Sirhan Sirhan Seeks to Overturn Conviction For Killing RFK

Attorneys for Sirhan Sirhan are seeking to overturn his conviction for the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles by arguing that evidence at his trial was faked, according to court papers obtained today.

In the most recent appeal filed in federal court in Los Angeles, defense attorneys repeat an earlier claim that a bullet was switched during Sirhan's trial, proving that he was unfairly convicted of the Kennedy killling.

Sirhan's attorneys also suggest that their client had been hypnotized to fire a revolver at Kennedy in the pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, ostensibly to divert attention from the real assassin.

According to the court papers, "expert analysis of recently uncovered evidence shows two guns were fired in the assassination and that Sirhan's revolver was not the gun that shot Kennedy."

Lynda Gledhill, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's office, which is handling the appeal, said prosecutors had no comment.

Sirhan, 67, is serving a life sentence at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga.

During his trial, he admitted on the stand to killing Kennedy.

Last year, Studio City Patch did some investigating about on Ventura Boulevard on the night before he was killed and discovered that he did not stay there.

Thanks to some local help, Patch tracked down the former owner of the lodge, Len Harlig, who set the record straight.

"I don't know where RFK stayed the night before his assassination, but I can assure you he did NOT stay at the Sportsmen's Lodge," Harlig said in an exclusive interview. "Part of the reason this myth was perpetuated might have been because RFK wanted to have his event here, but we didn't have a large enough room to accommodate him, as it was already booked. So RFK decided to hold his event at the Ambassador Hotel."