Parole recommended for man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968

CALIFORNIA • A California review board has recommended that Sirhan Sirhan, who is serving a life sentence for assassinating US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, be released from prison on parole.

Sirhan, 77, has previously been denied parole 15 times.

Friday's decision by a Board of Parole Hearings panel is subject to a 120-day review by the board's legal staff, during which the case may be referred to the full board for further evaluation before a final judgment is rendered.

The state's governor then has 30 days to reverse the board's action or let it stand. That process would most likely put Sirhan's fate in the hands of Governor Gavin Newsom, a first-term Democrat, assuming he survives a recall election set for September.

If the governor takes no action on a parole grant, the inmate is then scheduled for release.

The Palestinian-born Sirhan was convicted of gunning down Kennedy, 42, in the kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968.

The shooting occurred minutes after the New York senator and former US attorney-general gave his victory speech following the California Democratic primary. Kennedy died the next day.

Sirhan has said he had no recollection of the killing, although he has also said he fired at Kennedy because he was enraged by his support for Israel.

Two members of the slain senator's family, including his son, Mr Robert F. Kennedy Jr, sent letters to the parole board in support of Sirhan's release, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Sirhan was sentenced to death in 1969, but it was commuted to life in prison after California banned the death penalty.

REUTERS