Where is sirhan sirhan now

Robert F. That question comes up because Sirhan — who is 77 years old and has been in prison for 53 years — is due to appear before a California parole board panel on Friday.

He has been up for parole before — 15 times, in fact. The last time, in , the panel concluded that he had not shown adequate remorse. It seems to me that the parole board should try to determine whether Sirhan meets the usual criteria.

Is he remorseful? Does he pose a threat of re-offending or of other violence? Does he have a clean prison record? But if he meets the requirements any other first-degree murderer would have to meet, the arguments are strong that the board should recommend parole despite the notoriety of his crime.

Why should California continue to hold a prisoner who has served more than 50 years, who has behaved well in prison and who the experts suggest is highly unlikely to kill again — just to keep him in perpetual punishment at great expense to state taxpayers as he ages, requires more costly healthcare and eventually dies?

It is expected to decide only whether Sirhan is suitable for release. If it concludes he is, that recommendation will be reviewed by the full parole board and then sent on to the governor for approval, reversal or any of several other options. The governor, of course, will be keenly aware of the potential political backlash of releasing such an infamous prisoner. But the fact is that Sirhan appears to satisfy many of the usual grounds for release. Psychological risk assessments have repeatedly deemed him a low risk for violence, according to his lawyer, Angela Berry.

Not to re-litigate the case and not, frankly, to decide whether the crime was so grotesque or impactful that the prisoner should rot in prison until he or she dies. Nor is it immediately obvious that the assassination of a U.

Aug 27 Reuters - A California review board on Friday recommended that Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian refugee serving a life sentence for assassinating U.

Kennedy in , be released from prison on parole. Sirhan, 77, has previously been denied parole 15 times. The latest decision by a Board of Parole Hearings panel is now subject to a day review by the board's legal staff, during which the case may be referred to the full board for further evaluation before a final judgment is rendered.

The California governor then has 30 days to reverse the board's action or let it stand. That process would most likely put Sirhan's fate in the hands incumbent Governor Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat, assuming he survives a recall election set for September. The ruling will be reviewed over the next four months.

Then it will be sent to the governor, who will have 30 days to decide whether to grant it, reverse it or modify it. The younger Kennedy, who served under his brother as attorney general, became a senator from New York and was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination when he was killed at the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles, moments after delivering a victory speech in the California primary.

Five others were wounded.