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Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

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Robert Kennedy

The assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a United States Senator and brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968. He was killed following celebrations of his successful campaign in the Californian primary elections while seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. The perpetrator was a 24-year old Jordanian immigrant named Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated Kennedy because of the senator's stance towards Israel. As of 2008, Sirhan remains incarcerated for this crime.

Kennedy's body lay in repose at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York for two days before a funeral mass was held on June 8. His body was interred near his brother John at Arlington National Cemetery. His death prompted the protection of presidential candidates by the United States Secret Service.

As with his brother's death, Robert Kennedy's assassination and the circumstances surrounding it have spawned a variety of conspiracy theories, particularly in relation to the existence of a supposed second gunman. Such accusations have prompted official responses and inquiries that attempted to answer the questions raised by these alternative theories.

Background

The 1968 U.S. presidential election was held against a backdrop of social unrest. The incumbent, Lyndon Johnson, had won in 1964 with a landslide of the popular vote,[1] but had since faced problems involving rioting within the ghettos of major cities despite his attempts at introducing anti-poverty and anti-discrimination legislation[2] and opposition to military action in Vietnam. Further unrest followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, which led to riots in 100 cities.[3]

Robert Kennedy had been appointed United States Attorney General in January 1961, and remained in this post until he resigned on September 3, 1964, to run for election as a United States senator.[4] He took office on January 3, 1965.

Kennedy entered the race for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 1968 after Senator Eugene McCarthy received 42% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary against the incumbent Johnson's 49%.[5] Following a series of electoral battles for convention delegates, Kennedy was still in second place after the California primary, with 393 delegates compared to Hubert Humphrey's 561.

Assassination

Four hours after the polls had closed in California, Robert F. Kennedy claimed victory in the state's Democratic presidential primary. At approximately 12:15 a.m. PDT, he addressed his campaign supporters in the Embassy Room ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel, located in the Mid-Wilshire district of Los Angeles.[6] At the time, the government provided Secret Service protection for incumbent presidents but not for presidential candidates, and Kennedy's only security was provided by former FBI agent William Barry, while two former professional athletes acted as unofficial bodyguards.[7] During the campaign, Kennedy had welcomed contact with the public, and people had often sought frantically to touch him.[8] There were no police at the Ambassador Hotel and security around Kennedy was so thin that when he finished speaking, he was able to reach over the podium to shake hands with members of the crowd.

Kennedy had planned, when he finished speaking, to walk through the ballroom and go to another gathering of supporters elsewhere in the hotel.[9] With deadlines fast approaching, however, reporters wanted a press conference. As Kennedy spoke, campaign aide Fred Dutton made the decision that Kennedy would forego the second gathering and instead go through the kitchen and pantry area behind the ballroom to the press area. Kennedy finished speaking and started out, when William Barry stopped him and said, "No, it's been changed. We're going this way."[10] Barry and Dutton began clearing a way for Kennedy to go left through swinging doors to the kitchen corridor, but Kennedy, hemmed in by the crowd, followed hotel maitre d' Karl Uecker through a back exit.[11]

Uecker led Kennedy through the kitchen area, holding Kennedy's right hand but frequently releasing it as Kennedy shook hands with people in the area. Uecker and Kennedy started down a passage way narrowed by an ice machine against the right wall and a steam table to the left. The entrance to the press area was ten yards away. Kennedy turned to his left and shook hands with busboy Juan Romero as a 24-year-old Jordanian named Sirhan Sirhan stepped down from a low tray-stacker beside the ice machine, rushed past Uecker, and repeatedly fired what was later identified as a .22 caliber Iver-Johnson Cadet revolver.[12] Kennedy and others in the area were hit.

