RFK assassin moves closer to freedom with help of 2 Kennedys

By JULIE WATSON and BRIAN MELLEY
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin has been granted parole. The decision by a California Parole Board panel Friday came after two of RFK’s sons went against several of their siblings’ wishes and supported releasing Sirhan Sirhan and prosecutors declined to argue he should be kept behind bars. The decision was a major victory for the 77-year-old Sirhan, though it does not assure his release. The governor ultimately will decide that. RFK was assassinated in Los Angeles in 1968. Douglas Kennedy told the board  he was moved to tears by Sirhan’s remorse and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. submitted a letter urging Sirhan be freed. But six of Kennedy’s nine surviving children decried the parole board’s vote.