CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SOLEDAD : Sirhan Denied 13th Parole Bid

Sirhan B. Sirhan, who shot Sen. Robert F. Kennedy to death 22 years ago, was denied freedom for the 13th time by a parole board that disregarded a Middle Eastern petition pleading for his release. After a hearing of more than five hours at Soledad State Prison, Sirhan was told his next parole hearing would be in 1992. Commissioner David Brown, one of the three members of the Board of Prison Terms who sat in judgment of Sirhan, said parole was denied “because the prisoner committed a political assassination, which is unique in American history.” Sirhan, now 46, was convicted of gunning down Kennedy on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel. Government officials and educators in the Middle East had asked the parole board to release Sirhan, whose lawyer said the officials suggested that Sirhan’s release could speed peace in that region of the world.