Death Penalty News

March 1 (Reuters) - A California review board on Wednesday denied parole to Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian refugee serving a life sentence for assassinating U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Sirhan was denied parole for another three years by a panel of California parole board members, who said he was not suitable for release. The decision marks a change from a different panel's conclusion two years ago that the 78-year-old should be paroled. That decision was overruled by California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and Sirhan sued, saying the governor's action was illegal. It was not immediately clear what impact Wednesday's ruling would have on the lawsuit.

Sirhan, 77, convicted of killing Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1968. Decision subject to further review and governor’s final approval The man who killed Robert F Kennedy was granted parole on Friday after two of the former attorney general, senator and presidential hopeful’s sons spoke in favor of release and prosecutors declined to argue he should be kept behind bars. The decision was a major victory for Sirhan Sirhan, 77, though it did not assure his release. The ruling by the two-person panel at Sirhan’s 16th parole hearing will be reviewed over 90 days by the California parole board. Then it will be sent to the governor, who will have 30 days to decide whether to grant it, reverse it or modify it. Douglas Kennedy, a toddler when his father was killed in 1968, said he was moved to tears by Sirhan’s remorse and said he should be released if he’s 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 o...

From assassinations to space missions, 1968 was a year of radical firsts in American history. But amid all the commemorative ruckus over the 50th anniversary of that seminal year, one of the most striking precedents it set has been largely forgotten: 1968 was the 1st year in the history of the United States in which not a single prisoner was executed. Today, the nation is edging closer to repeating that non-feat - but this time, the reasons are quite different. 50 years ago, moral objections were killing the death penalty. In a nation shaken by the racial injustices exposed by the civil rights movement, public support for capital punishment plunged. Pollsters reported that more Americans opposed the death penalty than supported it. Several states had banned the practice. Leaders from Robert Kennedy to local politicians called for its abolition; even the federal Attorney General, the nation's top law-enforcement official, joined them. A Supreme Court justice wrote off death p...