California board denies parole for Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A California panel on Wednesday denied parole for Robert F. Kennedy assassin Sirhan Sirhan.
Sirhan’s lawyer Angela Berry says the parole board decided the 78-year-old prisoner still lacks insight into what caused him to shoot the senator and presidential candidate in 1968.
Berry said she believes Sirhan has shown that awareness, however, and that his psychiatrists have said for decades that he is unlikely to reoffend.
A different California parole board two years ago voted to release Sirhan, but Gov. Gavin Newson rejected the decision in 2022.
Berry said she believes the new board members on Wednesday were influenced by Newsom.
In rejecting Sirhan’s freedom last year, the governor said he remains a threat to the public and hasn’t taken responsibility for a crime that changed American history.
This is an update. AP’s earlier story follows below:
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.
About the photo: In this Nov. 22, 1963 file photo, President John F. Kennedy waves from his car in a motorcade in Dallas. Riding with Kennedy are First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, right, Nellie Connally, second from left, and her husband, Texas Gov. John Connally, far left. (AP Photo/Jim Altgens, File)
APPresident John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas.
About the photo: In this Nov. 22, 1963 file photo, President John F. Kennedy waves from his car in a motorcade in Dallas. Riding with Kennedy are First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, right, Nellie Connally, second from left, and her husband, Texas Gov. John Connally, far left. (AP Photo/Jim Altgens, File)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP FILE
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was seriously injured in a plane crash while en route to Barnes Municipal Airport in Massachusetts in 1964. Four others, including Sen. Birch Bayh, Bayh's wife Mavella, aide Edward Moss and pilot Edward J. Zimny were on board. Moss and Zimny were killed. Kennedy suffered a fractured spine, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
About the photo: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy smiles and waves a bandaged hand from the back of an ambulance in this July 9, 1964 file photo, after being transferred from Northampton, Mass. to New England Baptist Hospital, in Boston to treat injuries sustained in a private airplane crash.
AP FILESen. Edward M. Kennedy was seriously injured in a plane crash while en route to Barnes Municipal Airport in Massachusetts in 1964. Four others, including Sen. Birch Bayh, Bayh's wife Mavella, aide Edward Moss and pilot Edward J. Zimny were on board. Moss and Zimny were killed. Kennedy suffered a fractured spine, broken ribs and a collapsed lung.
About the photo: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy smiles and waves a bandaged hand from the back of an ambulance in this July 9, 1964 file photo, after being transferred from Northampton, Mass. to New England Baptist Hospital, in Boston to treat injuries sustained in a private airplane crash.
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP FILE
Robert F. Kennedy, former U.S. attorney general and the brother of former president John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in June 1968 in Los Angeles.
About the photo: U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy holds two fingers up in a victory sign as he talks to campaign workers at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Ca., June 5, 1968.
AP FILERobert F. Kennedy, former U.S. attorney general and the brother of former president John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in June 1968 in Los Angeles.
About the photo: U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy holds two fingers up in a victory sign as he talks to campaign workers at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Ca., June 5, 1968.
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's Oldsmobile sedan veered off a narrow bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, an extension of the resort island of Martha's Vineyard off the Massachusetts coast, and plunged into a moonlit pond on July 18, 1969. His passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned.
About the photo: Sen. Ted Kennedy's car is pulled from the water at Edgartown, Mass., July 19, 1969. Mary Jo Kopechne was killed after Kennedy drove his car off Dyke Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island.
APU.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's Oldsmobile sedan veered off a narrow bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, an extension of the resort island of Martha's Vineyard off the Massachusetts coast, and plunged into a moonlit pond on July 18, 1969. His passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned.
About the photo: Sen. Ted Kennedy's car is pulled from the water at Edgartown, Mass., July 19, 1969. Mary Jo Kopechne was killed after Kennedy drove his car off Dyke Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island.
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
David Kennedy (pictured at bottom right), the fourth child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, died of a drug overdose at age 28 in 1984.
About the photo: Sen. John F. Kennedy’s Democratic residential nominee, waves from plane ramp as he and members of his traveling party get set to board plane bound for Massachusetts on July 17, 1960 in Los Angeles. With the Senator are his brother, Bob, left, and Bob’s wife Ethel; his niece and nephews: middle row, left to right are Bobby Shriver, Bobby Kennedy and Kathleen Kennedy; front: Joe Kennedy, left, and David Kennedy, right.
APDavid Kennedy (pictured at bottom right), the fourth child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, died of a drug overdose at age 28 in 1984.
