Robert Kennedy Assassin Sirhan Sirhan Denied Parole by California Board for 16th Time

A California review board has denied parole to Robert Kennedy's assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, who shot and killed the presidential candidate 55 years ago in Los Angeles.

According to Fox News, this is the first time that the case of Sirhan, now 78, has been up for review after a different parole board proposed that he be freed in 2021. However, California Governor Gavin Newsom rejected the parole recommendation in January last year, explaining that Sirhan still poses a threat to public safety.

At the time, he noted that Robert Kennedy's assassin killed the senator during a "dark season of political assassinations," which was just weeks after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s murder. Kennedy was also assassinated four and a half years after the murder of his brother, former President John F. Kennedy.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told CNN that the state's Board of Parole Hearings decided Wednesday to deny Sirhan parole for three years.

Tessa Outhyse, a spokesperson for the corrections department, told the outlet that the proceeding on Wednesday was the 17th parole suitability hearing of Robert Kennedy's assassin, adding that there will be a copy of the hearing's transcript in a few weeks.

Sirhan originally received a death sentence but was turned into a commuted life sentence in prison in 1972.

Robert Kennedy Assassination

Robert Kennedy was 42 when he was assassinated at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel on June 5, 1968. He was the seventh child in the Kennedy family, who have ancestral connections to Irish immigrants.

Kennedy was shot fatally in the hotel service pantry while he was on his way to a news conference. The shooting was not captured by any cameras. Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of killing Kennedy and wounding five other people.

Three bullets had hit Kennedy's body, while a fourth bullet passed harmlessly through the shoulder of his suit coat. Kennedy died the following day.

The shooting occurred moments after the U.S. senator claimed victory in California's Democratic presidential primary. Sirhan remained incarcerated at R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

Sirhan Sirhan's Parole

Sirhan Sirhan is a Christian Palestinian from Jordan who suffered childhood trauma from the bombings in the Middle East. He acknowledged that he was angry at Robert Kennedy for his support of Israel.

However, he maintained that he did not remember the shooting and had been drinking alcohol before it occurred. He was denied parole 15 times until 2021 when the previous California parole board recommended his release.

Sirhan's younger brother, Munir Sirhan, said his older brother can live with him in Pasadena, California, once his parole is granted. Robert Kennedy's assassin also waived his right to fight deportation to his native land Jordan.

Sirhan's lawyer Angela Berry disputed that his client lacks insight into what caused him to shoot the senator. The lawyer also argued that there was a supporting statement from psychiatrists that her client was unlikely to re-offend or "be a danger to society," according to Associated Press.

Berry said that she believes Gavin Newsom, including lawyers for Kennedy, influenced the new board members. The parole board hearing occurred six months after Berry asked a Los Angeles County judge to reverse Newsom's rejection of the parole.

Berry noted that the previous board found Sirhan "suitable for release last time," adding that nothing has changed and her client still shows "great behavior."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Robert F. Kennedy Assassin Sirhan Sirhan Denied Parole Again - From CBS 8 San Diego