Sirhan Bishara Sirhan
Sirhan Sirhan
Born	March 19, 1944 (1944-03-19) (age 64) Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine
Penalty	death, commuted to life imprisonment 1972
Status	incarcerated
Parents	Bishara Sirhan and Mary Muzher

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (born March 19, 1944) is the convicted assassin of United States Senator Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy. He is currently serving a life sentence at the California State Prison, Corcoran. Sirhan Sirhan was a Palestinian militant allegedly responsible for a November 10, 2002 attack on the Israeli Kibbutz Metzer in which five Israeli civilians were killed. ... Image File history File links Sirhan_Sirhan. ... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Flag The approximate borders of the British Mandate circa 1922. ... Death penalty, death sentence, and execution redirect here. ... Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, often for most or even all of the criminals remaining life, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually 7 to 50 years... is the 78th day of the year (79th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jack Ruby murdered the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, in a very public manner. ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was one of two younger brothers of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and served as United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. ... Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, often for most or even all of the criminals remaining life, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually 7 to 50 years... California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) is a male-only California state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County. ...

Personal information

Sirhan was born in Jerusalem^[1] to Christian Palestinian parents and was raised in the Maronite Church. In his adult life however, he made several religious conversions, joining Baptist and Seventh-day Adventist churches, and dabbled in the occult.^[2] His family, which moved to the United States when Sirhan was 12, briefly lived in New York, and soon moved to California. He attended John Muir High School and Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California and was employed as a stable boy in 1965 at the Santa Anita Race Track in Arcadia, California.^[3] For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... Religions Christianity Scriptures Bible Languages Vernacular: Lebanese Arabic, Cypriot Maronite Arabic Liturgical: Syriac Maronites (Arabic: ‎, transliteration: , Syriac: ܡܪܘܢܝܐ, Latin: Ecclesia Maronitarum) are members of one of the Eastern Catholic Churches, with a heritage reaching back to Maron in the early 5th century. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Baptist is... The Seventh-day Adventist (abbreviated Adventist[3]) Church is a Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished mainly by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath. ... For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ... This article is about the state. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... John Muir High School is a four year comprehensive secondary school located in Pasadena, California. ... Pasadena City College (commonly known by the abbreviation PCC) is a community college located on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, USA. PCC is the third largest community college campus in the United States. ... Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... A groom is responsible for the welfare of their employers horses. ... Arcadia is a U.S. city in Los Angeles County, California that is located about 13 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley, at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

Robert F. Kennedy assassination

Main article: Robert F. Kennedy assassination

On June 5, 1968, Sirhan fired a .22 caliber Iver Johnson Cadet revolver into the crowd surrounding Senator Robert Kennedy in the kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. This occurred shortly after Kennedy had finished addressing supporters in the hotel's main ballroom. George Plimpton, Rosey Grier (a writer, NFL defensive lineman, and Kennedy's close friend/bodyguard), and Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson were among several men who subdued and disarmed Sirhan after a lengthy struggle.^[4] Robert Kennedy The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968 following celebrations of a successful campaign in the Californian primary elections while seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Iver Johnson was a U.S. firearms, bicycle, and motorcycle manufacturer from 1871 to 1993. ... The Ambassadors Cocoanut Grove circa the late 1950s. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. ... Roosevelt Rosey Grier (born July 14, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Cuthbert, Georgia), a star athlete at Roselle High School(NJ), is an American football player, actor, and Christian minister. ... NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... Rafer Lewis Johnson (born August 18, 1935) is a former American decathlete. ...

Kennedy was shot three times, with a fourth bullet passing through his jacket, and died nearly 26 hours later.^[5] Five other persons at the party were also shot, but all five recovered: Paul Schrade, an official with the United Automobile Workers union; William Weisel, an ABC TV unit manager; Ira Goldstein, a reporter with the Continental News Service; Elizabeth Evans, a friend of Pierre Salinger, one of Kennedy's campaign aides; and a teenager, Irwin Stroll, a Kennedy volunteer.^[6] The United Auto Workers (UAW), officially the United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America International Union, is one of the largest labor unions in North America, with more than 700,000 members in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico organized into approximately 950 union locals. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American television network. ... Goldstein explains FastCheque to his boss in 2006 Ira Goldstein is a fictional character, played by Stephen Mellor[1], who appears in television commercials for New Zealand bank, ASB Bank. ... Pierre Salinger. ...

On February 10, 1969, a motion by Sirhan's lawyers to enter a plea of guilty to first degree murder in exchange for life imprisonment (rather than the death penalty) was made in chambers and denied. The court judge, Herbert V. Walker, ordered that the record pertaining to the motion be sealed.^[7] is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime, often for most or even all of the criminals remaining life, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time (usually 7 to 50 years... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ...

On March 3, 1969, in a Los Angeles courtroom, Sirhan said that he had killed Kennedy "with 20 years of malice aforethought," although he has maintained since being arrested that he has no memory of the crime.^[8]The judge did not accept this confession and it was later withdrawn.^[9] is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Malice Aforethought is a 1931 murder mystery novel written by Anthony Berkeley Cox, using the name Francis Iles. ... This article is about the practice of confession in the Modern confessional in the Church of the Holy Name, Dunedin, New Zealand. ...