About the photo: Sen. John F. Kennedy’s Democratic residential nominee, waves from plane ramp as he and members of his traveling party get set to board plane bound for Massachusetts on July 17, 1960 in Los Angeles. With the Senator are his brother, Bob, left, and Bob’s wife Ethel; his niece and nephews: middle row, left to right are Bobby Shriver, Bobby Kennedy and Kathleen Kennedy; front: Joe Kennedy, left, and David Kennedy, right.
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Michael Kennedy, the sixth child of Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident in Colorado at age 29 in December 1997.
About the photo: Michael Kennedy, is shown on April, 23, 1981 at a memorial in Manhattan for his father, Robert Kennedy. His brother Joe is seated on the right.
APMichael Kennedy, the sixth child of Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident in Colorado at age 29 in December 1997.
About the photo: Michael Kennedy, is shown on April, 23, 1981 at a memorial in Manhattan for his father, Robert Kennedy. His brother Joe is seated on the right.
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
John F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the former president, was killed in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard on July 16, 1999. Kennedy's wife Carolyn and her sister, Lauren Bessette, also died in the crash. Kennedy was 38.
About the photo: In a file photo John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, arrive at the Minskoff Theatre Monday night, April 6, 1998. (AP Photo/Mitch Jacobson)
APJohn F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the former president, was killed in a plane crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard on July 16, 1999. Kennedy's wife Carolyn and her sister, Lauren Bessette, also died in the crash. Kennedy was 38.
About the photo: In a file photo John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, arrive at the Minskoff Theatre Monday night, April 6, 1998. (AP Photo/Mitch Jacobson)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Kara Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, died of a heart attack at age 51 in 2011.
About the photo: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., smiles as he sit with his daughter Kara Kennedy in a family room at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Tuesday afternoon, May 20, 2008. Kennedy has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
APKara Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, died of a heart attack at age 51 in 2011.
About the photo: Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., smiles as he sit with his daughter Kara Kennedy in a family room at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Tuesday afternoon, May 20, 2008. Kennedy has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP FILE
Saoirse Kennedy Hill, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died Aug. 1 at age 22. The Kennedy family confirmed the death in a statement Thursday night following reports that a person had been found unresponsive that day at the storied Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after police responded to a call about a possible drug overdose.
About the photo: In this June 6, 2000 file photo, Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill places a white rose at the Eternal Flame, President John F. Kennedy's gravesite, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Hill, has died at the age of 22.
AP FILESaoirse Kennedy Hill, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, died Aug. 1 at age 22. The Kennedy family confirmed the death in a statement Thursday night following reports that a person had been found unresponsive that day at the storied Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after police responded to a call about a possible drug overdose.
About the photo: In this June 6, 2000 file photo, Robert F. Kennedy's granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill places a white rose at the Eternal Flame, President John F. Kennedy's gravesite, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Hill, has died at the age of 22.
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Front pages of seven British national daily newspapers in London, November 22, 1963, blare the news of U.S. President John Kennedy's assassination. Each front page carried an Associated Press cable photo of the scene in the President's car as his wife Jacqueline bent over him just after he was struck by bullets in the neck and head. (AP Photo)
APFront pages of seven British national daily newspapers in London, November 22, 1963, blare the news of U.S. President John Kennedy's assassination. Each front page carried an Associated Press cable photo of the scene in the President's car as his wife Jacqueline bent over him just after he was struck by bullets in the neck and head. (AP Photo)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Jacqueline Kennedy walks down the Capitol steps with her daughter Caroline and son John Jr. after President John. F. Kennedy's casket was placed in the rotunda in Washington Nov. 24, 1963. (AP Photo)
APJacqueline Kennedy walks down the Capitol steps with her daughter Caroline and son John Jr. after President John. F. Kennedy's casket was placed in the rotunda in Washington Nov. 24, 1963. (AP Photo)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Jacqueline Kennedy, her children Caroline and John Jr., and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy arrive at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 24, 1963. They rode from the White House in a procession carrying the slain president's body to the Capitol. Behind them are President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson. (AP Photo)
APJacqueline Kennedy, her children Caroline and John Jr., and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy arrive at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 24, 1963. They rode from the White House in a procession carrying the slain president's body to the Capitol. Behind them are President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson. (AP Photo)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Members of the Kennedy family kneel at the grave of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Nov. 20, 1970, the 45th anniversary of his birth. From left are Sen. Edward Kennedy; Mary Courtney Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy, wife of the assassinated Senator; and her children, Mary Kerry, Matthew Maxwell Taylor, Christopher George, Michael LeMoyne Kennedy and Mrs. Joan Kennedy. (AP Photo/Bob Daughety)
APMembers of the Kennedy family kneel at the grave of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Nov. 20, 1970, the 45th anniversary of his birth. From left are Sen. Edward Kennedy; Mary Courtney Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy, wife of the assassinated Senator; and her children, Mary Kerry, Matthew Maxwell Taylor, Christopher George, Michael LeMoyne Kennedy and Mrs. Joan Kennedy. (AP Photo/Bob Daughety)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, and some of her children pray at the grave-site of the senator at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday, Nov. 20, 1977 in Washington the fifty second anniversary of his birth. At right is Ethel Kennedy's youngest child Rory. The family later went to the grave of President John F. Kennedy, Robert’s brother, who was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. (AP Photo)
APEthel Kennedy, widow of Robert F. Kennedy, and some of her children pray at the grave-site of the senator at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday, Nov. 20, 1977 in Washington the fifty second anniversary of his birth. At right is Ethel Kennedy's youngest child Rory. The family later went to the grave of President John F. Kennedy, Robert’s brother, who was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. (AP Photo)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy (D-Mass) manages a smile and a wave as he left hospital in Northampton, Mass., July 9, 1964 for transfer to Boston one day less than three weeks after he received a broken back in a plane crash. Two people were killed in the crash, including an aide to the senator. (AP Photo/J. Walter Green )
APSen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy (D-Mass) manages a smile and a wave as he left hospital in Northampton, Mass., July 9, 1964 for transfer to Boston one day less than three weeks after he received a broken back in a plane crash. Two people were killed in the crash, including an aide to the senator. (AP Photo/J. Walter Green )
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP FILE
Sen. Edward Kennedy's car is pulled from water as the car is screened off the bridge at Edgartown, July 19, 1969, Edgartown, Mass. The body of Mary Jo Kopechne of Washington, D.C., was found in rear seat. Her death was attributed to drowning. (AP Photo)
AP FILESen. Edward Kennedy's car is pulled from water as the car is screened off the bridge at Edgartown, July 19, 1969, Edgartown, Mass. The body of Mary Jo Kopechne of Washington, D.C., was found in rear seat. Her death was attributed to drowning. (AP Photo)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
Curious onlookers inspect Sen. Ted Kennedy's car in July 1969. Mary Jo Kopechne was killed after Kennedy drove the car off Dyke Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, Mass. on July 18, 1969. (AP Photo)
APCurious onlookers inspect Sen. Ted Kennedy's car in July 1969. Mary Jo Kopechne was killed after Kennedy drove the car off Dyke Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, Mass. on July 18, 1969. (AP Photo)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP FILE
Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., arrives back home in Hyannis, Mass., after attending the funeral of Mary Jo Kopechne in Pennsylvania, July 22, 1969. Miss Kopechne drowned when a car driven by Senator Kennedy went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick, a small island on the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. (AP Photo/Frank C. Curtin)
AP FILESenator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., arrives back home in Hyannis, Mass., after attending the funeral of Mary Jo Kopechne in Pennsylvania, July 22, 1969. Miss Kopechne drowned when a car driven by Senator Kennedy went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick, a small island on the eastern end of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. (AP Photo/Frank C. Curtin)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
This Sunday, July 18, 1999 aerial photo shows the Gay Head area of Martha's Vineyard shrouded in haze. A vast aerial search of the sea off Martha's Vineyard resumed Sunday after Coast Guard cutters overnight found no signs of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife and her sister. Their plane was reported missing off the shores off the resort island early Saturday. (AP Photo/Neal Hamberg)
APThis Sunday, July 18, 1999 aerial photo shows the Gay Head area of Martha's Vineyard shrouded in haze. A vast aerial search of the sea off Martha's Vineyard resumed Sunday after Coast Guard cutters overnight found no signs of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife and her sister. Their plane was reported missing off the shores off the resort island early Saturday. (AP Photo/Neal Hamberg)
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California governor denies RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan paroleAP
A woman places flowers and a religious picture on the doorstep of John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's apartment Sunday, July 18, 1999, in New York. Searchers looking for John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane zeroed in on a spot at the bottom of the sea after picking up an automatic emergency signal Sunday, while Americans grieved over the almost certain deaths of Kennedy, his wife and her sister.(AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)
APA woman places flowers and a religious picture on the doorstep of John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy's apartment Sunday, July 18, 1999, in New York. Searchers looking for John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane zeroed in on a spot at the bottom of the sea after picking up an automatic emergency signal Sunday, while Americans grieved over the almost certain deaths of Kennedy, his wife and her sister.(AP Photo/Louis Lanzano)
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