Physical Evidence John F. Kennedy Assassination Review - Case Study Example

Running Head: THE ASSASINATION OF PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy There are some frauds so well constructed that it would be stupidity not to be deceived by them ~Charles Caleb Colton [1] Introduction The assassination of President John F. Kennedy is one of the most powerful historic events in the history of the United States, setting up conspiracy theorists with fodder that has simmered in mystery for decades. Mystery has surrounded the truth about the evidence, the honesty of the reporting, and the inconsistencies between the Zapruder film and the narrative to the point that speculation ranges from intergovernmental conspiracy to Communist plot. The truth about the shooting may never be clear, but the evidence about the shooting can be gathered through looking at the various reports that have been released to the public. What cannot be assessed is if any of the evidence has been tampered with and if the assassination of an American President was the plot of one man or if it was the plot of many who used the perpetrator, himself assassinated before trial, as a pawn in a larger game. The following review will attempt to make a case for Lee Harvey Oswald who was accused, but never tried for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The evidence will be in the form of eye witness accounts, forensic evidence, medical examiner evidence, and the Commission findings of two committees on the topic that influence how the evidence has been interpreted for the American public. One of the problems and inconsistencies of the evidence is that the eyewitness reports contradict much of the evidence that was presented to the Commission, putting the evidence itself as suspicious. While it is likely that evidence will not be available to prove or disprove Oswald’s innocence, some conclusions can be drawn that further the discussion of the history of the assassination of President Kennedy on that fateful day in November of 1963. The Record of the Event John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas Texas at Dealey Plaza. The time was 12:30 local time. While riding in a convertible and in the midst of a Presidential parade where he was waving to the crowds who lined the streets to greet the President, he was observed jerking in response to something with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy panicked and expressive of something dire having occurred. From the evidence shown in the Zapruder film which was filmed on the day of the shooting in 1963, President Kennedy’s head appears to have been struck from the upper right at a downward angle, his head jerking back to the left, and then forward and to the left as he slumps towards his wife.[2] Part of the problem with examining the evidence in relationship to the events of that day is that the evidence takes on a variety of different ‘truths’ that all either support or deny the idea that Oswald acted alone. There are allegations that the evidence has been altered to support that theory and there is some evidence and expert testimony that seems outrageous, but was accepted by the Warren commission. The only real first hand evidence is that of the Zapruder film which seems contrary to some of the claims. What is observable about how the bullet hit the body of President Kennedy is often contradicted by ‘evidence’ of what the movement of his body means in relationship to the shots that were fired. The Zapruder Film The Zapruder film can be examined from a number of different ways. It can be examined from the film at a regular frame pace, in slow motion, and cut to reveal a closer view of what occurred. The film shows the car coming around the corner with a police escort. The car is a convertible, leaving an open view to the president. There are secret service agents behind the car which is traveling at a relatively slow pace. The first thing that happens that seems to be out of line is that the President leans forward, in a position that looks like he has to cough. It is now known that he was struck the first time at that point. Within seconds, his head is struck and part of his scalp flips forward. It is clear that it is unlikely that the President would have survived his wounds.[2] The second shot is startling, yet the man shooting the film attributed to Abraham Zapruder, does not seem to jerk or react himself to this event. His shooting of the event is clear and consistent from the time the President’s car comes around the corner and is inside the parking garage. The two things that have been in question about this film is that at one point there seem to be a jump in the angle of the shooting so that the car is displaced from the middle to the lower quadrant of the film, without the camera moving and that Zapruder makes no reaction to having just witnessed the President being shot.[1] An explanation for the steady hand of the film may be that because of the way in which camera’s of that time were designed, he may not have seen what his camera was filming clear enough to react until others around him pointed out what had happened. Three Shots There were three shots that have been at the center of the evidence. One shot hit the curb and shattered, striking the cheek of James Tague [1] One bullet was said to have gone through President Kennedy’s body and then into Governor John Connelly. This bullet is the subject of the ‘magic bullet’ theory that has been fodder for generations of conspiracy theorists. President Gerald Ford, then a member of the Warren Commission, made a change on the Warren Commission Report which supports this theory of the shooting, but has put the actual placement of the bullet that struck President Kennedy under suspicion. President Ford admitted to his change on the report, designating the reason was to clarify the report to support their findings. The original report stated that the bullet struck President Kennedy in the back, but President Ford changed this to say that it had struck President Kennedy in the neck, changing the trajectory of the bullet to support the lone gunman theory. When interviewed about this change, Ford listed it as a mistake that he corrected.