Sirhan Sirhan | |
|---|---|
سرحان سرحان | |
 Mugshot of Sirhan in 1969 | |
| Born | Sirhan Bishara Sirhan March 19, 1944 |
| Citizenship | Jordanian |
| Known for | Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (as of 2024) |
| Motive | Anti-Zionism |
| Conviction(s) |
|
| Criminal penalty | Death by gas chamber in 1969; commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 1972 |
| Details | |
| Date | June 5, 1968 12:15 a.m. |
| Location(s) | Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Killed | 1 (Robert F. Kennedy) |
| Injured | 5 |
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (/sɪərˈhɑːn/;[2] Arabic: سرحان بشارة سرحان Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān; born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian-Jordanian man who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a younger brother of American president John F. Kennedy and a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 1968 United States presidential election, on June 5, 1968. Kennedy died the next day at the Good Samaritan Hospital of Los Angeles. The circumstances surrounding the attack, which took place five years after John's assassination, have led to numerous conspiracy theories.
In 1989, Sirhan told British journalist David Frost: "My only connection with Robert Kennedy was his sole support of Israel and his deliberate attempt to send those 50 fighter jets to Israel to obviously do harm to the Palestinians."[3] Some scholars believe that the assassination was the first major incident of political violence in the United States stemming from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict (Sirhan carried out the attack on the first anniversary of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War), though it occurred at a time when the American public was overwhelmingly focused on the Vietnam War.[4]
On April 17, 1969, Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder, among other charges, and subsequently sentenced to death by gas chamber. In 1972, this was commuted to a life sentence in the aftermath of Furman v. Georgia. He is incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego. On August 27, 2021, after 15 years of being denied parole by the local state board, Sirhan was granted parole by a two-person panel.[5][6] Prosecutors declined to participate in or oppose his release in accordance with the belief of the Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón that the prosecutors' role ends at sentencing and they should not influence decisions to release prisoners.[7] On January 13, 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom blocked Sirhan's release on parole.[8] He was denied parole again on March 1, 2023.[9]
- ^ Newsom, Gavin (January 13, 2022), "SIRHAN SIRHAN, B-21014" (PDF), Indeterminate sentence parole decision review (Penal Code Section 3041.2), Government of California.
- ^ Interview with Sirhan Sirhan. Sidrah Zaheer (from LiveLeak.com). Event occurs at 1:13. Archived from the original on August 26, 2013 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Sirhan Felt Betrayed by Kennedy". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 20, 1989. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
- ^ Issenberg, Sasha (June 8, 2008). "RFK's death now viewed as first case of Mideast violence exported to U.S." San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008.
- First published as: Issenberg, Sasha (June 5, 2008). "Slaying gave US a first taste of Mideast terror: Analysts call Robert Kennedy's death a prelude to kidnappings and attacks". Boston Globe. p. 1.
- ^ "RFK's children speak out on Sirhan Sirhan". CBS Sunday Morning. December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
parolewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "RFK assassin Sirhan wins parole with support of 2 Kennedys". Politico. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ "Gov. Gavin Newsom rejects parole for Sirhan Sirhan, convicted assassin of Robert F. Kennedy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ "RFK killer Sirhan Sirhan denied parole by California board". The Associated Press. March 1, 2023.