Sirhan Sirhan - Definition

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (born March 19, 1944) was convicted of (and is generally believed to have committed) the June 5, 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, by shooting him just minutes after Kennedy had won the California presidential primary election.

Sirhan, a Palestinian born in Jerusalem, fired into the crowd surrounding Kennedy in the Ambassador Hotel after Kennedy finished addressing supporters. Sirhan was detained at the scene by bystanders, and then arrested. On March 3, 1969, in a Los Angeles, California court, Sirhan admitted that he had killed Kennedy. But, as with President John F. Kennedy's assassination, questions persist.

Sirhan said he felt betrayed by Kennedy's support for Israel in the Six-Day War. The assassination took place one year after the start of that war. Sirhan later also claimed he acted unconsciously, possibly as the result of "hypnotic brainwashing" which he attributed to the CIA's MK-Ultra program.

The head prosecutor in the case was Lynn "Buck" Compton of Band of Brothers fame. Sirhan was convicted and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972 after the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional. He was eligible for parole, but as of March 2003 he had parole denied twelve consecutive times. He is not expected to ever be paroled.

See also

• Robert F. Kennedy assassination

External link

• Crime Library biography (http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/assassins/kennedy/4.html)