Prosecutors Neutral On Parole For Former Pasadena Resident Sirhan Sirhan Over RFK Assassination

Former Pasadena resident Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, the man convicted of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, will go before a California parole board for the 16th time on Friday.

This time, though, prosecutors will not oppose Sirhan’s parole, according to the Washington Post, and will instead remain neutral. 

“The role of a prosecutor and their access to information ends at sentencing,” Alex Bastian, special adviser to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, told the newspaper. 

“The parole board’s sole purpose is to objectively determine whether someone is suitable for release. If someone is the same person that committed an atrocious crime, that person will correctly not be found suitable for release,” Bastian said.

According to prosecutors, Sirhan, a Pasadena City College student at the time of the assassination, fatally shot Kennedy on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

Olympic Decathlete Rafer Johnson and L.A. Rams defensive lineman Rosey Grier wrestled Sirhan to the ground immediately after the shooting.

Kennedy, who was running for president, had just won the California primary.

When Sirhan was 12 years old, his family moved to Pasadena. Sirhan attended Eliot Junior High, John Muir High School and Pasadena City College.

Although he was convicted of the crime, a debate has raged for years about Sirhan’s involvement in the incident and the number of shooters. 

Chief Medical Examiner and Coroner for the County of Los Angeles Thomas Noguchi stated that the fatal shot was fired behind Kennedy’s right ear and had come from a distance of approximately one inch. 

Sirhan was in front of Kennedy at the time. Some witnesses contend Kennedy had turned his head just before the fatal shot was fired.