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Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968. At the time, he was campaigning to become the Democratic nominee for president. On June 4 1968, Robert Kennedy won the California and South Dakota primaries, which put him in a strong position to win the nomination for the presidential election later that year. Kennedy gave a victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in the early hours of June 5 where he said he wanted to heal the divisions that the US was experiencing. The renowned civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr had been assassinated just two months before Kennedy on April 4, 1968. King’s assassination had shaped the election and the way that Robert Kennedy, a close ally of King’s, campaigned. Kennedy hoped to heal the divide between white and black America in the aftermath of King’s assassination. Kennedy had become a great source of hope for the civil rights campaign.

After Kennedy’s speech, he was led through the kitchens of the Ambassador Hotel to his next meet and greet. He was accompanied by his entourage which included a former FBI agent who acted as Kennedy’s bodyguard and two unofficial bodyguards. At the time, the Secret Service did not provide protection for presidential candidates, unlike today. As Kennedy was being led through the kitchens, he was shaking hands with supporters. As he was shaking hands with a 17-year-old busboy, Juan Romero, he was shot three times by Sirhan Sirhan. Five other people were also injured as Sirhan emptied his gun into the crowd. As Robert Kennedy lay dying, Juan Romero handed Kennedy his rosary. Kennedy asked Romero, “Is everybody OK?” to which Romero responded, “Yes, everybody’s OK.” Kennedy then turned away and said, “Everything’s going to be OK”. He lost consciousness shortly after and never woke up again. After 26 hours of trying to save his life, doctors pronounced him dead at 1:44 am on June 6, 1968.

The motive behind Sirhan Sirhan’s decision to murder Senator Kennedy has been mostly attributed to Senator Kennedy’s support of Israel in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Sirhan, a Palestinian, described beginning to hate Kennedy when he learned that Kennedy had been to Palestine one month before Israel declared its independence in 1948. Kennedy was reporting on the situation that was unfolding in the region. During his stay, he became a strong supporter of Israel. Sirhan said that he was a supporter of Kennedy’s before he heard about his trip to Palestine when he was 22. Although Sirhan himself has said that the reason for his assassination of Kennedy was related to Kennedy’s support of Israel in the middle east conflict, this has been described as an oversimplification of Sirhan. It’s believed that Sirhan also had psychological issues which played a part in his decision to assassinate Robert Kennedy.

53 years later, Sirhan Sirhan has been granted parole. Sirhan was originally sentenced to death as punishment for the assassination of Robert Kennedy but this was later changed to life in prison. Sirhan has been denied parole 15 times, most recently in 2016. In 2016 the parole board denied his release saying that “he had not expressed adequate remorse for his crime”. However, at his latest hearing in August 2021, he was granted parole. Two of Robert Kennedy’s children submitted their support for his release to the parole board. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that he believed Sirhan should be released because he doesn’t believe that Sirhan was the killer of his father. Kennedy Jr. believes that there was a conspiracy regarding his father’s death, although the evidence that he has provided has been widely disputed.

After the announcement that Sirhan Sirhan had been granted parole, six of Robert Kennedy’s children released a joint statement expressing their devastation at the decision. They said that the decision to grant Sirhan parole had “inflicted enormous additional pain” on their family. They announced their intention to fight the decision every step of the way and asked for the support of people who “hold the memory of our father in their hearts”. The parole board’s decision to grant Sirhan parole will now be reviewed by the California parole board for up to 90 days. They have the ability to decline or approve the release of Sirhan. If they approve the release of Sirhan, the case will then go to the Governor of California who has the final say on accepting, declining or amending parole decisions. If Sirhan’s case reaches the Governor, it will likely become a public battle between the Kennedy children and supporters of each side to put pressure on the Governor to make the decision that each side wants. The current Governor, Gavin Newsom, has not said what his decision would be if the case were to reach him.

Difficult words

Aftermath (n): The consequences or after-effects of an unpleasant event.

Entourage (n): A group of people surrounding an important person.

Motive (n): A reason for doing something.

Attribute (v): To assign cause.

Parole (n): The release of a prisoner on the promise of good behaviour.

Adequate (adj): Being satisfactory or acceptable.

Remorse (n): Deep regret of wrongdoing.

Inflict (v): To cause unpleasantness.

Amend (v): To make minor changes.

Activities

For listening practice, listen to the recorded article here:

American English Audio: Coming Soon!

Match the Synonym!

1. AftermathA. Prisoner release.
2. EntourageB. Change
3. MotiveC. Group
4. AttributeD. Regret
5. ParoleE. Reason
6. AdequateF. Cause suffering.
7. RemorseG. After-effects
8. InflictH. Give cause.
9. AmendI. Acceptable

True or False?

1. Robert and John F. Kennedy were both assassinated in the 1960s. T / F

2. Robert Kennedy was assassinated in his own home. T / F

3. Martin Luther King Jr. was good friends with Robert Kennedy. T / F

4. Robert Kennedy had just won the California primary before he was killed. T / F

5. The Secret Service did not protect presidential candidates in the 1960s. T / F

6. An elderly man heard Kennedy’s last words. T / F

7. Sirhan was never a supporter of Robert Kennedy. T / F

8. Kennedy was a strong supporter of Isreal. T / F

9. All of Robert Kennedy’s children are against Sirhan’s parole. T / F

10. The Governor of California has the power to decline the parole decision. T / F

Unscramble the sentence!

