Sirhan Sirhan
Who was Sirhan Sirhan?
Palestinian-Jordanian who assassinated U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Sirhan Sirhan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was born on March 19, 1944, in Jerusalem when it was under British control. He is a Palestinian-Jordanian man known for assassinating U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. His family moved to the United States when he was a child, and he grew up in California. He attended John Muir High School in Pasadena and later went to Pasadena City College.
On the night of June 5, 1968, Sirhan approached Senator Kennedy while he was campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in the hotel's kitchen after Kennedy's victory speech in the California primary. Sirhan, 24 years old at the time, shot Kennedy several times with a .22 caliber revolver. Kennedy died the next day from his injuries. The shooting happened exactly one year after the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Sirhan later said he was motivated by Kennedy's strong support for Israel and his push to send military aid, including fighter jets, to the Israeli government.
Sirhan was caught at the scene and charged with murder. On April 17, 1969, he was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges. He was initially sentenced to death by gas chamber, but his sentence was changed to life in prison in 1972 after California temporarily abolished capital punishment following People v. Anderson. The assassination took place during a chaotic time in American history, just five years after President John F. Kennedy's assassination, amidst social unrest over the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement.
Sirhan has been in prison for over fifty years and is currently at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego. He has been denied parole several times over the years. In August 2021, a two-person parole panel granted him parole after 15 years of refusals, but California Governor Gavin Newsom blocked his release in January 2022. He was again denied parole in March 2023. Some scholars see his attack on Kennedy as the first major act of political violence in the U.S. directly connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though there are many conspiracy theories about the assassination's circumstances.
Before Fame
Sirhan Sirhan spent his early years in Jerusalem, during a time of major political changes in the Middle East. His family moved to the United States when he was young to seek better opportunities in California. He went to John Muir High School in Pasadena and later attended Pasadena City College, living an ordinary life as a young Palestinian-Jordanian immigrant.
The 1960s were filled with intense global conflicts, especially in the Middle East, where the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was getting worse. The 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Six-Day War, had a big impact on Arab communities around the world, including Palestinian groups in the United States. This political climate, along with increasing American support for Israel under different leaders, set the stage for Sirhan's later actions against Senator Kennedy, whom he saw as a strong supporter of Israeli military aid.
Key Achievements
- Convicted of first-degree murder of Senator Robert F. Kennedy on April 17, 1969
- Became the subject of one of the most significant criminal cases in 1960s America
- Survived commutation from death sentence to life imprisonment in 1972
- Generated extensive legal and historical documentation through decades of court proceedings
Did You Know?
- 01.He carried out the assassination exactly one year after the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War
- 02.Sirhan was immediately tackled and subdued by several bystanders including former NFL player Rosey Grier and journalist George Plimpton
- 03.His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1972 when California temporarily abolished capital punishment
- 04.He told British journalist David Frost in 1989 that his sole motivation was Kennedy's support for sending 50 fighter jets to Israel
- 05.After being granted parole in 2021, his release was blocked by California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022