Latest news with #SirhanSirhan
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Reformed Manson follower eyes freedom after 56 years: ‘She's not the same person anymore'
Patricia Krenwinkel, a former Charles Manson follower who has been imprisoned for 56 years over her role in the Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles, could go free after being recommended for parole last week. The decision marked a major victory for the aging incarcerated woman after 16 parole hearings. Krenwinkel, now 77, was 21 at the time of the 1969 killings and has been imprisoned longer than any other woman in California. On Friday, she was found suitable for release by the state Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) after a four-hour hearing, with commissioners recognizing her growth over more than five decades and concluding she is not a danger to society. Krenwinkel, however, still faces an uphill battle to be freed. Convicted of seven counts of murder in one of the most high-profile killing sprees in the US, she is up against a politicized legal process that regularly prevents people tied to notorious crimes from coming home, even when they've spent the vast majority of their lives locked up and are recommended by state officials to be freed. California is one of two states that gives the governor the authority to veto parole decisions, and Gavin Newsom, the current Democratic governor, has repeatedly reversed the decision to grant people's freedom in notorious cases. That includes Sirhan Sirhan, who remains imprisoned for the assassination of Robert F Kennedy, despite his son, Robert F Kennedy Jr, calling for his release; Leslie van Houten, another former Manson follower whose release was vetoed by Newsom, but who was freed by an appeals court in 2023; and Krenwinkel herself, who was granted parole in 2022, but blocked by Newsom. Longtime friends of Krenwinkel, along with her legal team, said in interviews this week that she had survived abuse and spent decades turning her life around and taking advantage of programs. 'We have to recognize that people can and do make changes. Pat grew up in prison, and she is such a sweet, humble, kind, communicative person. What we see now is the true Pat,' said Jane Dorotik, who spent nearly 20 years in prison and first met Krenwinkel in 2006 in the California Institution of Women (CIW) prison. 'At 19, she was sucked into this crazy world with Charles Manson, but that is not who she is and shouldn't define her. These women were living in a cult, were completely brainwashed and were so young.' Krenwinkel's case has moved forward at a time of growing recognition of the impact of childhood abuse and trauma, with criminal justice reform advocates arguing these histories should be considered for people serving long sentences for serious offenses. In California, there has been a push to free Erik and Lyle Menendez, the brothers convicted of the infamous 1989 killing of their parents, with the former district attorney of LA noting the abuse they endured as youth and arguing they demonstrated their rehabilitation and deserved an opportunity to come home. The brothers remain incarcerated as their case winds its way through the parole process. Krenwinkel was convicted in 1971 for her role in the two nights of homicides that claimed the lives of actor Sharon Tate and her four friends, and grocery owner Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. She has long expressed remorse and in her 2022 hearing spoke about the physical abuse, humiliation and degradation she experienced at the hands of Manson. In her 2022 hearing, she said: 'I want to say is how terribly sorry I am for all the pain and suffering that I created when I took the lives that I did … I try every day to live amends .. [and] focus on being a better person.' Krenwinkel was working as a clerk in a craft department at the prison when Dorotik met her, Dorotik recalled: 'I didn't know who she was, I was just really struck by how friendly she was. She was so helpful to new prisoners coming in.' The two ended up living across the hall from each other, said Dorotik, who was released in 2020 after bringing a wrongful conviction case and is now a member of advocacy group California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP): 'I was always very touched by how committed she was to helping the community and bettering our environment. Her position was: 'Yes it's terrible we're in prison, but we can still make the best of it.'' Krenwinkel's attorneys with UnCommon Law, an Oakland-based non-profit that represents people in parole proceedings, have noted that she has had no rules violations over five decades and has had nine evaluations by prison psychologists who have concluded she is not a risk to society. The law also requires that the board consider she was a youth during the offense and is now elderly. 'It is incredibly difficult to be in the violent environment of prison and abstain from any violent behavior or rules violations, and everyone who knows her speaks to the way she has helped other women,' said Su Kim, senior policy manager with UnCommon Law. Kim noted research showing how survivors of intimate partner violence commit crimes under coercion, fear and trauma, arguing that there is growing recognition of the psychological control exerted by cults: 'While the horrific impact of her crimes remains unchangeable, today's context calls for us to rethink Pat's story with greater complexity and appreciation for what we now know about the deep links between trauma and human behavior.' Some victims' family members have vocally opposed Krenwiknel's release, including Debra Tate, Sharon Tate's sister, who wrote in an online petition over the weekend: 'Society cannot allow this serial killer who committed such horrible, gruesome, random killings back out.' She did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. Keith Wattley, UnCommon Law's director and Krenwinkel's longtime lawyer, said state law requires the release of an incarcerated person who is eligible for parole and no longer a risk to society, arguing California cannot keep imprisoning her due to nature of her underlying crimes: 'It's the governor's turn to show that he believes in law and order when the law requires a person's release despite public outcry.' Some of Krenwinkel's supporters are fearful Newsom will once again reject her parole due to concerns about political backlash. In 2022, when he vetoed her release, Newsom said he agreed she was well-behaved behind bars and had 'demonstrated effusive remorse', but argued 'her efforts have not sufficiently reduced her risk for future dangerousness' and she needed to better understand her 'triggers for antisocial thinking and conduct'. A spokesperson for Newsom declined to comment on Tuesday. The parole board's legal division has 120 days to review Krenwinkel's parole grant, and then Newsom will have another month to make his decision. 