Kennedy's hands went up and he staggered back and fell to the floor. Security man Bill Barry hit Sirhan twice in the face and others, including maître d's Uecker and Edward Minasian, writer George Plimpton, Olympic gold medal decathlete Rafer Johnson and professional football player Rosey Grier, forced Sirhan against the steam table and disarmed him.[13] Sirhan wrestled free and grabbed the revolver again, but he had already fired all the bullets.[14] Barry went to Kennedy and lay his jacket under the candidate's head, later recalling: "I knew immediately it was a .22, a small caliber, so I hoped it wouldn't be so bad, but then I saw the hole in the Senator's head, and I knew."[15] Reporters and photographers rushed into the area from both directions, contributing to the chaos. As Kennedy lay wounded, Juan Romero cradled the senator's head and placed a rosary in his hand.[16] Kennedy asked Romero, "Is everybody safe, OK?" and Romero responded, "Yes, yes, everything is going to be OK."[17] Captured by Life photographer Bill Eppridge, the picture of Kennedy and Romero became the iconic image of the assassination.[18][19]

Ethel Kennedy stood outside the crush of people at the scene, seeking help.[20] She was soon led to her husband and knelt beside him. He turned his head and seemed to recognize her.[21] After several minutes, medical attendants arrived at the hotel and lifted Kennedy onto a stretcher, prompting him to exclaim, "No, no."[22] He lost consciousness shortly thereafter.[23] Kennedy was taken a mile away to Central Receiving Hospital, where he arrived near death. One doctor slapped his face, calling, "Bob, Bob," while another began massaging Kennedy's heart. After obtaining a good heartbeat, doctors handed a stethoscope to Ethel Kennedy so she could hear her husband's heart beating, and she was relieved.[24] After about 30 minutes, Kennedy was transferred several blocks to the Hospital of the Good Samaritan for surgery. Surgery began at 3:12 a.m. PDT and lasted three hours and 40 minutes.[25] Ten and a half hours later, at 5:30 P.M. PDT on Wednesday, spokesman Frank Mankiewicz announced that Kennedy's doctors were "concerned over his continuing failure to show improvement," while his condition remained "extremely critical as to life."[26]

Kennedy had been shot once behind his right ear at a range of approximately 1 inch[27] and bullet fragments were dispersed throughout his brain. Two other bullets entered at the rear of his right armpit, one of which exited from his chest while the other lodged in the back of his neck.[28] Despite extensive neurosurgery at the Good Samaritan Hospital to remove the bullet and bone fragments from his brain, Kennedy died at 1:44 a.m. PDT, nearly 26 hours after being shot.[29]

Five other people were also wounded: William Weisel of ABC News, Paul Schrade of the United Auto Workers union, Democratic Party activist Elizabeth Evans, Ira Goldstein of the Continental News Service and Kennedy campaign volunteer Irwin Stroll.[13]At least two people were accidentally injured when struck in the face by camera equipment. Although not physically wounded, singer Rosemary Clooney, a strong supporter of Kennedy, was present in the ballroom during the shooting in the pantry and suffered a nervous breakdown shortly afterward.[30]

Perpetrator

Main article: Sirhan Sirhan
Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Sirhan Sirhan was a 24-year-old Jordanian immigrant[31], who was strongly anti-Zionist[32]. A diary found during a search of Sirhan's home stated, "My determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more and more of an unshakable obsession. RFK must die. RFK must be killed. Robert F. Kennedy must be assassinated. .... Robert F. Kennedy must be assassinated before 5 June 1968." It has been suggested that the date of the assassination is significant, because it was the first anniversary of the first day of the Six Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors.[33][34] When Sirhan was booked by police, they found in his pocket a newspaper article that discussed Kennedy's support for Israel.[35] At his trial, Sirhan testified that he began to hate Kennedy after learning of Kennedy's support for Israel.[36]

During his trial, Sirhan's lawyers attempted to use a defense of diminished responsibility[31], while their client tried to confess to the crime and change his plea to guilty on several occasions.[37] Sirhan testified that he had killed Kennedy "with 20 years of malice aforethought," although he has maintained since being convicted that he has no memory of the crime. The judge did not accept this confession and it was later withdrawn.[37][38]