[3] The photograph of the shirt that President Kennedy was wearing supports the placement of the first bullet that hit him (see Figure 1). The bullet went through his back, not his neck. The Zapruder film also supports the theory that it entered his back, despite the statement on the Warren Commission Report, as President Kennedy first grabs for his chest, not his neck, when Figure 1 Picture of President Kennedy’s Shirt and Suit Post Shooting [3] he is shot. The problem with the report on that single bullet is that it is considered the source of not only President Kennedy’s first wound, but of the wounds on Governor Connolly on the back, chest, wrist, and thigh were all caused by that same bullet. [3] Spiegelman, Tobin, James, Sheather, Wexler, and Roundhill, (2007) examined the possibilities of there being more than three bullets at the site of the assassination. In order to support their theories about the possibilities of a second shooter through metallurgic and statistical perspectives in an analysis of the composition of bullets in relationship to concentrations of antimony and copper within crystallographic grain boundaries which results in wide variations of grain sized in the bullet lead of Mannlicher-Carcano 6.7-mm ammunition that was used during the assassination of JFK. The results of the tests conducted by the researchers was that “In effect, this assessment of the material composition of the lead specimens from the assassination concludes that the extant evidence is consistent with any number between two and five rounds fired in Dealey Plaza during the shooting”. [4] Spiegelman, Tobin, James, Sheather, Wexler, and Roundhill, (2007) came to the conclusion that the ballistics report by Dr. Guinn was in error as he claimed that two bullets were likely from the same batch of bullets that accounted for the five fragments found. Dr. Guinn acted on the belief that all compositions of the bullets are unique, thus the fragments would come from two bullets because of the matching compositional status. However, the researchers discovered that the bullets within a batch or across batches could have matching compositions and that there was a statistically positive chance of pulling compositionally matching bullets from different batches [4] CBS with Walter Cronkite examined the evidence from the Warren Commission in series of news reports in 1967. One of the tests that have been the subject of dispute was whether or not a professionally trained marksman could shoot the gun with three shots within the time frame that they hit. The 5.6 seconds or less was possible according to the work of the marksmen hired to create an example of the shooting. 37 attempts were made, 17 of which were invalid because of problems with the gun. [5] The second question that was asked on this inquiry was how much time was between the shots. Dr. Luiz Alvarez found in frame 227 and beyond of the Zaprudar film that there were lines that could indicate the motion of bullets. Frame 189 to 190 there was an inconsistency in the blur which created by a subtle jump, disputing the idea that Mr. Zapruder did not react to the events. The expert believes that there are indications of shots at186, 222-223 and 313-318 - but the first shot was some 20 frames before the Warren Commission thinks the first shot was fired. The shot that did not hit the President was fired before the other two shots according to this reaction evidence. In a test to see the reaction of cameramen to shots being fired, the evidence showed similar reactions as seen in the Zapruder films through small blurs. This stretches the time for the shots as the Warren Commission puts the first frame at 222, which is how the 5.6 seconds is accounted for in the report. [5] The shot to the head is problematic in relationship to how it is seen on the Zapruder film and what has been determined as the trajectory of the bullet. The drawing done by Ida Dox, the Medical Examiner Illustrator for the Hearings before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives (1979) shows that the bullet entered from the back and exited in the front (see Figure 2). This illustration shows a gunshot from the back of the head, but the Zapruder film shows the President’s head jerking back.[6] This perceived discrepancy has been shown to support the Grassy Knoll shooter as the one that took the head shot. The President was slumped forward, the shot pushing his head backward with a snap, leaving a part of his scalp having been ripped away. Not all evidence agrees with this assessment, however. Figure 2 Medical Examiner Illustrator Sketch of Head Bullet Trajectory [6] In 1998 experts in ballistics went to Dealey Plaza and began a study on the science of the evidence of the bullet s and the behaviors observed in the Zapruder film in order to establish where the bullets came from and how they could be interpreted for where the shots had originated. One of the aspects of the crime that they eliminated was that any of the shots came from the Grassy Knoll. The shots, according to this test, came from behind. The number of shots could not be determined. There were two locations that were possible for the shots to be delivered. The first was from the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository and the second was from the second floor of the Dal-Tex building. The investigators believe that at least one shot did come from the second floor. The group of experts included Anthony Larry Paul, a ballistics expert, a laser expert, Dr Vincent DiMaio who is a forensic pathologist, Robert Grodin who examined the photographs and has investigated the Kennedy assassination, and finally, Ronald Singer who is a criminalist. The expert opinion is that he was actually shot from the back despite the perception of a shot from the front and that there was a possibility of more than one shooter as well as more than one shot to the head.