California governor denies parole for Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of Robert Kennedy assassination

Sirhan originally faced a death sentence for the 1968 killing of Kennedy, who was a Democratic US senator from New York and the former US attorney general. He was murdered at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after declaring victory in the California presidential primary. Sirhan repeatedly testified that he did not recall shooting Kennedy and injuring five others, but in his recent parole hearing, he said he took responsibility for the killing.

Paul Schrade, a victim who survived the shooting, has also argued for his release.

In 2020, Newsom similarly rejected parole for Leslie Van Houten, who was convicted for her role in the high-profile Charles Manson killings, despite parole panels ruling four times that she should be freed after decades in prison.

The governor also announced pardons for 24 people, and commutations for 18 others currently incarcerated on Thursday. The list included a commutation for Rahsaan Thomas, a 51-year-old writer and co-host of the award-winning Ear Hustle podcast, which is recorded behind bars at San Quentin prison.

Newsom is again facing pressure to reduce the prison population and issue more commutations and releases as Omicron wreaks havoc across the prison system, and as only 69% of prison workers report being fully vaccinated. At some prisons, fewer than half of staff are fully vaccinated.