Sirhan was convicted on April 17, 1969 and six days later was sentenced to death in the gas chamber. The sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1972 after the California Supreme Court, in its decision in California v. Anderson,[39] invalidated all pending death sentences imposed in California prior to 1972. In 2006, he was denied parole for the 13th time and is currently confined at the California State Prison.[40]

Media coverage

As the shooting took place, ABC News was signing off from its electoral broadcast, while CBS had already moved on to showing its late night movies;[41] it was not until 21 minutes after the shots that CBS's coverage of the shooting would begin. The reporters who had been present to report on Kennedy's win in the primary ended up crowding into the kitchen where he had been shot[13] and the only means of recording the event was by audio recording or with cameras that had no live transmission capability. Thus, footage of the aftermath of the incident could not be broadcast until two hours after the incident when CBS and NBC had had time to develop the recorded film.[41]

Reporter Andrew West of KRKD, a Mutual Broadcasting System radio affiliate in Los Angeles, captured on audio tape the sounds of the immediate aftermath of the shooting but not the actual shooting itself. Using a reel-to-reel tape recorder and attached microphone, West also provided an on-the-spot account of the struggle with Sirhan in the hotel kitchen pantry, shouting at Rafer Johnson to "Get the gun, Rafer, get the gun!" and telling others to "get a hold of [Sirhan's] thumb and break it, if you have to! Get his thumb!" [42]

Over the following week, NBC devoted 55 hours to the shooting and aftermath, ABC 43 and CBS 42[41] with all three networks pre-empting their regular coverage and advertisements to cover the story.

Alternative theories

As with the assassination of Kennedy's brother, President John F. Kennedy, in 1963, the senator's death has been the subject of widespread analysis. A minority of people have put forward various alternative scenarios for the crime, or have argued that there are serious problems with the official case.

CIA involvement theory

In November 2006, the BBC's Newsnight program presented research by filmmaker Shane O'Sullivan alleging that several CIA officers were present on the night of the assassination.[43] Three men who appear in video and photographs from the night of the assassination were positively identified by former colleagues and associates as former senior CIA officers who had worked together in 1963 at JMWAVE, the CIA's main anti-Castro station based in Miami. They were JMWAVE Chief of Operations David Morales, Chief of Maritime Operations Gordon Campbell and Chief of Psychological Warfare Operations George Joannides.

The program featured an interview with Morales's former attorney Robert Walton, who quoted him as having said, "I was in Dallas when we got the son of a bitch and I was in Los Angeles when we got the little bastard."[43] O'Sullivan reported that the CIA declined to comment on the officers in question. It was also alleged that Morales was known for his deep anger with the Kennedys for what he saw as their betrayal during the Bay of Pigs Invasion.[44]

After further investigation, O'Sullivan produced the feature documentary, RFK Must Die. The film casts some doubt on the earlier identifications and ultimately reveals that the man previously identified as Gordon Campbell was in fact Michael D. Roman, a now-deceased Bulova Watch Company employee, who was at the Ambassador Hotel for a company convention. O'Sullivan ultimately expresses his doubt that the "Morales" in the film footage at the Ambassador Hotel and the man positively identified as Morales in later photographs are the same man.[45]

General "second gunman" theories

The location of Kennedy's wounds suggested that his assailant had stood behind him, but witnesses said that Sirhan faced west as Kennedy moved through the pantry facing east.[46] This has led to the suggestion that a second gunman actually fired the fatal shot, a possibility supported by coroner Thomas Noguchi.[47] Several witnesses, though, said that as Sirhan approached, Kennedy was turning to his left shaking hands, facing north and so exposing his right side.[48] During a reexamination of the case in 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered expert examination of the possibility of a second gun having been used, and the conclusion of the experts was that there was little or no evidence to support this theory.[49]

