LittleFokker wrote:

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/27/1031507957/sirhan-sirhan-robert-f-kennedy-parole-hearing

Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian immigrant who was convicted of assassinating Sen Robert Kennedy, the then Dem Presidential nominee in 1968, has been granted parole after 50+ years in prison. The matter still needs to be reviewed by the Governor for final release.

There are theories that suggest a possible 2nd shooter, and Sirhan Sirhan himself may not have actually shot the deadly bullet. I will leave it to those who know more to comment on the efficacy of those theories.

Am I the only one who thinks it would be more humane to keep him in prison? Regardless of his actual guilt, he's been in jail for over 50 years, there's no way he'll be able to adapt and function in normal society, and I wouldn't be surprised if he will be dead in 6 months (suicide a likely candidate here). I think if someone is sentenced to more than 20 years, you might as well go ahead and make it a life sentence....there's just so little chance for successful societal reintegration. Of course I could go on a whole spiel about what's wrong with our current crime and punishment system, but I will just keep this thread about Sirhan Sirhan himself.

LittleFokker wrote:

Am I the only one who thinks it would be more humane to keep him in prison? Regardless of his actual guilt, he's been in jail for over 50 years, there's no way he'll be able to adapt and function in normal society, and I wouldn't be surprised if he will be dead in 6 months (suicide a likely candidate here). I think if someone is sentenced to more than 20 years, you might as well go ahead and make it a life sentence....there's just so little chance for successful societal reintegration. Of course I could go on a whole spiel about what's wrong with our current crime and punishment system, but I will just keep this thread about Sirhan Sirhan himself.

Stratosphere wrote:

This is the whole argument for the death penalty. Because life in prison isn't life in prison. This guy escaped the death penalty I am fine with that BUT that is on the condition you never see the light of day .

Ken777 wrote:

If California had kept the death penalty this guy would have been buried deals ago. With the elimination of executions Sirhan has been a bit of a problem for the state. No one would want to parole him after a tradition term of 7 or 10 years.

The issue today will be how will he be supported? Does he qualify for Medicare/Medicaid? Will there be sufficient family funds to support and feed him. I'm also 77 and I see Medicare EOBs for cancer now in the $30K and $50K range each month. Best for everyone would be to expel him back home and lt them take care of him.

ltbewr wrote:

I am old enough to remember hearing of Robert F. Kennedy's death being announced on TV, that of Martin Luther King a little over a month before, as well as the assassination of JFK a few years before. I hope the parole board will deny releasing him. He murdered RFK in cold blood for no good reason. His murdering RFK deeply affected history. Perhaps if chosen as the Democratic Party candidate vs. Nixon, RFK might have been President and a lot of things might be different today. This link is of the story of the kitchen busboy that met RFK the night before and held him as died. To me it shows better than I can of the meaning of RFK's life and affect he had on a typical person and our country. https://people.com/politics/busboy-crad ... l-moments/

TWA772LR wrote:

ltbewr wrote:

I am old enough to remember hearing of Robert F. Kennedy's death being announced on TV, that of Martin Luther King a little over a month before, as well as the assassination of JFK a few years before. I hope the parole board will deny releasing him. He murdered RFK in cold blood for no good reason. His murdering RFK deeply affected history. Perhaps if chosen as the Democratic Party candidate vs. Nixon, RFK might have been President and a lot of things might be different today. This link is of the story of the kitchen busboy that met RFK the night before and held him as died. To me it shows better than I can of the meaning of RFK's life and affect he had on a typical person and our country. https://people.com/politics/busboy-crad ... l-moments/

We can't judge past actions based on then-unforeseen results which is our history today. Executing Sirhan Sirhan for the way America turned out today doesn't make any sense in the time he was convicted.

scbriml wrote:

TWA772LR wrote:

ltbewr wrote:

I am old enough to remember hearing of Robert F. Kennedy's death being announced on TV, that of Martin Luther King a little over a month before, as well as the assassination of JFK a few years before. I hope the parole board will deny releasing him. He murdered RFK in cold blood for no good reason. His murdering RFK deeply affected history. Perhaps if chosen as the Democratic Party candidate vs. Nixon, RFK might have been President and a lot of things might be different today. This link is of the story of the kitchen busboy that met RFK the night before and held him as died. To me it shows better than I can of the meaning of RFK's life and affect he had on a typical person and our country. https://people.com/politics/busboy-crad ... l-moments/

We can't judge past actions based on then-unforeseen results which is our history today. Executing Sirhan Sirhan for the way America turned out today doesn't make any sense in the time he was convicted.

But it sounds like a good plot for a sci-fi time-travel film. Go back and keep changing the past till you get the present you want.

DIRECTFLT wrote:

Ethel Kennedy: RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan shouldn’t be freed

https://apnews.com/article/california-e ... 548093f3ff

Ethel Kennedy, the wife of the late Robert F. Kennedy, says assassin Sirhan Sirhan should not be released from prison, further roiling a family divide over whether the man convicted of killing her husband in California in 1968 should be freed on parole.

In a brief statement released on Twitter by her daughter, lawyer and activist Kerry Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy said bluntly Tuesday: “He should not be paroled.”

I'd feel better if Sirhan stayed in jail. He should have been executed for the 1st Degree Assassination.

DIRECTFLT wrote:

I think that what Robert's wife wants trumps what the children want.

DIRECTFLT wrote:

I think that what Robert's wife wants trumps what the children want.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

It’s the “state’s” call, not the family’s, that is the crime is against the state (established order, if you will); not the family. Nice thought from them, but not dispositive, nor should it be. Unless, of course, you want rule by vendetta.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

Nothing prevents recidivism quite like the death penalty.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

Nothing prevents recidivism quite like the death penalty.