Who is ethel kennedy

We adamantly oppose the parole and release of Sirhan Sirhan and are shocked by a ruling that we believe ignores the standards for parole of a confessed, first-degree murderer in the state of California," said a statement last month from Kennedy's children Joseph P.

He took our father from our family and he took him from America," they wrote. Sirhan shot Kennedy in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles following a campaign event in which Kennedy celebrated primary victories in his run for the Democratic nomination for president in Sirhan was sentenced to death for the murder, but his punishment was commuted to life in prison in after the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional.

Angela Berry, Sirhan's attorney, provided sentencing memorandums focusing on her client's youth at the time of the murder -- he was 24 -- and his childhood. Describing Sirhan as a Palestinian who became a refugee at age 4, the memorandums say he "witnessed atrocities most of us only see in movies or in our worst nightmares" before immigrating to the US as a teenager.

At last month's hearing, Sirhan was asked what he would say about people who believe he's angry after decades behind bars. Ethel Kennedy, wife of assassinated Robert F. Kennedy, says husband's killer should not be released. Associated Press AP. Show Caption. Hide Caption. Kennedy's granddaughter dies at Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Her statement came a week after former U. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. The California Parole Board found last month that Sirhan no longer poses a threat to society, noting that he had enrolled in more than 20 programs including anger management classes, tai chi and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Sirhan has served 53 years of a life sentence. Ethel's deep friendship with singer Andy Williams — who began to escort her to events after her husband's death — was scrutinized over time by media outlets. Many speculated about Williams' own rocky marriage and believed that he was having an affair.

Williams and his wife would later divorce and he remarried another woman. In the end, with rumors of other relationships with footballer Frank Gifford and politician Hugh Carey, Ethel refused to remarry, citing her Catholic faith. The widowed Kennedy and Williams continued to remain platonic friends, which he had always maintained was the extent of their relationship. In previous years Ethel had also endorsed Obama during his candidacy, stating that he reminded her greatly of her late husband.

We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Robert Kennedy was attorney general during his brother John F. Kennedy's administration.

He later served as a U. Senator and was assassinated during his run for the presidency. Joseph P. Kennedy is best known as the father of three political leaders: President John F. Kennedy, U. Representative Ted Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, who served as a U. She has publically struggled with alcoholism. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.