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sirhan sirhan the man convicted of assassinating rfk in 1968 could be freed today the kennedy family supports his release and he wants to live with his brother in california after his release

The man who was convicted for killing Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 is likely to be paroled Friday after the Los Angeles District Attorney has said he won't argue against his release.

Sirhan Sirhan faces his 16th parole hearing Friday for the 1968 killing, and for the first time no prosecutor will be there to argue he should be kept behind bars.

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a former police officer who took office last year after running on a reform platform, says he idolized the Kennedys and mourned RFK´s assassination but is sticking to his policy that prosecutors have no role in deciding whether prisoners should be released.

Sirhan Sirhan, seen here in 1969, faces his 16th parole hearing Friday for the 1968 killing, and for the first time no prosecutor will be there to argue he should be kept behind bars

Sirhan Sirhan, seen here in 1969, faces his 16th parole hearing Friday for the 1968 killing, and for the first time no prosecutor will be there to argue he should be kept behind bars

The 77-year-old Sirhan has served 53 years for the first-degree murder of the New York senator and brother of President John F. Kennedy

The 77-year-old Sirhan has served 53 years for the first-degree murder of the New York senator and brother of President John F. Kennedy 

Sirhan told the panel in 2016 that if released, he hoped he would be deported to Jordan or live with his brother in Pasadena, California, where the family has owned a home since 1963.

His brother, Munir Sirhan, has said in the past that he and Sirhan are the only living members of their family that remain and he welcomes his brother's return. 

'I just want to hear his footsteps on the porch,' Munir told one interviewer. 'I just want to hug him and tell him, 'Welcome home.' 

That decision is best left to California Parole Board members who can evaluate whether Sirhan has been rehabilitated and can be released safely, Gascón told The Associated Press earlier this year. Relitigating a case decades after a crime should not be the job of prosecutors, even in notorious cases, he said.

'The role of a prosecutor and their access to information ends at sentencing,' Alex Bastian, special advisor to Gascón, said in a statement Thursday.

The 77-year-old Sirhan has served 53 years for the first-degree murder of the New York senator and brother of President John F. Kennedy. RFK was a Democratic presidential candidate when he was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after delivering a victory speech in the pivotal California primary.

Conspiracy theories have lived for decades about a second shooter, as well as the possibility that Sirhan was under hypnosis or a patsy. Even Kennedy's son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told the Washington Post in 2018 that he doesn't believe Sirhan Sirhan was the killer. 

Kennedy's son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told the Washington Post in 2018 that he doesn't believe Sirhan Sirhan was the killer

Kennedy's son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told the Washington Post in 2018 that he doesn't believe Sirhan Sirhan was the killer

'I was disturbed that the wrong person might have been convicted of killing my father. My father was the chief law enforcement officer in this country. I think it would have disturbed him if somebody was put in jail for a crime they didn't commit.' 

Kennedy, an author and environmental lawyer, supports re-opening the investigation into his father's murder.  

Gascón rationalized his own decision by saying he admired Kennedy's father, while Sirhan is 'the kind of individual that we all like to hate.'

'I can get very emotionally wrapped around my personal feelings someone that killed someone that I thought could have been an incredible president for this country,' Gascón said. 'But that has no place in this process. Just like it doesn´t for the person nobody knows about.'

Sirhan´s new defense attorney, Angela Berry, said she couldn´t agree more.

RFK was a Democratic presidential candidate when he was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after delivering a victory speech in the pivotal California primary

RFK was a Democratic presidential candidate when he was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after delivering a victory speech in the pivotal California primary

She plans to argue that the board´s decision should be based on who Sirhan is today and not about past events, which is what the board has based its parole denials on before. She said she plans to focus on his exemplary record in prison and show that he poses no danger.

'We can´t change the past, but he was not sentenced to life without the possibility of parole,' Berry told the AP on Thursday. 'To justify denying it based on the gravity of the crime and the fact that it disenfranchised millions of Americans is ignoring the rehabilitation that has occurred and that rehabilitation is a more relevant indicator of whether or not a person is still a risk to society.'

Sirhan´s hearing will be presided over by a two-person panel that usually announces its decision the same day. After that, the Parole Board staff has 90 days to review the decision, and then it is handed over to the governor for consideration.

The Parole Board would not say if the Kennedy family or anyone else submitted statements opposing Sirhan´s release

The Parole Board would not say if the Kennedy family or anyone else submitted statements opposing Sirhan´s release 

The Parole Board would not say if the Kennedy family or anyone else submitted statements opposing Sirhan´s release. Attempts to reach the Kennedy family for comment were unsuccessful.

Sirhan was sentenced to death after his conviction, but that sentence was commuted to life when the California Supreme Court briefly outlawed capital punishment in 1972. 

At his last parole hearing in 2016, commissioners concluded after more than three hours of intense testimony that Sirhan did not show adequate remorse or understand the enormity of his crime.

Sirhan's brother, Munir Sirhan, has said in the past that he and Sirhan are the only living members of their family that remain and he welcomes his brother's return

Sirhan's brother, Munir Sirhan, has said in the past that he and Sirhan are the only living members of their family that remain and he welcomes his brother's return

Berry said California laws approved since 2018 support her case. One she plans to point out to the board favors releasing certain older prisoners who committed crimes at a young age when the brain is prone to impulsivity. Sirhan was 24 at the time of the assassination.

Sirhan has in the past stuck to his account that he doesn´t remember the killing. However, he has recalled events before the crime in detail - going to a shooting range that day, visiting the hotel in search of a party and returning after realizing he was too drunk to drive after downing Tom Collins cocktails.

Kennedy served as the US Attorney General for his brother, John F. Kennedy

Kennedy served as the US Attorney General for his brother, John F. Kennedy

Just before the assassination, he drank coffee in a hotel pantry with a woman to whom he was attracted. The next thing he has said he remembered was being choked and unable to breathe as he was taken into custody. At his 2016 hearing, he said he felt remorse for any crime victim but couldn´t take responsibility for the shooting.

After 15 denials for his release, Berry said it´s difficult to predict how much of an impact the prosecution´s absence will have on the outcome.

'I like to think it´ll make a difference. But I think everybody is not impervious to the fact that this is political,' she said.  

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a former police officer who took office last year after running on a reform platform, says he idolized the Kennedys and mourned RFK´s assassination but is sticking to his policy that prosecutors have no role in deciding whether prisoners should be released

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a former police officer who took office last year after running on a reform platform, says he idolized the Kennedys and mourned RFK´s assassination but is sticking to his policy that prosecutors have no role in deciding whether prisoners should be released

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