More recently, analysis of audio recordings of the shootings taken by freelance reporter Stanislaw Pruszynski appear, according to forensic expert Philip van Praag, to indicate that thirteen shots were fired, even though Sirhan's gun held only eight rounds.[46] While this would strongly indicate a second gunman, further independent analysis by a series of other experts indicates that there are only eight shots present on the tape.[50]

Aftermath and legacy

Memorial

Robert Kennedy's Grave in Arlington National Cemetery

Following the autopsy on June 6, Kennedy's body was returned to New York City, where he lay in repose at St. Patrick's Cathedral, viewed by thousands, until a funeral mass on the morning of Saturday, June 8.[51]

His brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, eulogized him with the words, "My brother need not be idealized or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life, to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it."[52] Immediately following the mass, Kennedy's body was transported by special train to Washington, D.C.. Thousands of mourners lined the tracks and stations, paying their respects as the train passed by.[53] Kennedy was buried near his brother John, in Arlington National Cemetery, in the only burial ever to take place there at night.[53][51]

After the assassination, Congress altered the mandate of the Secret Service to include protection of presidential candidates.[54]

1968 election

At the time of his death, Kennedy was significantly behind Vice President Hubert Humphrey in convention delegate support,[55] but this has not deterred many from the belief that Kennedy would have ultimately secured the nomination following his victory in the California primary.[56] Historians such as Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. have argued that Kennedy's broad appeal and charisma would have been sufficiently convincing at the Democratic Convention to give him the nomination.[57]

