Two adult children of Robert F. Kennedy are expected to endorse the candidate challenging Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón due to his failure to support the families of crime victims. Max Kennedy and Rory Kennedy, who had not been born when their father was assassinated in 1968, will instead endorse Nathan Hochman, a former assistant U.S. attorney. Gascón’s policy of prohibiting prosecutors from attending hearings for parole-eligible inmates serving life terms, including Kennedy’s assassin Sirhan Sirhan, is cited as a major reason for their lack of confidence in Gascón.
Gascón’s office did not immediately respond to the news of Kennedy’s children endorsing his opponent. It remains unclear how they will address the parole policy of Gascón, a progressive, and the effect their announcement may have on Sirhan’s case. Sirhan was found eligible for parole in 2022, but California Governor Gavin Newsom intervened and reversed the decision. A separate parole panel ruled that Sirhan was not eligible for parole in 2023. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not send a prosecutor to appear at Sirhan’s parole hearings in either 2022 or 2023, in line with Gascón’s policy of not sending prosecutors to hearings for parole-eligible inmates serving life terms.
Gascón’s decision to stop sending prosecutors to parole hearings for inmates serving life terms was made in 2020. The office believed that state parole officials, rather than prosecutors, were best equipped to make judgments about whether to release inmates. This policy was highlighted when prosecutors did not attend a 2021 parole hearing for Bruce Davis, a Charles Manson follower. Manson, sentenced to death in 1971 for his involvement in the murders of Sharon Tate and six others, also did not have a prosecutor present at his hearing. Gascón’s office stated that the prosecutors’ role ends at sentencing, and the DA believes that public safety and equity can both be achieved.
When Sirhan became parole eligible in 2021, seven members of the Kennedy family issued a statement expressing their opposition to his potential release. They emphasized the importance of a defendant’s acknowledgment of the gravity of their offense, acceptance of responsibility, and display of genuine remorse and reform as key factors in determining parole eligibility. The Kennedy family members noted that parole should be available for reformed inmates, but not for those who continue to pose a threat to public safety. The murder of Robert F. Kennedy was described as one of history’s most infamous crimes, and Sirhan’s continued denial of blame was critiqued.
The endorsement of Gascón’s opponent by Robert F. Kennedy’s children highlights the broader concerns within the community regarding Gascón’s policies and actions as District Attorney. The impact of this endorsement on the upcoming election in November remains to be seen. The debate over the role of prosecutors in parole hearings for inmates serving life terms continues, with Gascón advocating for a different approach than his predecessors. The Kennedy family’s position on Sirhan’s parole eligibility adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing discussion around criminal justice and public safety.
