Sirhan Sirhan, Kennedy Assassin, Denied Parole in Court Hearing
This June 1968 file photo shows Sirhan Sirhan, right, accused assassin of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy with his attorney Russell E. Parsons in Los Angeles. For nearly 50 years, Sirhan Sirhan has been consistent: He says he doesn't remember fatally shooting Sen. Kennedy in a crowded kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The Jerusalem native, now 71, has given no inkling that he will change his version of events at his 15th parole hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016, in San Diego. He is serving a life sentence that was commuted from death when the California Supreme Court briefly outlawed capital punishment in 1972. AP Photo/File
SAN DIEGO—Sirhan Sirhan was denied parole for fatally shooting Robert F. Kennedy after a confidante of the slain senator who was shot in the head forgave him and repeatedly apologized for not doing more to win his release.
Paul Schrade’s voice cracked with emotion during an hour of testimony Wednesday on his efforts to untangle mysteries about the events of June 5, 1968. The 91-year-old former labor leader said he believed Sirhan shot him but that a second unidentified shooter felled Kennedy.
“I should have been here long ago and that’s why I feel guilty for not being here to help you and to help me,” Schrade said.
The men faced each other for the first time since Schrade testified at Sirhan’s 1969 trial. Schrade apologized for not going to any of Sirhan’s 14 previous parole hearings.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP
