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Man Who Assassinated Robert Kennedy To Ask For Parole For 14th Time

Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, is seen during a Board of Parole Suitability Hearing at the Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, March 2, 2011.
Associated Press
Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, is seen during a Board of Parole Suitability Hearing at the Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, March 2, 2011.

The man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy was expected to ask for parole for a 14th time Wednesday at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in Otay Mesa.

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, 71, was convicted in April 1969 of first-degree murder and assault in connection with the June 5, 1968, assassination of Robert Kennedy, 42, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Five others were shot during the attack but survived.

The native Palestinian was initially sentenced to death, but it was later commuted to life in prison after the state Supreme Court declared capital punishment unconstitutional in 1972.

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Sirhan was transferred to Donovan State Prison from a Kings County penitentiary on Nov. 22, 2013 — the 50th anniversary of the murder of the Democratic senator's older brother, President John F. Kennedy. He previously was housed at Corcoran State Prison in Central California.

Sirhan has claimed amnesia brought on by excess consumption of alcohol and denied committing the killing, despite having admitted to the crime in open court during his trial.

He was last denied parole in March 2011.