Sirhan Sirhan Stabbed in Prison

The RFK assassin is in stable condition
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 31, 2019 6:30 AM CDT
Sirhan Sirhan Stabbed in Prison
In this Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016, file photo, Sirhan Sirhan reacts during a parole hearing at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.   (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, Pool, File)

Sirhan Sirhan, imprisoned for more than 50 years for the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was hospitalized Friday after being stabbed by a fellow inmate at a San Diego prison, the AP reports. A statement from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the stabbing occurred Friday afternoon at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego. "Officers responded quickly, and found an inmate with stab wound injuries. He was transported to an outside hospital for medical care, and is currently in stable condition," the statement said. The statement did not name Sirhan, but a government source with direct knowledge confirmed to the AP that he was the victim. The source spoke under condition of anonymity, citing prison privacy regulations.

Corrections officials reported that the alleged attacker has been identified and has been segregated from the rest of the prison population pending an investigation. Sirhan, 75, was originally sentenced to death for killing Kennedy. But when California briefly outlawed capital punishment, his sentence was reduced to life in prison. He has been denied parole several times. As a high-profile prisoner, Sirhan had once been kept in a protective housing unit at Corcoran State Prison in Northern California. After he told authorities several years ago that he would prefer being housed with the general prison population, he was moved to the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. (Jim Leavelle, the lawman at JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald's side when he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby, died Thursday.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X