Image: Mugshot of Sirhan in 2021.
On this day in history, January 13, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom denied the release of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin Sirhan Sirhan after 53 years in prison. This was Sirhan’s 16th attempt at parole for the June 5, 1968, assassination of the presidential hopeful at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. That evening, Kennedy had secured the critical Democratic presidential nomination by winning the state of California in the primary. Sirhan was initially sentenced to death on May 22, 1969, yet that sentence was commuted to life when the California Supreme Court paused capital punishment in 1971.
Governor Newsom would explain in a nine-page decision why he disagreed with the state parole board who had recommended that Sirhan be released. The Governor stated that even though Sirhan was 77 years old, he felt he still posed a significant risk to the public primarily because he refused to accept full responsibility for killing Kennedy.
“Mr. Sirhan’s implausible and unsupported denials of responsibility and lack of credibility elevate his current risk level,” the Governor stated in his decision. “They indicate that Mr. Sirhan, despite decades of incarceration and purported efforts in rehabilitation, has failed to address the deficiencies that led him to assassinate Senator Kennedy. The record further demonstrates that Mr. Sirhan has not meaningfully disclaimed political violence – committed by him or in his name – nor shown that he appreciates the unique risks created by his commission of a political assassination. These gaps in Mr. Sirhan’s insight have a close nexus to his current risk of inciting further political violence.”
Sirhan expressed remorse at his August parole hearing and said he had entrusted his life to peace. He said, “Senator Kennedy was the hope of the world, and I injured, and I harmed all of them, and it pains me to experience that, the knowledge of such a horrible deed if I did, in fact, do that…. I’m still responsible for being there and probably causing the whole incident through my gun or other guns.”
Two of Kennedy’s children, Douglas Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., submitted letters on Sirhan’s behalf. Robert Jr. stated that he believed his father would have shown Sirhan mercy.
For Governor Newsom, who referred to Robert Kennedy as his “political hero,” his decision was personal. He told reporters that along with a photo of his father and appellate court Judge William Newsom, he also keeps a picture of Kennedy on his desk.
In his decision, Newsom stated that Sirhan’s actions deprived the Kennedy family of a husband and a father and the nation of a “promising young leader” during a time of great turmoil for the country. Kennedy’s assassination was just nine weeks after Martin Luther King Jr.’s killing and four years after Kennedy’s older brother, President John F. Kennedy, was murdered in Dallas.
Newsom wrote in his decision that “Mr. Sirhan’s crimes also caused great harm to the American people…. The gravity of Mr. Sirhan’s crimes alone counsels against his release.”
Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Senator Robert Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after being declared the winner of the California presidential primary. Directly after he proclaimed to his shouting supporters that the country was ready to stop with its disagreeable divisions, Kennedy was shot numerous times by 24-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. He died a day later, on June 6, 1968.
The summer of 1968 was a turbulent time in the United States. Both the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement were still raging. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated earlier that year, stirring riots across the country. On top of this unrest, President Lyndon Johnson decided not to run for a second term as president. Robert Kennedy, JFK’s younger brother, and former U.S. Attorney General, decided to run for president and experienced overwhelming support.
Many recognized Kennedy as the only person in American politics competent enough to unite the people. He was adored by the minority community for his honesty and loyalty to the civil rights cause. After winning California’s primary, Kennedy was able to obtain the Democratic nomination and go head-to-head against Richard Nixon in the general election.
As star athletes Rafer Johnson and Roosevelt Grier accompanied Kennedy out a rear area of the Ambassador Hotel. Sirhan Sirhan moved forward with a rolled-up campaign poster, hiding his .22 revolver. He was just a foot away when he fired numerous shots at Kennedy. Grier and Johnson grappled Sirhan to the ground, but not before five bystanders had been shot. Grier was distressed afterward and blamed himself for allowing Kennedy to be shot.
Sirhan, who was born in Palestine, confessed to the offense at his trial and received a death sentence on March 3, 1969. However, because California overturned all death penalty sentences in 1972, Sirhan has spent the remainder of his life behind bars. The New York Times stated that Sirhan felt Kennedy was “instrumental” in persecuting Palestinians. Hubert Humphrey ran for the Democrats in 1968 but lost to Nixon.
Subscribe to “History Daily with Francis Chappell Black’s” Blog to receive regular updates regarding new content:
Help us with our endeavors to keep History alive. With our daily Blog posts and our publishing program we hope to inform people in a comfortable and easy-going manner. This is my full-time job so any support you can give would be greatly appreciated.
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 
Leave a comment