CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) -- In a prison ritual that marks history but rarely changes it, the parole hearing of Sirhan Sirhan, like an earlier one for fellow prisoner Charles Manson, reminds America of its violent past.

The periodic "lifer" hearings for these high-profile prisoners -- Sirhan, convicted of slaying Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was scheduled for his 10th one today -- inevitably spark public head-shaking and the comment: "I sure hope he doesn't get out."

But there's little chance that freedom awaits such headline makers.

"These hearings are not really designed for someone like Sirhan Sirhan," said Loyola University Law School Dean Laurie Levenson.

"If you had a low-profile defendant, there would be a chance of parole," she said. "But when someone's in the public eye, all it does is remind us of how heinous their crime was."

Manson, 62, convicted in the 1969 slayings of actress Sharon Tate and six others, conceded at his latest hearing in March that freedom is not in his future. In fact, he said he did not want to be paroled because he was too busy.

"I'm involved in too many things. I have a Web site I'm working on," Manson told a three-member panel of the state Board of Corrections.

It turned out he was busy with other things as well. This month, a prison committee found him guilty of trafficking in drugs.

Levenson said the periodic parole hearings motivate prisoners.

"If you want better behavior by defendants in custody, you have to give them hope," said Levenson.

In Sirhan's case, there is always the chance that he will shed light on the mystery surrounding the history-altering assassination of Kennedy.

Kennedy was shot to death on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel minutes after claiming victory in the California Democratic presidential primary. Historians have suggested Kennedy would have won the White House, defeating Richard Nixon.

Sirhan, then a 25-year-old Palestinian immigrant, was wrestled to the ground with a gun in his hand. At his trial, he was portrayed as a rabid anti-Israeli who turned against Kennedy because of the sale of 50 fighter jets to Israel.

Was Sirhan, now 54, the lone assassin? Conspiracy theories have abounded, and Sirhan has never fully explained his actions. He has said he can't remember the events of that night, having blacked out after drinking too much alcohol.

The "lifer" parole hearings also provide progress reports on a prisoner's rehabilitation potential.

While Manson may not be interested, the three women followers convicted with him would like to walk out of prison someday. A prosecutor has conceded that one of them, Leslie Van Houten, might have a chance of freedom.

Lawyers for Sirhan, a model prisoner, have suggested he could return to his native Palestine if released.

Prosecutors have opposed such a plan, suggesting Sirhan would become a political lightning rod in the Middle East.

In 1995, the California Supreme Court ruled that the state Board of Prison Terms could reduce the frequency of the hearings. Now, some prisoners return before the board only once every five years. Sirhan's last hearing was in 1994.

In recent years, there has been an increase in life sentences without the possibility of parole in murder cases, thus eliminating any opportunity for the hearing ritual for those defendants.

As decades pass, Levenson said the possibility of release becomes more realistic for aging prisoners taking up space in an overcrowded prison system.

"Once all these people are in their 80s, you might have younger more violent criminals waiting to take their place," said Levenson. She suggested that officials might decide that "when someone is so old they are no longer a danger to society and it's not worth keeping them in prison."

Still, she said, the public might not be ready for the release of even a geriatric Manson or Sirhan.

"With these guys, society will always be willing to pay the price to keep them in prison for the rest of their lives."

©The Associated Press - Wednesday, 18th June 1997, All rights reserved.
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