That said, I feel morally certain about this: that Sirhan’s life was spared when his death sentence was converted to life imprisonment in 1972, by virtue of California’s temporary abolition of the death penalty, should not result in him being given his freedom now or ever.Įven if it could be shown that Sirhan no longer poses a threat to others, he must never be released because our justice system demands the strictest punishment for the most atrocious crimes. Not because none deserve that fate but because no government deserves to play God. Over half a century has passed, and I continue to feel ambivalent about state-sponsored execution, although I’m close to being persuaded that no government - certainly no government in power today - is so infallible that it can justly put anyone to death. And if the death penalty were to be ended, then at least Sirhan deserved to die in prison. But if anyone deserved capital punishment, I thought, it was Sirhan. As a law clerk for Justice Potter Stewart, I had helped draft an opinion, announced just two days before RFK’s murder, that curtailed juries’ ability to impose capital punishment by ending the practice of striking every juror with even the slightest qualms about the death penalty. ![]() When Sirhan was sentenced to death by a California court in April 1969, I felt ambivalent. The nature of his action must determine how we view justice in his case. And certainly not for destroying the nation’s opportunity to pass democratic judgment on Kennedy’s bold message. But he does not take responsibility for ending the 42-year-old senator’s life and crushing the hopes of his millions of supporters. But in interviews and interrogations, Sirhan, a Palestinian nationalist, has admitted to trying to kill Kennedy in retribution for Kennedy’s stance on Israel, doing so on the first anniversary of the beginning of the Six-Day War. More: Sorry, Time Magazine, but 2020 Is Not the ‘Worst Year Ever’Īt times, he has claimed his memory is blurry. More: Holy Cow! History: The Memorial Day weekend that began the healing of a future president Having committed the assassination in a large crowd and on live television, Sirhan could hardly deny being the gunman. My dreams - like those of millions of Americans - for a humane exit from the Vietnam War, for a brighter American future, were killed that day in a crowded hotel kitchen hallway, minutes after Kennedy won California’s Democratic primary. Kennedy, then a leading candidate for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination. ![]() ![]() I was an idealistic 26-year-old clerking on the United States Supreme Court when Sirhan Sirhan murdered Robert F.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |