Killer of Robert F Kennedy granted parole after 53 years in prison

Sirhan Sirhan, who was convicted of killing presidential candidate Robert Kennedy in 1968, is poised to be freed after 53 years in prison.

A two-person panel voted in favour of his release from prison after deciding he was no longer a risk to society.

For the first time Sirhan, now 77, did not have a prosecutor in court to oppose the appeal.

George Gascón, the Los Angeles county district attorney, took office last year and has implemented a policy that prosecutors should not have a role in release hearings.

The decision now rests with the California parole board, which has 90 days to review the appeal and will send its recommendation to the state's governor.

Mr Kennedy, a New York senator and a strong favourite for the Democratic presidential nomination, was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles shortly after delivering a speech during the California primary campaign.

He had made a dramatic entry into the race four days after Senator Eugene McCarthy nearly defeated the sitting president, Lyndon Johnson in the Democratic primary.

A charismatic candidate, running on an anti-war ticket, many believe he would have won the nomination – and the election – rather than Hubert Humphrey, the vice president, who was chosen as the candidate after Mr Johnson chose not to run.

Sirhan, a Christian Palestinian, was said to have been angered by Mr Kennedy’s support for Israel, with the attack taking place on the first anniversary of the six-day war.

He fired at Mr Kennedy as he was walking through the kitchen. Five bystanders were wounded before he was arrested.

Sirhan later claimed he was drunk at the time and remembered nothing about the shooting.

His legal team have since he was used to distract witnesses from the actual shooter.

They have also cited witness testimony that Sirhan was in front of Mr Kennedy, when the shot was fired at point blank range from behind.

Sirhan’s  initial death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1972 after the California Supreme Court outlawed capital punishment.

His previous parole appeal in 2016 was turned down by commissioners who, following a three-hour hearing, concluded that Sirhan had failed to show remorse or appreciate the enormity of his crime.

Since then a number of conspiracy theories have emerged surrounding the shooting including the belief there was a second gunman.

The belief was bolstered by a tape recording in which 13 shots were heard with Sirhan’s revolver only capable of firing eight bullets.

At the 2016 parole hearing one of those wounded in the attack testified that a different gunman had shot Mr Kennedy.

But the testimony did not persuade the parole board to agree to Sirhan’s release.

Those supporting Sirhan’s release include Robert Kennedy Jr, one of the senator’s sons, who in 2018 told the Washington Post that he believed that somebody else was the assassin.

However, Mr Kennedy has not participated in the parole process.

The plea was also supported by another of Mr Kennedy’s sons, Douglas, who was a toddler at the time of the shooting.

Paul Schrade, a labour leader and friend of Mr Kennedy who was also shot in the incident, has also called for Sirhan to be released.

"He has served his time," Mr Schrade told ITN in a recent interview. “When we are talking about justice in America, we have to talk about justice for Sirhan."

Angela Berry, Sirhan’s lawyer, said she intended to focus the latest appeal on his record as a prisoner.

"We can't change the past, but he was not sentenced to life without the possibility of parole,” she told the Associated Press news agency.