Posted on 03/14/2006 6:14:46 PM PST by mathprof
Robert F. Kennedy's assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, comes up for parole again this week in a potential conflict for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is married to RFK's niece.
Sirhan shot Kennedy to death at a Los Angeles hotel in 1968, minutes after the New York senator claimed victory in the California presidential primary. Sirhan received a death sentence, which was commuted to life in prison in 1972 when the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional.
The assassin's parole hearing at Corcoran State Prison on Wednesday - the 13th since his conviction and the first since Schwarzenegger's election in 2003 - will be heard by two board members, one of whom was appointed by Schwarzenegger.
If the board recommends his release - and that is unlikely, experts say - the decision of whether to free Sirhan will fall to Schwarzenegger, setting up an unusual dilemma.
"Judges can recuse themselves, but this is not the kind of decision a governor can delegate," said Jack Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College.
The governor's press office declined to comment, saying it is highly unlikely the decision would fall to Schwarzenegger.
Sirhan's longtime lawyer died last year, and he has not chosen a new attorney.
Sirhan doesn't plan to present his own case, and if he doesn't choose a lawyer the board will make its decision without a public hearing, prison officials said.
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney David Dahle, who will argue the state's case before the parole board, said there is little chance the decision would fall to the Republican governor. He conceded there is at least the appearance of a conflict.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Sickening media hype strikes again....
Except that Sirhan isn't a Muslim. He's an Arab Christian.
I am very happy to have this reminder of Palestinian history come into the spotlight at this time.
Yes, one of the poor downtrodden Palestinians, those people so beloved of all liberals, shot and killed a liberal icon. With a gun. Using actual bullets.
Granted, he probably bought the gun and bullets from an eeeeevil Republican, but the fact remains: this grim example of Palestinian diplomacy shot a Kennedy and killed him dead. And the Left champions the Palestinian cause? Insanity.
Let's not let the Left escape this shining example of their willful illogic and blindness. Or maybe it's a death wish.
The average murderer in California does something like seven years. The average Kennedy gets an acquital [rape],a Senate seat, or a 20 year + delay in having justice find him [Skakel]. Turn the guy loose. 37 years is enough.
If Robert Kennedy were alive, then Sirhan wouldn't be in jail for murdering him.
Cut him loose. Repatriate him to "palestine". No corruption of blood for a good liberal.
Do you have a link?
Let him die in prison. He's gotta be, what? In his 70s or 80s?
I ran across that surprising fact a few years back when I was researching Sirhan's motive for the assassination. A friend of mine worked with Sirhan one summer and knew him, but Sirhan was quiet and never spoke of politics. There's a lesson there IMO, for those who think we can weed out potential terrorists, but that's another matter. Google "Sirhan Sirhan Christian" and you'll get a number of hits. Here's a sample:
http://www.danielpipes.org/comments/1928
http://www.maebrussell.com/Articles%20and%20Notes/Sirhan%20Demands%20Retrial.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirhan_Sirhan
http://crimemagazine.com/04/bobbykennedy,0527.htm
Not quite that old- he was born in 1944.
Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand while he was visiting Sarajevo - the beginning of the First World War. Does Sirhan Sirhan's assasination of Bobby Kennedy earmark the beginning of the Third World War - the Islamic "War of Terror" on the West?
"Bobby Kennedy was just a politician from a famous family running for President. Compare Sirhan's fate to that of the guy who shot a living President."
Robert Kennedy was not "just a politician from a famous family." He was much more than that. He combined imagination, inspiration, and heart to address problems affecting America and the world at a time of unusual turbulence.
I know Ted Kennedy is deeply unpopular at Free Republic, and I'm one of his critics. But Robert was different. You need to understand that.
Robert Kennedy was a kennedy (indeed just a politician from a infamous family). Which, judging from the behavior of the rest of his family, leads me to believe he was corrupt and evil to the core. A kennedy presidency would have been an unmitigated disaster and we would all be speaking either cuban or Russian right now if he had won
While Sirhan Sirhan will rot in hell for his crime (unless he's repented and gotten saved since then) he is no more guilty than Teddy is. In fact, Teddy is the more evil of the two.
I agree with the previous poster. Sirhan Sirhan should be released until Mary Jo's murderer goes to prison.
"The governor's press office declined to comment, saying it is highly unlikely the decision would fall to Schwarzenegger."
And doesn't California have the death penalty for convicted killers...
He must have become a Christian AFTER killing Bobby Kennedy since no Christian would murder in cold blood.
Some of the biggest accomplices to Islamic terror are Palestinians who are (nominally) Christians, e.g. Nayef Hawatemah, George Habash, among others.
In fact, I think one of the co-founders of the Ba'ath Party was a Christian who hoped to create a pan-Arab nationalist, non-sectarian identity.
Not to be too picky, but even Cubans don't speak "Cuban," they speak Spanish.
So I guess you think Sirhan did us a favor?
Sucks for him that he shot the one guy who would've let him out...
"If Robert Kennedy were alive, he'd favor giving Sirhan Sirhan parole."
Or a job.
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