Sirhan Sirhan Granted Parole

[RiverDog]

As a person that morally supports the death penalty, I don't have a problem with this man's release from prison for the following reasons, not in any particular order of importance:

He's spent over 50 years in prison, way more time than the average capital crime offender typically pays for their transgression(s). He has paid a heavy price.

It has cost the taxpayers millions of dollars, and as Sirhan approaches 80 years old, even more in medical expenses, to keep him incarcerated.

At 77 years old, he is no longer a threat to society. There are no reports of bad behavior or incidents that would suggest otherwise.

Although I don't believe in any of the various conspiracy theories, I do think it plausible that Sirhan may not remember the incident or what led up to it.

The only thing that would cause me to hesitate is that the immediate family...RFK has 9 surviving children...are not united in their opinion. 6 of the 9 signed a letter encouraging the CA governor not to release Sirhan.

1968 was one horrible year, comparable to the past 12-18 months we've just experienced.

I used to be a huge proponent of the death penalty, and I still would be had it not been for the cost of prosecuting, incarcerating, and carrying out the execution of a criminal convicted of a capital offense.

[c_hawkbob]

Well, he's been recommended for parole by the parole board but a judge still has to approve it. Yes that's usually a rubber stamp but this more than just an unusual case; it's historic. A judge could surprise us with his one (I do agree it's unlikely though).

And I don't necessarily agree that he's no longer a threat to society because he's old. If he were of a mind he could be extremely dangerous as a lightning rod puppet in the hand of some lunatic conspiracy theorist wingnut. We've proven that there are plenty of people out there willing to believe and act on even the most ridiculous notions.

[RiverDog]

Well, he's been recommended for parole by the parole board but a judge still has to approve it. Yes that's usually a rubber stamp but this more than just an unusual case; it's historic. A judge could surprise us with his one (I do agree it's unlikely though).

And I don't necessarily agree that he's no longer a threat to society because he's old. If he were of a mind he could be extremely dangerous as a lightning rod puppet in the hand of some lunatic conspiracy theorist wingnut. We've proven that there are plenty of people out there willing to believe and act on even the most ridiculous notions.

Thanks for the correction. I was under the impression that it was a done deal.

Age most definitely is a factor in whether or not a person represents a threat to society. I couldn't find any percentages, but in the US in 2019, there were 91 murders committed by persons age 75 and older while there were 2,345 committed by persons age 20-24. Just going by the numbers, there is much less risk of releasing a 77 year old from prison than there is a 21 year old. Bottom line is that the 77 year old Sirhan is not a significant threat to society.

And while it's certainly possible that Sirhan could join or be recruited by some lunatic conspiracy wingnut group, my personal opinion is that it's extremely unlikely. Like any other parolee, he's going to have to check in regularly with a counselor, undergo drug testing, etc in order to comply with the terms of his release, and being that he's such a high profile parolee, it's likely that LE/FBI will be doing some spot checks on him for awhile. IMO the greater risk is to Sirhan himself, that some lunatic might decide to apply their own idea of justice.

[NorthHawk]

Does he have some sort of support structure in place? It's a far different world now than 50 years ago and if he's left on his own, he'll just get lost
in society and probably want to get back into prison, partly because by now it's all he really knows. If he does have family where he can stay, and
gradually be reintroduced to the world, he might have a better chance of success for what's left of his life.

[Hawktawk]

Wrong . He assasinated the likely president of the United States . Regardless first degree murder should be life without parole and frankly it should be death . An eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth . You willfully intentionally kill another person you die .

[Aseahawkfan]

Wow, Hawktawk is harder on the death penalty than I am. I generally only support the death penalty if you're 99.999999999999999999% sure you have the right person, it's in extremely aggravated circumstances like a serial or spree killer or rapist or terror attack, or involves women or children. I view it more as killing a wolf that has tasted human blood. Humans are animals in my mind and if they behave like a dangerous animal to other humans, you put them down and don't think twice about it. I don't view it as vengeance or anything of the kind. It's extermination of a threat to healthy minded and well-behaved humans.

I really don't care if Sirhan Sirhan gets out at 77. Though that is an interesting statistic that people 75 and older committed 91 murders. Those must be some vicious and crazy old people or ended up in bad circumstances. I hope I don't really crazy when I get old. I'm seeing some people going really crazy as they age and becoming so set in their ways they don't even know what's good for them any more. I really don't want to become like that.

[RiverDog]

Wow, Hawktawk is harder on the death penalty than I am. I generally only support the death penalty if you're 99.999999999999999999% sure you have the right person, it's in extremely aggravated circumstances like a serial or spree killer or rapist or terror attack, or involves women or children. I view it more as killing a wolf that has tasted human blood. Humans are animals in my mind and if they behave like a dangerous animal to other humans, you put them down and don't think twice about it. I don't view it as vengeance or anything of the kind. It's extermination of a threat to healthy minded and well-behaved humans.

I used to think exactly like Hawktalk does and was a strong believer in the death penalty, but I've changed somewhat over the years, largely because of the cost associated with the punishment of the crime. And you're right, there are just too many circumstances where a person we thought was guilty as sin turned out to be innocent or at least subject to some extenuating circumstances that were unknown at the time they were convicted. I don't think that Sirhan's case was enough of a slam dunk to put him to death.

I really don't care if Sirhan Sirhan gets out at 77. Though that is an interesting statistic that people 75 and older committed 91 murders. Those must be some vicious and crazy old people or ended up in bad circumstances. I hope I don't really crazy when I get old. I'm seeing some people going really crazy as they age and becoming so set in their ways they don't even know what's good for them any more. I really don't want to become like that.

I don't care that much, either, I just don't have an objection to it. Even though I don't think he was guilty enough to be put to death, it is a slam dunk that he pulled the trigger that killed RFK and he should have been locked up for a very, very long time, as he was.

91 murders may seem like a lot, but you have to keep in mind that in 2019, there were over 16,000 homicide cases in the United States, over 1600 in California alone. 91 murders is a tiny fraction of the total, which is why I'm saying that the risk to society in letting Sirhan out is extremely low.

[RiverDog]

Does he have some sort of support structure in place? It's a far different world now than 50 years ago and if he's left on his own, he'll just get lost in society and probably want to get back into prison, partly because by now it's all he really knows. If he does have family where he can stay, and gradually be reintroduced to the world, he might have a better chance of success for what's left of his life.

According to his parole filing, Sirhan plans on living in LA with is one surviving brother. I'm not sure what the laws are regarding profiting off a crime or if the Kennedy family would go to court to prevent it, but he may be able to get someone to write a book about his life story. There's not a lot of other options for him to earn any kind of income.