Sirhan Sirhan loses habeas challenge to parole denial, attorneys plan appeal

A Los Angeles County judge has turned down a habeas challenge to Sirhan Sirhan’s most recent denial of parole.

In August 2021, on his 16th attempt, the parole board found Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin was suitable for parole but Gov. Gavin Newsom rescinded it saying he believed Sirhan still posed a threat to public safety. Newsom pointed to Sirhan’s “shifting narratives” and “lack of insight” about what led him to kill Kennedy, and his refusal to accept responsibility for his crime.

Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan wrote in Monday’s 32-page ruling: “Having independently reviewed the record, and giving deference to the broad discretion of the Governor in parole matters, the court concludes that the record contains ‘some evidence’ to support the determination that Petitioner is not suitable for release on parole because he currently poses and unreasonable risk of danger to society.”

Eric M. George, a partner at Ellis George Cipollone O’Brien LLP who represents members of the Kennedy family, said of the decision: “Judge Ryan’s ruling leaves no stone unturned in considering and rejecting each challenge to the governor’s parole denial, and in doing so protects actual history from specious attempts at revisionism.”

Lawyers for Sirhan sought to block Kennedy’s family from participating in the habeas proceedings, a request Ryan rejected.

Sirhan’s lawyers, Angela Berry of Angela Berry PLC and Denise F. Bohdan of Bohdan Law APC, said they would appeal Ryan’s ruling.

“We are confident that the Governor’s denial of parole will be overturned by the Appeals Court,” Bohdan said. “Our system is designed to parole those who are no longer a danger to society; appellate courts have demonstrated this in previous cases and ruled on the side of justice for inmates who have served their time and no longer pose a danger. We are confident justice will prevail.”

In their habeas petition, Berry and Bohdan argued Sirhan was no longer a danger to society, and that, in reaching his decision, Newsom improperly relied on the “gravity of the offense and does not provide a nexus between the crime from 52 years ago and current dangerousness.”

Sirhan shot and killed Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in the mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles on June 5, 1968. Kennedy had just won California’s Democratic primary for president. Sirhan also shot five bystanders, all of whom survived their injuries. Sirhan was taken down by attendees of the event and arrested at the scene.

A Palestinian born in Jerusalem, Sirhan has said he was motivated by Kennedy’s support for the State of Israel.

In 1975, the parole board found Sirhan would be suitable for parole, but later rescinded that grant. His next 15 attempts for parole were denied. Now 78, he is serving a life sentence at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County. People v. Sirhan B. Sirhan, A233421 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed June 20, 1968)

Sirhan will again be eligible for parole in 2024.