Sirhan Sirhan Parole Hearing

The brief Associated Press story about the denial of parole to Sirhan Sirhan on Dec. 1 (Dec. 2), leaves out the most interesting events at the parole hearing, which was broadcast live by Court TV. As Sirhan’s attorney, I pointed out some important facts about the evidence. According to the Robert Kennedy autopsy report, the assassination weapon’s muzzle was one inch away from Kennedy’s fatal head wound.

At trial, the coroner testified that the gun was somewhere between being in actual physical contact with Kennedy and being one inch away from him as to the other two wounds he suffered. However, eyewitnesses have placed Sirhan’s gun at between 1.5 feet and five feet away from Kennedy, nowhere near close enough for Sirhan to have shot him. Also, Kennedy was shot from behind, but trial witnesses placed Sirhan in front of Kennedy.

Furthermore, as I mentioned in a post-hearing interview with Court TV, FBI photographs showing bullet holes in the pantry door confirm that the number of bullets fired in the pantry exceeded the capacity of Sirhan’s revolver. This shows that someone else actually shot Kennedy and that Sirhan is serving a sentence for a homicide which, in light of his position, was impossible for him to commit himself.

Surprisingly, the jury that convicted Sirhan was never asked to consider these critical facts. The jury was told by Sirhan’s lawyers at the time that his guilt as the assassin was conceded and that the only issue they need consider was his state of mind.

In 1990, a member of the Board of Prison Terms explained the decision to deny Sirhan parole at that time by noting that “the underlying causes of the crime and the prisoner’s role in the assassination remain unresolved and a longer period of time is needed to resolve these issues.” While I disagree that this is a valid reason for denying parole, Sirhan’s role as Kennedy’s assassin, though widely accepted as gospel, was never proven and is in fact highly doubtful in light of contrary evidence briefly mentioned above.

LAWRENCE TEETER

Los Angeles