Ethel Kennedy opposes parole for husband RFK's assassin, Sirhan Sirhan
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[September 08, 2021]
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Robert F. Kennedy's
widow, Ethel Kennedy, voiced opposition on Tuesday to a California
review panel's recommendation that the man serving a life term for
assassinating her husband during his 1968 presidential campaign be
released from prison on parole.
"Our family and our country suffered an unspeakable loss due to the
inhumanity of one man," Kennedy, 93, wrote. "We believe in the
gentleness that spared his life, but in taming his act of violence, he
should not have the opportunity to terrorize again."
She concluded by printing in her own hand: "He should not be paroled.
Ethel Kennedy."
Her brief message was issued to the news media 11 days after a
two-commissioner panel of the state Board of Parole Hearings concluded
on Aug. 27 that the convicted assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, 77, is suitable
for parole. It was the first time an initial review panel recommended
his release.
The panel's ruling is subject to a 120-day review by the board's legal
staff, during which the case may be referred to the full board for
further evaluation.
California's governor then has 30 days to reverse the decision or let it
stand. That process would most likely put Sirhan's fate in the hands of
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, assuming he survives a Sept. 14 recall
election.
If the governor takes no action, the inmate would be scheduled for
release. Sirhan, a Palestinian refugee, has previously been denied
parole 15 times.
Ethel Kennedy sided with six of her nine surviving children in publicly
objecting to letting Sirhan go free. It marked the first time she has
spoken out on the issue, according to one of her children cited by a
family spokesperson.
Former U.S. Representative Joseph P. Kennedy II and
five of his siblings - Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Christopher
Kennedy, Maxwell Kennedy and Rory Kennedy - previously issued a joint
statement saying they "adamantly oppose" Sirhan's release and were
"devastated" that he was recommended for parole.
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Ethel Kennedy is helped to the church, at the funeral mass for
Saoirse Kennedy Hill, granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, in
Centerville, Massachusetts, U.S., August 5, 2019. David L. Ryan/The
Boston Globe/Pool via REUTERS
They are reported to be at odds with two other siblings. Robert F.
Kennedy Jr., who met with Sirhan in 2017, said in a letter to the
parole board he should be released, according to the Los Angeles
Times. Another son, Douglas Kennedy, attended the Aug. 27 hearing in
support of Sirhan's parole, the Times reported.
Sirhan was convicted of gunning down Robert Kennedy, 42, in Los
Angeles on June 5, 1968, minutes after the U.S. senator from New
York and former U.S. attorney general gave his victory speech on
winning the California Democratic primary. Kennedy died the next
day.
Sirhan has said he had no recollection of the killing, although he
has also said he fired at Kennedy because he was enraged by his
support for Israel.
He was sentenced to death in 1969, but his sentence was changed to
life in prison during a period in which capital punishment was
banned in California.
Kennedy's older brother President John F. Kennedy was assassinated
in Dallas in 1963.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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