'She's almost 80 – she is not the same person as she was in her early 20s,' said Susan Bustamante, an advocate with CCWP, who was imprisoned alongside Krenwinkel for 30 years. 'I pray they let her out. Do the right thing. The crime is never going to change. And there is nothing more she can do with programs inside – she's done it all for nearly 60 years. She's done groups, she's taught, she's mentored. She has shown us all so much.' Bustamante noted the challenges of aging behind bars, with elderly people struggling through cold temperatures at night, facing heatwaves with no air conditioning, being forced to sleep on cramped bunkbeds, having difficulties accessing the nutrition and medical care they require, and continuing to work jobs. 'It is so hard to keep hope alive and keep going forward,' added Dorotik. 'But I do have a sense that Pat is more hopeful than I've seen her in the past.' She noted that research has demonstrated that people released after long sentences rarely reoffend: 'They don't get in trouble again. Their recidivism is practically zero. Many work in their community to support other people coming out of prison. They're an asset to society and could have done a whole lot more if we let them out sooner.'
The National
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
US closely monitored Saudi and Jordanian media after Sirhan Sirhan assassinated RFK, documents show
Following the murder of Robert F Kennedy in 1968, US agencies kept a watchful eye on Middle East sentiment about his assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, the Palestinian Christian who emigrated from Jordan to the US, recently declassified documents show. 'Saudi press has followed Sirhan case almost daily with straight news coverage,' reads a telegram from the State Department concerning the man convicted of killing Mr Kennedy during his run for the Democratic presidential nomination. 'First editorial comment since verdict and sentencing appeared today … urging Arabs not to feel sad for Sirhan since grief is only for those who lose way … editorialist also argues Sirhan is 'lighting the way and defining the goal', and he concludes that dying is 'simplist duty' for the cause of freedom.' The author of the State Department memo goes on to claim the editorial written in a Saudi newspaper is an 'effort to make the best out of a bad situation', adding that many in the kingdom had mixed feelings about Sirhan. 'They realised it was misguided and harmful to the overall Arab cause, yet like other Arabs have sought to convince themselves that Sirhan is a hero,' the memo read. Investigations by Los Angeles police and FBI indicated speeches given by Mr Kennedy on the campaign trail in support of Israel fuelled Sirhan's motivation to assassinate him on June 6, 1968, after the senator won the California Democratic presidential primary. 'RFK must die,' Sirhan wrote repeatedly in a diary found by investigators. Friends and acquaintances said at the time that Sirhan had become obsessed with Mr Kennedy due to his stance on Israel. Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder. Also included in the thousands of documents that lingered in storage for decades is a memo from the US embassy in Beirut that included a letter about Sirhan signed by the Palestinian Women's Association. 'The defendant, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, was born in Palestine and his family was a victim of the Israeli usurper of this Arab country as a result of which immigrated to America,' the letter read. 'Robert F Kennedy and Sirhan Sirhan are both victims of intertwined factors. We hope, friend, that you would realise this fact and draw the attention of your great people to it.' The author of the memo from the US embassy concludes that the writer of the letter hopes that Sirhan's murder of Mr Kennedy 'will not prejudice the reaching of an understanding' between US citizens and Palestinians. Another telegram from the State Department concerning support for Sirhan in Jordan laments the favourable press coverage he continued to receive, noting the 'good possibility that it will succeed and convincing many Jordanians that Sirhan is in fact a hero'. The telegram also points out the rising concern in Jordanian media that Sirhan might receive the death penalty, and that one editorial went as far as to suggest Jordanian officials convince North Vietnam's communist army to return US prisoners of war to America in exchange for guarantees that Sirhan wouldn't be executed. Despite a preponderance of evidence, conspiracy theories have thrived for decades, with some suggesting Sirhan's innocence. Mel Ayton, one of the foremost experts on Sirhan and Mr Kennedy's assassination, told The National the newly released documents disprove those theories, but said they would likely continue to exist. 'There's this image they keep pushing of Sirhan as a non-political patsy – that's what all the conspiracy-minded people try to say and it's completely asinine,' he said. Sirhan's many attempts at parole have been unsuccessful. It was briefly granted by the California parole board in 2021, only for the decision to be vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who said the assassination was one of the most notorious crimes in US history. For the 17th time since being incarcerated in 1969, Sirhan was denied a parole request in 2023. He will be eligible again in 2027. The 81-year-old prisoner has periodically made contradictory comments about his role in Mr Kennedy's assassination. During some interviews, he claims not to remember the events, while during others he seems to express remorse for what he did. This is the second round of documents related to the 1968 assassination of Mr Kennedy released by US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Ms Gabbard's push to make the documents public stems from US President Donald Trump signing an executive order in January directing agencies to release previously withheld files connected to the assassination of Mr Kennedy, as well as those of his brother, former president John F Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. 'More than 60,000 documents were discovered, declassified, and digitised for public viewing,' the DNI director posted to the social platform X on Wednesday. Current US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is the son of Robert F Kennedy.
