RFK Assassin Sirhan Sirhan (Photo: CDCR video screenshot)
RFK Assassin Sirhan Sirhan Recommended For Parole By California Board of Parole
Parole decision still needs Governor Newson’s approval
By Evan Symon, August 28, 2021 5:15 am
On Friday, the California Board of Parole approved the parole of 77-year-old Sirhan Sirhan, who has served time in prison for 53 years for the 1968 murder of New York Senator Robert Kennedy.
On June 5 1968, Sirhan, then a 24-year-old Palestinian refugee, shot and killed New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles as Kennedy was being let out following his victory in the California Presidential Democratic Primary. Before being subdued, an additional 5 people were hit by gunfire but survived. Convicted of murder in 1969, Sirhan had been initially sentenced to death before it being lowered to life in prison in 1972 following the People v. Anderson decision that invalidated the death penalty.
Since being incarcerated, Sirhan has gone through 15 parole board hearings in the past several decades. In recent years, support for Sirhan’s parole has grown as two of RFK’s children, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Douglas Kennedy, approve of his release, with Kennedy Jr. even recently stating that he thinks Sirhan is innocent and that a second gunman was involved.
This all led to the parole hearing on Friday in San Diego. Despite many letters from law enforcement, the public, and other members of the Kennedy family urging the board not to parole Sirhan, Parole Board Commissioner Robert Barton said the Los Angeles District Attorney, George Gascon, gave no opposition to the parole.
This, the support of Kennedy’s sons, Sirhan’s advanced age, Sirhan being considered a youth offender due to being 24-years-old, his troubled childhood, and the panels belief that he would not offend again all pushed them to their granting of parole on Sirhan’s 16th attempt.
Recall election complicates parole decision by Governor
Kennedy’s sons immediately praised the decision on Friday.
“I’m overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face,” said Douglas Kennedy on Friday. “I think I’ve lived my life both in fear of him and his name in one way or another. And I am grateful today to see him as a human being worthy of compassion and love.”
However, many law enforcement groups disagreed with the Parole Board’s decision.
“He shot and killed a sitting Senator, wounded 5 other people, and was found guilty in a court of law,” exclaimed Louis Channing, a former Los Angeles police officer who began his career on the force in 1968, to the Globe on Friday. “I was two months in and was on patrol that night when word came in. You cannot forgive someone who did something so brazen. It’s murder. Pure and simple. An assassination. And now he might be walking out a free man. Bobby Kennedy meant a lot to many people. And now this is happening. It’s a sick joke.”
While the parole board did grant parole, Sirhan has not yet been approved for release. The Governor of California needs to sign off on all paroles. And with a recall election less than 3 weeks away, Governor Gavin Newsom will likely not make a decision until after the election if successful.
“He’d lose a lot of votes by doing this,” said former lobbyist Harry Schultz in a Globe interview. “He can’t risk that right now. Plus, Newsom has denied a lot of paroles in the past, including to Manson family members. It’s not a sure thing he would let Sirhan out. And if a Republican wins, well, Sirhan is definitely not getting out.”
If successful, Sirhan will likely be deported to Jordan due to him not being a citizen of the United States.
A decision by the Governor on the parole will likely be given within a few months.
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Sorry, this sends a terrible message. Shoot whom you like, civilians, leaders, cops.
No worries you can take someone else’s life and keep your own.
The woke off spring of RFK can forgive, but they can still have justice served by letting him rot.
If Sirhan had killed a leader in his native land, he would have been de-capitated years ago but not in compassionate California! LOOK he is laughing at America! I think I’m going to be sick.
Damn. I remember where I was and what I was doing that night Was really, really upset and even more so now. Gawd don’t we have any normal people in CA? This on top of a Roseville Marine from Roseville , one of the 12 killed in Afghanistan . When does the stupidity of the officials end ?
Why are my posts being identified as spam all of a sudden?
If Gavin OK’s this it will be the last fatal move of his administration & he WILL be recalled:-)
Damn. I remember where I was and what I was doing that night Was really, really upset and even more so now. Gawd don’t we have any normal people in CA? This on top of a Roseville Marine from Roseville , one of the 12 killed in Afghanistan . When does the stupidity of the officials end ?
Of course George Gascon is in favor of releasing a murderer. That’s why he is up for recall.
This is what was said elsewhere. And no, it’s not meant to troll. So please don’t start:
To be fair, once the actual facts of the killing are examined, it becomes apparent that Mr. Sirhan may in fact be both innocent, and a set-up patsy.
OK, right now everybody reading that, everybody with an agenda – both pro and con – is waving his or her hands in the air and yelling and screaming. I understand; it’s an emotionally charged topic.
But let’s look at facts. And only facts. And let’s look at them with an open and dispassionate mind, and not like a bunch of rowdy schoolchildren:
Sirhan Sirhan & The Assassination Of Robert Kennedy
By Larry Teeter Attorney For Sirhan Sirhan
https://rense.com/politics6/sirhan.htm
In particular, it’s noteworthy that Mr. Sirhan, per numerous witnesses, was *standing in front of* and at a distance from Mr. Kennedy. Yet Mr. Kennedy was *shot in the back and killed at close range, ~3″ from the weapon’s barrel and at an upward angle.*
Right there, any thinking individual is given to pause. The facts don’t fit the approved narrative. If someone is standing in front of you, they cannot possibly shoot you in the back. So what’s going on?
Further, autopsy evidence of this discrepancy in the narrative was deliberately withheld from the defense. In other words, gross prosecutorial misconduct.
There are other anomalies as well, And yes, this is all to easy to fob off as mere and crazed “Conspiracy Theory.” But the fact remains that any decent (non-political) police detective would conclude that the facts simply don’t match the narrative.
Again, this whole subject is highly and emotionally charged, esp. inasmuch as at present it is intermixed with polarizing left-wing and identity politics. But facts are facts, And there’s a dog here that didn’t bark.
Just a thought.
VicB3
P.S. The standard google type search usually will present you only with the stuff “everybody” knows. In order to find the alternative views, you really have to dig and phrase questions in multiple ways in order to try and get the real story. You also have to keep reminding yourself that the truth is rarely black and white, being instead shades of gray. That, and keep an open mind.
Hope this helps.
I appreciate your input and I’m certainly open to different theories about the assassination, VicB3. One of the issues I see with Mr. Teeter’s article is a lack of sources cited for the many conclusions he’s raised. In addition, the article is undated and there is no information presented, as to the current status of Mr. Teeter’s Habeas Corpus petition before the California Supreme Court. I would be most interested in knowing the outcome of that matter and its subsequent legal history, if any. Post-conviction relief is rarely granted in most criminal cases and the standards for that relief are very high. That said, I must give you credit for citing your source.