Motives

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Sirhan Sirhan's diary

Sirhan supposedly believed he was deliberately betrayed by Kennedy's support for Israel in the June 1967 Six-Day War,^[10] which had begun exactly one year before the assassination. However, the "RFK must die" diary entries started before Kennedy's support of Israel became public knowledge.^[11] After his arrest, these journals and diaries were discovered. Most of the entries were incoherent and repetitive, though a single entry obsessed over a desire to kill Kennedy. When confronted with this entry, Sirhan didn't deny writing them, but rather expressed bafflement.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Combatants Israel Egypt Syria Jordan Iraq Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Mordechai Hod, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Zaid ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 264,000 (incl. ...

Prosecution

The lead prosecutor in the case was Lynn "Buck" Compton.^[12] Attempts by Sirhan's lawyer, Grant Cooper, to move his case to Fresno where he claimed he could be given a fair trial, failed.^{[citation needed]} During the three-month-long sentence hearing, (There was no trial, as he was pled guilty) the defense primarily based their case on the expert testimony of Bernard L. Diamond M.D., a well known professor of law and psychiatry at University of California, Berkeley, who testified that Sirhan was suffering from diminished capacity at the time of the murder.^[13] Sirhan was convicted on April 17, 1969 and was sentenced to death in a gas chamber six days later. The sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972 after the California Supreme Court, in its decision in California v. Anderson 64 Cal.2d 633, 414 P.2d 366, (Cal. 1972), invalidated all pending death sentences imposed in California prior to 1972.^[7] Sirhan's most recent lawyer, Lawrence Teeter, adamantly maintained that Grant Cooper was compromised by a conflict of interest and was, as a consequence, grossly negligent in defense of his client. ^[14] Teeter died in 2005.^[15] Lynn D. Buck Compton (born December 31, 1921) is a retired California Court of Appeal Judge who served as the lead prosecutor in Sirhan Sirhans trial for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy. ... Grant B. Cooper, or simply Grant Cooper, born on April 1, 1903 in New York City[1], was the chief defense attorney in the murder trial against Sirhan Sirhan for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. ... Fresno redirects here. ... Bernard L. Diamond Bernard L. Diamond M.D. (1912-1990) was a Professor of law and psychiatry at the University of California, Berkeley. ... Sather Tower (the Campanile) looking out over the San Francisco Bay and Mount Tamalpais. ... In jurisprudence, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a defense by excuse via which a defendant argues that that although they broke the law, they should not be held criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were diminished or impaired. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... For other uses, see Gas chamber (disambiguation). ... A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. ... Life imprisonment is a term used for a particular kind of sentence of imprisonment. ... The Supreme Court of California is the state supreme court in California. ... Holding The use of capital punishment in the state of California was deemed unconstitutional because it was considered cruel and unusual. ... // The United States Reports, the official reporter of the Supreme Court of the United States Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral form which will... Justices of the Supreme Court of California (circa May 2005). ... Lawrence Teeter (1949 – July 31, 2005) was an American lawyer most well-known for being the attorney of Sirhan Sirhan, the man convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy. ...

Imprisonment

Applications for parole

A parole hearing for Sirhan is now scheduled every five years. On March 15, 2006, he was denied parole for the 13th time.^[16] Currently he is confined at the California State Prison. He did not attend the hearing, nor did he appoint a new attorney to represent him. His next possible chance for parole will be in 2011.^[17] is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... California State Prison, Corcoran (COR) is a male-only California state prison located in the city of Corcoran, in Kings County. ...

On May 10, 1982, Sirhan told a parole board: "I sincerely believe that if Robert Kennedy were alive today, I believe he would not countenance singling me out for this kind of treatment. I think he would be among the first to say that, however horrible the deed I committed 14 years ago was, that it should not be the cause for denying me equal treatment under the laws of this country."^[18] is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Robert Kennedy Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy, also called RFK (November 20, 1925–June 6, 1968) was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, and was appointed by his brother as Attorney General for his administration. ...

References

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sources

• Moldea, Dan E.: The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy. W. W. Norton & Company, 1997, ISBN 978-0393315349
• Turner, William V., and Jonn Christian. The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy: The Conspiracy and Cover-up. Carroll & Graf, 2006, ISBN 978-0786719792
• Guide to the Los Angeles Police Department Records of the Robert. F. Kennedy assassination investigation Archives of the California Secretary of State. Last accessed February 10, 2007.

Further reading

• Jansen, Godfrey, Why Robert Kennedy Was Killed: The Story of Two Victims, New York, Third Press, 1970.

• Kaiser, Robert Blair, "R.F.K. Must Die!": A History of the Robert Kennedy Assassination and Its Aftermath, New York, E.P. Dutton & Co, Inc. 1970.

• Melanson, Philip H., Who Killed Robert Kennedy?, Berkeley, California, Odonian, 1993.

• Turner, William V., and John G. Christian, The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy: A Searching Look at the Conspiracy and Cover-up 1968-1978, New York, Random House, 1978.

• Ayton, Mel, The Forgotten Terrorist - Sirhan Sirhan and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Washington DC, Potomac Books, 2007.

External links

• Sirhan Sirhan at the Internet Movie Database
• Crime Library biography
• Interview with Sirhan's attorney Lawrence Teeter on KPFA 94.1 / Guns & Butter show
• The Robert Kennedy Assassination - Statement
• "The Robert Kennedy Assassination: Unraveling the Conspiracy Theories," Mel Ayton, Crime Magazine May 8, 2005.
• Los Angeles Daily Mirror story about Sirhan working as a delivery boy at a Pasadena health food store