After 52 years in prison for killing Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, Sirhan Sirhan has just been recommended for parole.
The 77-year-old is unlikely to hurt anyone else if released, said Loyola Law School of Loyola Marymount University law professor Laurie Levenson on KCBS Radio Friday afternoon.
But it’s "still a long shot," she said, considering how notorious the crime was, up there with the Manson murders just a year after in 1969.
"The real issue is how this will sit with the public," said Levenson. “Robert Kennedy was so beloved.”
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.
Sirhan, a Christian Palestinian from Jordan, previously acknowledged he was angry at Kennedy for his support of Israel.
During the parole board hearing on Friday, RFK’s youngest son, Douglas Kennedy, voiced support for Sirhan’s 16th bid for release. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also written in support of Sirhan’s release.
But people throughout the state will remember that Sirhan Sirhan originally was given the death sentence, said Levenson. It was eventually changed to a life sentence, and people who remember might think parole undercuts the system.
The state parole commission has 90 days to review the decision before it winds up on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. "He has the final say," said Levenson.
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