1. months / rights / renowned / assassinated / civil / two / been / had / Martin Luther King Jr / leader / just / The / before

2. again / He / after / up / woke / consciousness / and / lost / shortly / never

3. played / issues / which / also / his decision / a / believed that / It’s / Sirhan / had psychological / in / part

4. was / to / Sirhan / the / for / as / assassination / originally / punishment / sentenced / death

5. the / to / the / They / release / ability / approve / of / Sirhan / decline / or / have

Listening and Vocabulary

Listen to the article and fill in the words OR practice vocabulary and fill in the words.

American English Audio: Coming Soon!

SubmittedAccompaniedInjured
DevastationConflictOversimplification
CampaigningHealDeclining

Robert F. Kennedy, the brother of President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968. At the time, he was (1)________________ to become the Democratic nominee for president. On June 4 1968, Robert Kennedy won the California and South Dakota primaries, which put him in a strong position to win the nomination for the presidential election later that year. Kennedy gave a victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles in the early hours of June 5 where he said he wanted to heal the divisions that the US was experiencing. The renowned civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr had been assassinated just two months before Kennedy on April 4, 1968. King’s assassination had shaped the election and the way that Robert Kennedy, a close ally of King’s, campaigned. Kennedy hoped to (2)________ the divide between white and black America in the aftermath of King’s assassination. Kennedy had become a great source of hope for the civil rights campaign.

After Kennedy’s speech, he was led through the kitchens of the Ambassador Hotel to his next meet and greet. He was (3)_________________ by his entourage which included a former FBI agent who acted as Kennedy’s bodyguard and two unofficial bodyguards. At the time, the Secret Service did not provide protection for presidential candidates, unlike today. As Kennedy was being led through the kitchens, he was shaking hands with supporters. As he was shaking hands with a 17-year-old busboy, Juan Romero, he was shot three times by Sirhan Sirhan. Five other people were also (4)___________ as Sirhan emptied his gun into the crowd. As Robert Kennedy lay dying, Juan Romero handed Kennedy his rosary. Kennedy asked Romero, “Is everybody OK?” to which Romero responded, “Yes, everybody’s OK.” Kennedy then turned away and said, “Everything’s going to be OK”. He lost consciousness shortly after and never woke up again. After 26 hours of trying to save his life, doctors pronounced him dead at 1:44 am on June 6, 1968.

The motive behind Sirhan Sirhan’s decision to murder Senator Kennedy has been mostly attributed to Senator Kennedy’s support of Israel in the (5)___________ between Israel and Palestine. Sirhan, a Palestinian, described beginning to hate Kennedy when he learned that Kennedy had been to Palestine one month before Israel declared its independence in 1948. Kennedy was reporting on the situation that was unfolding in the region. During his stay, he became a strong supporter of Israel. Sirhan said that he was a supporter of Kennedy’s before he heard about his trip to Palestine when he was 22. Although Sirhan himself has said that the reason for his assassination of Kennedy was related to Kennedy’s support of Israel in the middle east conflict, this has been described as an (6)___________________ of Sirhan. It’s believed that Sirhan also had psychological issues which played a part in his decision to assassinate Robert Kennedy.

53 years later, Sirhan Sirhan has been granted parole. Sirhan was originally sentenced to death as punishment for the assassination of Robert Kennedy but this was later changed to life in prison. Sirhan has been denied parole 15 times, most recently in 2016. In 2016 the parole board denied his release saying that “he had not expressed adequate remorse for his crime”. However, at his latest hearing in August 2021, he was granted parole. Two of Robert Kennedy’s children (7)______________ their support for his release to the parole board. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that he believed Sirhan should be released because he doesn’t believe that Sirhan was the killer of his father. Kennedy Jr. believes that there was a conspiracy regarding his father’s death, although the evidence that he has provided has been widely disputed.

After the announcement that Sirhan Sirhan had been granted parole, six of Robert Kennedy’s children released a joint statement expressing their (8)_______________ at the decision. They said that the decision to grant Sirhan parole had “inflicted enormous additional pain” on their family. They announced their intention to fight the decision every step of the way and asked for the support of people who “hold the memory of our father in their hearts”. The parole board’s decision to grant Sirhan parole will now be reviewed by the California parole board for up to 90 days. They have the ability to decline or approve the release of Sirhan. If they approve the release of Sirhan, the case will then go to the Governor of California who has the final say on accepting, (9)_____________ or amending parole decisions. If Sirhan’s case reaches the Governor, it will likely become a public battle between the Kennedy children and supporters of each side to put pressure on the Governor to make the decision that each side wants. The current Governor, Gavin Newsom, has not said what his decision would be if the case were to reach him.

Conversation Questions

Take turns speaking with a partner or try to answer on your own:

1. Did you find this article interesting? Why or why not?
2. Did you learn anything new from this article? If so, what?
3. What do you think of this story?
4. Did you know about Robert F. Kennedy before reading this story?
5. Did you know about John F. Kennedy before reading this story?
6. Do you think Sirhan Sirhan should be released?
7. Does your country have the death penalty?
8. What is the longest a person should go to prison?
9. Was Sirhan Sirhan’s crime worse because of who he killed?
10. Have there been any assassinations in your country?
11. Why do you think there were so many assassinations in the US in the 1960s?
12. Do you think the California parole board or California governor will stop the release of Sirhan?
13. Is there a lot of crime in your country?
14. How is crime handled in your county? Is it common for criminals to go to prison?
15. Are there any crimes that you think should require life imprisonment?
16. Are there any crimes that you think a person should not go to prison for?
17. What should a criminal do to be released from prison early?
18. Do you think criminals are treated worse if their crime is famous?
19. Is there anyone who you think would have made the world a better place if they didn’t die young?
20. Were the Kennedy assassinations big news in your country?