Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. On Wednesday, he asked a judge to reverse what California Gov. Gavin Newsom did earlier this year and let him out of prison.
Sirhan shot Kennedy right after the senator from New York won the most important Democratic presidential primary in California. During the shooting at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, he hurt five other people.
Newsom said in January that Sirhan is still a threat to the public and hasn't taken responsibility for a crime that changed American history.
But his lawyer, Angela Berry, says there is no proof that her client, who is now 78 years old, is still dangerous.
She is using a legal document called a "writ of habeas corpus" to ask a judge to rule that Newsom broke state law, which says that prisoners should be released from jail unless they pose an unreasonable risk to public safety right now. New California laws also said that the parole panel had to think about the fact that Sirhan did what he did when he was 24 and that he is now an old prisoner.
Berry said she is challenging the governor's decision to change his mind because it was a "abuse of discretion," a violation of Sirhan's right to due process under the Constitution, and against California law. It also says that Newsom got some facts wrong when he made his decision.
Berry said that the governor "had a personal bias, used the wrong law, didn't pay attention to evidence of mitigating circumstances, and didn't give Sirhan the same rights as other people who were eligible for parole."
Two parole commissioners had said that Sirhan was no longer a threat, but Newsom went against what they said. Newsom said that the Christian Palestinian who moved to the U.S. from Jordan has not taken responsibility for violence done in his name. This makes it more likely that he could incite political violence.
The famous Kennedy family was divided by the decision. Two of RFK's sons, Douglas Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wanted him to be freed. But RFK's wife, Ethel Kennedy, and six of his nine children who were still alive were against his release.
Newsom has said that RFK is his political hero, and he keeps pictures of RFK in both his official and home offices, including one of Kennedy with his late father. Berry said that he was making the parole process too political.
Berry said that Newsom put his "political goals and agenda" ahead of what the Constitution says.
The office of Newsom did not answer a request for a comment. In the past few months, Newsom, who is a Democrat, has tried to get more national attention by criticizing Republicans, especially the governors of Florida and Texas. Newsom is running for reelection in November, but he has also sparked rumors that he wants to be president. He has denied these rumors many times.
It's not clear how quickly a judge will decide on Berry's petition, and if the judge rules against either side, they could both appeal. But Sirhan will get a new chance to get out of jail on March 1.
Sirhan was given a death sentence at first, but it was changed to a life sentence when the California Supreme Court temporarily banned the death penalty in 1972.
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