Sirhan Sirhan

Sirhan Sirhan
Name	Sirhan Sirhan
Birth name	Sirhan Bishara Sirhan
Birth date	19 March 1944
Birth place	Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
Conviction	First-degree murder
Penalty	Death (commuted to life imprisonment)
Occupation	Stablehand

Sirhan Sirhan. He is the convicted assassin of United States Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Sirhan shot Kennedy on June 5, 1968, in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, shortly after Kennedy's victory in the California Democratic primary, and Kennedy died the following day. Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder in 1969 and initially sentenced to death, a penalty later commuted to life imprisonment following the California Supreme Court's 1972 invalidation of the state's death penalty.

Early life and background

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was born in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem during the final years of British rule. His family, Arab Christians of Palestinian descent, were Arab citizens following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the establishment of the State of Israel. In 1956, the Sirhan family emigrated to the United States, settling in the Los Angeles area after a brief stay in New York City. Sirhan attended John Muir High School in Pasadena and later Pasadena City College, but his education was marked by instability. He worked various jobs, including as a stablehand at the Santa Anita Park racetrack in Arcadia, and was known to be deeply affected by the Six-Day War in 1967, which solidified his strong anti-Zionist views.

Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

On the night of June 4, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy celebrated his victory in the 1968 California Democratic primary with a speech in the Ambassador Hotel's Embassy Ballroom. Shortly after midnight on June 5, Kennedy was leaving the ballroom through a crowded kitchen pantry when Sirhan, armed with a .22 caliber Iver Johnson revolver, fired multiple shots at close range. Kennedy was struck three times, including a fatal wound to the head. Five other individuals were wounded in the attack, including Paul Schrade of the United Auto Workers. The scene was one of chaos, with Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson and pro football player Rosey Grier helping to subdue and disarm the assailant. Kennedy was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital where he died nearly 26 hours later.

Trial and conviction

Sirhan's trial began in Los Angeles County Superior Court in February 1969, with Judge Herbert V. Walker presiding. The prosecution, led by District Attorney Evelle J. Younger, presented overwhelming physical evidence, including ballistics matching and witness testimony from individuals like journalist George Plimpton. Sirhan's defense attorneys, Grant B. Cooper and Russell E. Parsons, did not contest his actions but entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, arguing diminished capacity. Psychiatrists for the defense testified about Sirhan's alleged dissociative state and obsession with Kennedy's support for Israel. The jury rejected the insanity defense, and on April 17, 1969, Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to death in the San Quentin gas chamber.

Imprisonment and parole hearings

Following the People v. Anderson decision by the California Supreme Court in 1972, which temporarily invalidated the state's death penalty, Sirhan's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. He has been incarcerated primarily at the California State Prison, Corcoran. Sirhan has been denied parole numerous times, with boards consistently citing the calculated nature of the crime and his lack of insight. In August 2021, a Los Angeles County parole board recommended his release, a decision that sparked immediate controversy and was reversed in January 2022 by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who stated Sirhan remained a threat to public safety. His legal team, including attorney Angela Berry, has continued to advocate for his release.

Motive and conspiracy theories

Sirhan stated his motive was retaliation for Kennedy's pro-Israel stance, particularly the candidate's support for selling fighter aircraft to Israel during the Six-Day War. Entries in Sirhan's notebooks, entered as evidence at trial, contained repeated phrases like "RFK must die." Despite his confessed political motive, the official investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded Sirhan acted alone. However, the case has been a persistent source of conspiracy theories, fueled by discrepancies such as the number of shots fired versus the capacity of his revolver, witness accounts of a possible second gunman, and allegations of evidence mishandling. Researchers like Robert Blair Kaiser and former District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi have debated these theories, though no conclusive evidence of a conspiracy has been substantiated.

In popular culture

The assassination and Sirhan's role have been depicted in numerous films, documentaries, and books. Key cinematic treatments include the 1974 television film The Missiles of October which contextualizes the era, and the 2006 film Bobby directed by Emilio Estevez. Documentaries such as The RFK Tapes and series like CNN's The Sixties have examined the crime. The event is also a pivotal moment in historical narratives about 1968, a year marked by the assassinations of both Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and is frequently referenced in works about the Democratic Party and American political violence.

Category:American assassins Category:American people convicted of murder Category:Palestinian emigrants to the United States Category:1944 births Category:People convicted of murder by California Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by California Category:People from Jerusalem