Only ten states held primaries that year, meaning that most delegates at the Democratic convention could choose a candidate based on their personal preference. It therefore seems unlikely that Kennedy could have secured the nomination, given that the convention selected Hubert Humphrey as the candidate even though he had not participated in any of the primary contests.[58] Humphrey ultimately went on to lose the general election to Republican Richard Nixon.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "1964: Election triumph for Lyndon B Johnson". On this Day. BBC. 2005. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  2. ^ "Biography of Lyndon B. Johnson". Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  3. ^ "1968: Martin Luther King shot dead". On this Day. BBC. 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-17.
  4. ^ "Kennedy, Robert Francis - Biographical information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  5. ^ "A timeline of Sen. Eugene McCarthy's life and political career". Minnesota Public Radio.
  6. ^ "Senator Robert F. Kennedy Assassination FBI - Los Angeles County District Attorney Files". {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help) http://www.paperlessarchives.com/rfk_assassination.html (URL)
  7. ^ Moldea 1995, pp. 24-25.
  8. ^ Witcover 1969, pp. 113-14.
  9. ^ Witcover 1969, p. 264.
  10. ^ Witcover 1969, pp. 264-65.
  11. ^ Witcover 1969, pp. 264-65.
  12. ^ Witcover 1969, p. 266; Thom White (2005). "RFK Assassination Far From Resolved". CITIZINEmag. Retrieved February 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ a b c "A Life On The Way To Death". TIME. 1968-06-14. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  14. ^ Witcover 1969, p. 269.
  15. ^ Witcover 1969, p. 269.
  16. ^ Steve Lopez (1998). "Guarding the Dream". TIME. Retrieved August 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); External link in |work= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Bobby's Last, Longest Day," Newsweek, June 17, 1968, p. 29.
  18. ^ "Assassination of presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy" (PICTURE). National Museum of American History. 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  19. ^ "NikonNet and 'Legends Behind the Lens' Honor the Iconic Works of Photojournalist Bill Eppridge". NikonUSA. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  20. ^ "Bobby's Last, Longest Day," Newsweek, June 17, 1968, p. 29.
  21. ^ Witcover 1969, p. 272.
  22. ^ Witcover 1969, p. 273.
  23. ^ Witcover 1969, p. 273.
  24. ^ "Bobby's Last, Longest Day," Newsweek, June 17, 1968, p. 30.
  25. ^ Witcover 1969, pp. 281-82.
  26. ^ Witcover 1969, p. 289.
  27. ^ "The Man Who Loved Kennedy". TIME. Retrieved 2008-04-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  28. ^ Moldea 1995, p. 85.
  29. ^ "Everything Was Not Enough". TIME. 1968-06-14. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  30. ^ "Rosemary Clooney: 1928-2002". cincy post. 2002. Retrieved 2008-04-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ a b "Behind Steel Doors". Time. 1969-01-17. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  32. ^ "Selectivity In Los Angeles". Time. 1969-01-31. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  33. ^ Coleman 2004.
  34. ^ Ayton, Mel (2005-09-06). "Part II: Why Sirhan Sirhan Assassinated Robert Kennedy by Mel Ayton". Crime magazine: An encyclopedia of crime. crimemagazine.com. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  35. ^ The article was from the June 2 edition of the Pasadena Independent Star News. Moldea 1995, p. 52n.
  36. ^ Trial transcript, vol. 18, p. 5244 Mary Ferrell Foundation
  37. ^ a b "A Deadly Iteration". TIME. 1969-03-07. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  38. ^ Skoloff, Brian (2003-03-06). "Sirhan Sirhan denied parole for 12th time". Associated Press. www.signonsandiego.com. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  39. ^ 64 Cal.2d 633, 414 P.2d 366, (Cal. 1972)
  40. ^ Warren Kozak (2006-03-17). "One Common Link". NY Sun.
  41. ^ a b c "What Was Going On?". Time. 1968-06-14. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  42. ^ Andrew West of KRKD (June 5, 1968). "Hear it Now! RFK ASSASSINATED" (AUDIO). Hear it Now!. Retrieved 2007-08-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  43. ^ a b "CIA role claim in Kennedy killing". BBC. 2006-11-21. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  44. ^ O'Sullivan, Shane (2006-11-20). "Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2006-11-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. ^ "Post by O'Sullivan on The Education Forum, retrieved 2008-04-27".
  46. ^ a b James Randerson (2008-02-22). "New evidence challenges official picture of Kennedy shooting". Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  47. ^ Noguchi 1985
  48. ^ "FBI Robert F. Kennedy Assassination Summary, Part 1(b), p. 35, retrieved 2008-04-28" (PDF).
  49. ^ "Robert F. Kennedy Assassination(Summary) - Part 1(b)" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  50. ^ Harrison, P. (2007) ‘Analysis of “The Pruszynski Tape”’ (report on recording of gunshots). In Ayton, M., The Forgotten Terrorist: Sirhan Sirhan and the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Washington: Potomac Books.
  51. ^ a b Hoggard, Liz (2007-01-21). "The night Bobby Kennedy was shot". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  52. ^ "American Rhetoric: Edward Kennedy - Eulogy for Robert F. Kennedy". Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  53. ^ a b "Arlington National Cemetery: Visitor Information". Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  54. ^ "United States Secret Service History". Retrieved 2008-05-12.
  55. ^ Kerridge, Steven (2007-01-27). "Would Robert Kennedy have been president?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-11-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  56. ^ Thomas 2000, p. 24
  57. ^ Schlesinger 1996
  58. ^ Beschloss, Michael (1996-08-11). "Let's Have Conventions With Cliffhangers". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-13.

References

  • Coleman, Loren (2004). The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines. New York: Paraview Pocket. ISBN 978-0743482233.
  • Moldea, Dan E. (1995). The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity. New York: Norton. ISBN 978-0393037913.
  • Thomas Noguchi (1985). Coroner. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671467722.
  • Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M. (1996). Robert Kennedy and His Times. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345410610.
  • Thomas, Evan (2000). Robert Kennedy: His Life. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0684834801.
  • Witcover, Jules (1969). 85 Days: The Last Campaign of Robert Kennedy. New York: Putnam. OCLC 452367.

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