Unexpected Twist For Sirhan Sirhan
Robert F. Kennedy's assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, comes up for parole again this week in a potential conflict of interest 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. Four other people were also struck by bullets. Sirhan was arrested on the scene; Kennedy died early the next day.
Sirhan received a death sentence that was commuted to life in prison in 1972 when the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional.
Sirhan claims he was hypnotized at the time and that a second gunman might have actually killed Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Sirhan's former attorney said that Sirhan could not have fired the fatal shot because he was out of range when it took place.
Questions about Sirhan's motives and rumors of a conspiracy lingered, and in 1975, the FBI appointed a special investigator to probe the claims that more than one gunman was involved. The investigation concluded that a conspiracy was possible but unlikely.
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 — an unlikely occurrence, 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.
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.
"Obviously there's an issue. He's married to the Kennedy family," he said. "But he is not a member of the immediate family."
Schwarzenegger's wife is TV journalist Maria Shriver. Her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, was a sister of RFK and President Kennedy.
Schwarzenegger and Shriver are occasional visitors to the Massachusetts home of Sen. Edward Kennedy, RFK's younger brother. As recently as last year, the California governor participated in a benefit for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial.