RFK's Assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, Denied Parole For 15th Time
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, the man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy in 1968 in Los Angeles, lost his 15th bid for parole Wednesday.
Sirhan, 71, will be eligible for another parole hearing in five years.
He's housed at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in Otay Mesa, in San Diego County.
Sirhan was convicted in April 1969 of first-degree murder and assault in the June 5, 1968, assassination of Democratic Sen. Robert Kennedy, 42, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Five others were shot during the attack on the former Attorney General, New York Senator and presidential hopeful but survived.
A native Palestinian, Sirhan was initially sentenced to death. That sentence was later commuted to life in prison after the state Supreme Court declared capital
punishment unconstitutional in 1972.
The assassin was transferred to Donovan State Prison from a Kings County penitentiary on Nov. 22, 2013 -- ironically, the 50th anniversary of the murder of his victim's older brother, President John F. Kennedy. (Read More) At the time of the move, prision officials called the timing "an unfortunate coincidence."
Sirhan was also formerly housed at Corcoran State Prison in Central California.
In years past, Sirhan has claimed amnesia brought on by excess consumption of alcohol and denied responsibility for the murder, despite having admitted to the crime in open court during his trial.
He was last denied parole in March 2011.
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