2 – Sirhan Claims He Has No Memory of the Crime
Initially, Sirhan confessed to the murder of Robert F. Kennedy, but the court judge refused to accept the confession. Later, Sirhan claimed that he had no memory of the shooting, the trial, or his confession. This has led to one of the most interesting if far-fetched, conspiracy theories surrounding the murder. It has been suggested that Sirhan was a victim of hypnosis and was ‘programmed’ to kill the senator. His Arab name apparently made him an easy scapegoat who allowed the real perpetrators to escape justice.
In a March 2011 parole board hearing, his defense team claimed that he was an involuntary participant because he was the victim of “sophisticated hypno-programming memory implantation techniques” which meant he wasn’t able to consciously control his thoughts and actions during the murder. While it seems like an absurd suggestion, U.S. government security agencies have researched the possibility of created so-called “hypnotic assassins.” The main issue surrounding Sirhan’s claim is the lack of a single scrap of evidence to support the outrageous hypno-assassin defense.
It seems like a classic ‘open and shut’ case. Sirhan walked up to Kennedy and shot him in front of dozens of witnesses. Moreover, he admitted his hatred of the senator and had written “RFK must die” over and over in his diary. He also wrote: “my determination to eliminate RFK is becoming more the more of an unshakeable obsession.” He even wrote down the ‘deadline’ for the assassination so there shouldn’t be any doubt over his guilt. His mental state, on the other hand, is open for debate.
Sirhan claimed that he didn’t even remember writing about his plans in his diary. He was apparently fascinated with hypnosis and believed he was learning to control different events with the power of his mind. Is there a possibility that somewhere along the way, Sirhan placed himself in a hypnotic trance and carried out his terrible crime without realizing? Or did he just make everything up to keep his name in the news? One thing’s for sure, the whole ‘Manchurian Candidate’ theory has little to back it up. As for it being a straightforward assassination, you won’t be surprised to learn that not everyone is happy with that suggestion.