RFK assassin Sirhan seeks parole; DA won’t challenge release

By JULIE WATSON and BRIAN MELLEY
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Prosecutors for the first time are not opposing the release of Sirhan Sirhan, who is serving a life sentence for assassinating U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. The 77-year-old Sirhan on Friday faces his 16th parole hearing. Prosecutors won’t appear at the hearing  in San Diego because of a policy instituted when Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón took office last year. Gascón says the decision to release Sirhan should be left with the parole board, which can evaluate if he is rehabilitated. Sirhan’s attorney, Angela Berry, says he no longer poses a safety riskc. At his last hearing in 2016, the board said Sirhan did not show adequate remorse or understand the enormity of his crime.