Governor Gavin Newsom has three weeks to decide if he will sign off on a parole panel’s recommendation to release 77-year-old Sirhan Sirhan, the man who has spent over half a century in federal prison after being convicted for the killing of Senator Robert F Kennedy in 1968.
This story is proving itself to be a case study on the question of mainstream Democrats actually practicing what they preach.
By all legal and personal accounts, Sirhan has proven himself rehabilitated, and is ready to spend his final years with his brother in California. Indeed, two of RFK’s sons–as well as Paul Schrade, an old friend of the late senator and the last surviving victim from the shooting 53 years ago–agree with the parole panel’s ruling.
But others do not, such as Kerry Kennedy, who is both RFK’s daughter and the president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. While her nonprofit insists it is against mass incarceration, Kerry doesn’t seem to think that principle applies to at least one septuagenarian.
Last month the Sacramento Bee published an opinion piece by Kerry, in which she leveled demonstrably false claims against Sirhan’s parole.
Today we’re joined by three remarkable women who know this case front to back, in order to set the record straight on Sirhan’s recommendation for parole, before it’s too late:
- Angela Berry, Sirhan Sirhan’s attorney
- Denise Bohdan, documentarian/attorney who has covered this case extensively
- Jen Abreu, executive director/cofounder of Redemption Row California (and friend of the show)
Want to ask Governor Gavin Newsom to do what’s right and sign off on the parole recommendation? Visit justiceforrfk.com and join the chorus advocating for Sirhan’s release.
[Editor’s disclosure: The interviewer for this episode received an RFK award for journalism in 2010 from RFK Human Rights.]
Thanks for listening, defund the police and, as always:
Twitter: @youknowkempa, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune, @guillotine4you, @aolbites
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/voicesrivercity
Sacramentans can hear us on 103.1 KUTZ Tuesdays at 5 pm and again Wednesdays at 8 am.
If you require a transcript of our episodes, please reach out to info@voicesrivercity.com and we’ll make it happen.
And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.
Comments
