Punitive Damages Added in Libel Case

A Santa Monica Superior Court jury Monday recommended that a Bakersfield farmer be awarded more than $1.1 million in damages because a tabloid newspaper identified him as the real assassin of Robert F. Kennedy.

The money would go to Khalid Khawar, who was standing next to Kennedy on the night he was killed at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. The Globe, a supermarket tabloid, printed a story in which conspiracy theorist Robert Morrow said Khawar, not Sirhan Sirhan, was the true assassin. The story was based on a book by Morrow, who claimed that Khawar’s weapon was a gun disguised as a camera.

The jury award came in two phases. Friday, the jury awarded Khawar a $675,000 libel judgment because of injury to his reputation and emotional distress. Monday, the jury awarded $500,000 in punitive damages.

A spokeswoman for the Globe, Terry Raskyn, said the jury’s award was only a recommendation and that there was hope that Judge Richard Harris would reject it.

As part of the story, the Globe ran a photograph of Kennedy taken the night he was killed. In the photo, a large black arrow pointed out Khawar, who had recently graduated from college, identifying him as the assassin.

“It’s not over yet,” Raskyn said. She said the Globe hoped the judge would overturn the award because the jury had found the story accurately recounted the book’s claims.

Francis Pizzulli, one of Khawar’s lawyers, said he did not believe the judge will change the award after he reviews the case April 15. The Globe said it will appeal if the award is upheld.