California parole commissioners recommended Sirhan B. Sirhan be freed on parole after spending 50 years in connection to the assassination of then-U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy during Kennedy's campaign for president in 1968.
The Associated Press reports two of Sen. Kennedy's sons spoke in favor of Sirhan's release and prosecutors declined to argue keeping the 77-year-old incarcerated.
The two-person panel ruling was Sirhan's 16th parole hearing and will be reviewed during the next 90 days by the California Parole Board's staff before being sent to Governor Gavin Newsom, who will have 30 days to decide on whether to grant, reverse or modify the ruling, the AP reports.
Douglas Kennedy, who was a 1-year-old at the time of his father's murder in 1968, said he was moved by Sirhan's remorse and believed the 77-year-old was not a threat to others.
“I’m overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face,” he said. “I think I’ve lived my life both in fear of him and his name in one way or another. And I am grateful today to see him as a human being worthy of compassion and love.”
Robert Kennedy, a New York senator and the younger brother of late former President John F. Kennedy, was campaigning to be the Democratic presidential candidate when he was shot to death shortly after delivering a victory speech in the 1968 California primary.
Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder in connection to Kennedy's death.
The 77-year-old said he doesn't remember shooting the presidential candidate.