[Red Mountain]

22. Living people haven't forgotten

Stay in jail.

[Mike Nelson]

23. Well...

... I agree with the decision. I do think prison should deal more with rehabilitation and less with punishment. I notice the parole board approved him... I would look at their reasoning. I think two people may not be the best number of people for a parole board. I would increase the number! In the end, the nature of this man's crime is paramount. It's best for him to remain in prison. He's 77, I know... but people are doing a lot in their 70s, today.

[JohnSJ]

24. Thank-you Governor Newsom.

[JohnSJ]

28. He has no remorse for what he did, and his 1989 interview made that very clear

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/02/20/Sirhan-Sirhan-Ted-Kennedy-could-help-me-get-parole/4510603954000/

[BradAllison]

29. All over the place in that interview

It's clear he had zero remorse.

[JohnSJ]

32. Exactly

[Irish_Dem]

35. Wow, disgusting interview.

[keithbvadu2]

30. Good!

[Mr.Bill]

31. There are interviews on local news with Newsom.

This wasn't just a knee-jerk reaction. He examined all the evidence availabe. He read Sirhans diaries, etc. He studied this carefully and made the right decision.

[Mickju]

33. Good!

[ellie]

36. Good.

Fuck Sirhan Sirhan.

[Paladin]

37. Outstanding move. Thanks, Gov. Newsom. (nt)

[llashram]

38. rot and die

behind those steel bars...

[The Wizard]

39. Having returned from Vietnam

five weeks prior to the murder of RFK, I was set on voting for him as he was unequivocal about an immediate withdrawal from the war.

[BootinUp]

40. K&R