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Jordanian who gunned down RFK in 1968 denied parole for 15th time

Sirhan, who was originally sentenced to death, was denied parole for the 15th time Wednesday.

By Ed Adamczyk and Doug G. Ware
Sirhan Sirhan is taken into custody following the shooting of Sen. Robert Kennedy on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles. He was convicted of murder and, now 71, was denied parole for the 15th time Wednesday. File Photo by Ron Bennett/UPI
1 of 3 | Sirhan Sirhan is taken into custody following the shooting of Sen. Robert Kennedy on June 5, 1968, in Los Angeles. He was convicted of murder and, now 71, was denied parole for the 15th time Wednesday. File Photo by Ron Bennett/UPI | License Photo

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, the Jordanian immigrant who assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy nearly 50 years ago, will have to wait until 2021 for another chance to leave prison.

Sirhan was denied parole in San Diego Wednesday for the 15th time since the June 1968 assassination.

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Kennedy, 42, was shot on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles following a victory in the key California primary. Five others were wounded.

Sirhan, 71, was sentenced to die in the gas chamber but had his sentence commuted to life in prison after California abolished capital punishment.

After his most recent parole hearing in 2011, parole commissioners said Sirhan had not shown adequate remorse or understanding of his crime.

Sirhan has said for decades that he has no recollection of shooting Kennedy -- despite testimony from numerous eyewitnesses to the contrary.

Among those who attended Wednesday's hearing was Paul Schrade, a former union leader who was with Kennedy the night of the assassination, who was also shot. Schrade believes a second gunman was present in the hotel's pantry that night.

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Sirhan "couldn't shoot Robert Kennedy and didn't, he was never in the position to do this," Schrade told KGTV San Diego this week. "There's strong evidence of a second gunman. They (investigators) could not match the Kennedy bullet. He got hit in the back of the neck, it was the only whole bullet, it did not match Sirhan's gun. He never shot Robert Kennedy."

Sirhan won't have another parole hearing until 2021.

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