The man convicted of assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 is seeking parole for the 16th time on Friday.
This time though, things are different. When 77-year-old Sirhan B. Sirhan appears before a California parole board, there will be no opposition from prosecutors.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it is remaining neutral in the case, with no plans to send prosecutors to the hearing to oppose Sirhan's release. The office will also not send a letter in support of the parole.
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"The role of a prosecutor and their access to information ends at sentencing," Alex Bastian, an adviser to District Attorney George Gascón, told the Washington Post. "If someone is the same person that committed an atrocious crime, that person will correctly not be found suitable for release. However, if someone is no longer a threat to public safety after having served more than 50 years in prison, then the parole board may recommend release based on an objective determination."
Sirhan has spent the last 53 years in prison after being convicted of shooting Kennedy to death on June 5, 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where the presidential hopeful was celebrating his victory in California's Democratic primary. Kennedy, 42, was walking through the hotel's kitchen area on his way to a news conference after delivering a victory speech to supporters when shots rang out. Kennedy and five others were injured. He died a day later. Sirhan was arrested at the scene.
Sirhan, then 24, admitted during his trial that he shot Kennedy, though he claimed to have no memory of doing so. He was initially sentenced to death on a charge of first-degree murder. When California eliminated the death penalty in 1972, his sentence was reduced to life with the possibility of parole.
Sirhan's guilt has been questioned by many over the years, including by witnesses present during the assassination. Kennedy aide Paul Schrade, who was also shot, said there were multiple shooters and that another gunman killed Kennedy from behind. Still, prosecutors insisted Sirhan acted alone and never pursued any other suspects.
Schrade, now 96, appeared at Sirhan's last parole hearing in 2016 to argue for his release and apologize for not speaking up sooner. He called prosecutors "the guilty ones in putting Sirhan in prison knowing that he didn't and couldn't do it." He referenced forensic evidence that he said proved Sirhan couldn't have fired the fatal shot.
"Sirhan himself was a victim and still is a victim," Schrade said at the hearing. "Obviously, there was someone else there in the pantry that also fired a gun. While Sirhan was standing in front of Bob Kennedy and the shots were creating a distraction, the other person -- the other shooter secretly fired at the Senator from behind and fatally wounded him."
It's the same conclusion reached by the senator's own son, Robert Kennedy Jr., who was just 14 at the time of the assassination. In 2018, he told the Post he believed that Sirhan was innocent and had met with him in prison to offer support.
Parole lawyer Angela Berry does not plan to raise any claims about Sirhan's innocence or involvement in the shooting, according to the Post. Instead, she intends to focus on Sirhan's clean prison record, his remorse and his unlikely chance of reoffending if released.
The Kennedy family has declined to participate in the parole process. A hearing is set for 8:30 PT Friday morning.
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