CBS News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Trump administration releases 60,000 more files on RFK assassination
The federal government published more than 60,000 pages of records on Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's assassination late Wednesday — the second tranche of documents to be released on the 1968 slaying. The releases were ordered by President Trump in January, with backing from the senator's son, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has claimed for years that his father's convicted killer Sirhan Sirhan might be innocent. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the documents "have been sitting in various storage facilities across the federal government for decades and had never been digitized or accessible to the public before." They were digitized by ODNI — which is led by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — and posted on the National Archives website. "Today's release is an important step toward maximum transparency, finding the truth, and sharing the truth," Gabbard said in a post on Truth Social. Mr. Trump has also ordered the release of documents on President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 killing. Some John F. Kennedy files were released in March, but the King documents have not been released. What's in the RFK files — and will we learn anything new? ODNI said the documents posted Wednesday include "never-before-seen details about the FBI's investigation into the assassination of RFK — including the discussion of potential leads by various FBI offices, internal FBI memos detailing the progress of the case, and more." The records also include recordings of Los Angeles police interviews with Sirhan and eyewitnesses to the 1968 assassination, according to ODNI. But it's unclear whether the files will reveal new information about Robert F. Kennedy's killing. The senator's 1968 assassination was primarily investigated and prosecuted by authorities in Los Angeles. Documents from the local investigation — along with many records from a separate FBI probe — have been publicly available in California's state archives since the late 1980s. ODNI said some of the records that were published Wednesday had previously been handed over to the Los Angeles Police Department. What did last month's RFK files say? The government released a trove of 10,000 records on Robert F. Kennedy last month. A CBS News review found the documents included handwritten notes from Sirhan — including ones in which Sirhan wrote "RFK must be disposed of like his brother was" — as well as FBI memos on Sirhan, crime scene and autopsy photos, witness interviews and other materials. A few of those records make reference to common conspiracy theories about the assassination, including mentions of witnesses seeing a woman in a polka-dot dress or somebody shouting "we shot him." Other witnesses said they didn't see anybody matching that description. Many of the details in those files were already publicly known. Who killed RFK — and what has RFK Jr. said? Sirhan was convicted of killing Robert F. Kennedy — then a Democratic presidential primary candidate — at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He was arrested shortly after the shooting and he was 24 years old at the time. Sirhan has admitted to killing the senator at various points, sometimes claiming it was due to the senator's support for Israel, though at other times, Sirhan has said he is innocent or said he couldn't remember the incident. Sirhan has been incarcerated in California for decades, and multiple requests for parole have been unsuccessful. The state's parole board endorsed his 2021 bid for parole, but California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected the request. The case has drawn public fascination for decades, with some observers claiming Sirhan didn't fire the fatal shots or acted as part of a wider conspiracy. They often cite conflicting eyewitness testimonies or the alleged presence of extra bullets — though many others have backed the view that Sirhan acted alone. One of the skeptics is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was 14 years old when his father was assassinated. He has argued Sirhan wasn't responsible for the killing, and met with him in prison before backing his 2021 request for parole. However, other members of the Kennedy family have staunchly opposed Sirhan's release from prison.
Boston Globe
17-04-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Today in History: April 17, the Bay of Pigs Invasion
In 1964, Jerrie Mock completed the first solo around-the-world flight by a woman, landing her single-engine Cessna plane in Columbus, Ohio after a 29-day journey. Advertisement In 1969, a jury in Los Angeles convicted Sirhan Sirhan of assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy. (Sirhan's death sentence would be commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole. He remains in prison today.) In 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise, and Jack Swigert splashed down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft while enroute to the moon. In 1972, the Boston Marathon allowed women to compete for the first time. Nina Kuscsik was the first officially recognized women's champion, with a time of 3:10:26. In 1975, Cambodia's five-year civil war ended as the capital Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge, which instituted brutal, radical policies that claimed an estimated 1.7 million lives (nearly one in four Cambodians), until the regime was overthrown in 1979. Advertisement In 1991, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 3,000 for the first time, ending the day at 3,004.46, up 17.58. In 1993, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted two former police officers of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King. Two other officers were acquitted. In 2020, President Trump, via Twitter, urged supporters to 'LIBERATE' three states led by Democratic governors, apparently encouraging protests against stay-at-home mandates aimed at stopping the coronavirus.