[ [7] The Select Committee on Assassinations The findings of the Select Committee on Assassinations in the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy state that the Warren Commission determined that there were three shots fired from behind the motorcade. The Committee determined that Lee Harvey Oswald was a lone gunman and that he fired his shots from the Texas School Book Depository. Oswald owned the gun, which was a rifle that was used to kill the President. He had access to the space from which the shots were fired and these ‘facts’ lead to the conclusion that he shot and killed the President. The conclusion was that Lee Harvey Oswald worked alone and that he was the sole offender in the act to kill President Kennedy.[8] The commission determined that based on the evidence available, President Kennedy was probably assassinated as an outcome to the agenda of a conspiracy. This evidence was in the form of acoustical evidence that supported eye-witness testimony that more than two shooters had to have participated in the shooting. The evidence presented to the committee suggests that there were at least two gunmen present. The evidence presented to the committee did not support the participation of the Soviet government, the Cuban government, the anti-Castro groups, organized crime, or the FBI, CIA or the secret service. The Secret Service did not perform its duties adequately and had not analyzed the threat present sufficiently. As well, the Secret Service terminated its investigation when the FBI took over the responsibility. The Justice Department did not fulfill its duties in supervising the FBI during the investigation. The Warren Commission drew the best possible conclusions based on the evidence that was given to them.[8] Some of the problems that surrounding the introduction of evidence to the Warren Commission and then to the Select Committee on Assassinations was that the law enforcement agencies involved were not sending over all of the records that were being requested on the grounds of national security issues. As a result, in 1992 Congressman Louis Stokes brought forward Resolution 454 and Senator David Boren introduced Res. 282 in the Senate in order to create the JFK Act which would open up all law enforcement agency records on the topic of his assassination.[9] Eyewitnesses Jean Hill is an example of an eyewitness who supports the theory that someone shot at the President from the Grassy Knoll. In the transcript from her report to the Warren Commission she states that there were three shots that seemed to come from one direction, but following those three shots there were between one and three shots more. Her memory on the number and the timing is not distinct. The indication that she might have been correct is that she heard three shots, was pulled to the ground by her friend that was there with her, and then heard at least one more after that moment which were different from the rifle shots and seemed to come from an automatic fire arm. She indicates that she thought the shots were coming from the Knoll, not from the Texas Book Depository.[10] Another eyewitness, Sheriff’s deputy Roger Craig, testified about things that happened that day that did not fall into the scenario that the Warren Commission was supporting. He claimed to have found a bullet casing near Elm Street that was from a .45 caliber weapon, but hat it was picked up by government agent and never made it into the investigation. He also reported that the casings in the Depository were lined up neatly by the rifle as if they were set there to be found. The rifle, on the other hand, might not have been the same one that eventually was taken into evidence. Eye witness accounts vary widely and this one is no exception as it supports a number of different theories on the crime. [11] Discussion One of the problems with putting together an evidentiary portfolio on this crime is that there is no clear chain of evidence that leads to a conclusion. Dandaneau writes that “a straightforward documentary (on the assassination) is impossible. There are many many documents available for rational analysis – from the Warren Commission Report to the Zapruder – but there is no established ‘chain of evidence’ which clearly and cogently establishes the relationship between any bit of this evidence and the crime in question” [12] The JFK Act of 1992 provided for the release of all documents pertaining to the assassination, but the problem with the documentation is that it is inconsistent and does not provide enough information to construct a plausible case. The evidence is not conclusive as to whether or not Oswald committed the crime. Therefore, he would be eligible for clemency. Without evidence that proves his guilt beyond a shadow of a doubt, his conviction could not stand, and that evidence does not exist. Endnotes [1] Fetzer, J. H. (2004). Assassination science: Experts speak out on the death of JFK. Chicago: Catfeet Press. [2] Youtube. (2010). The Zapruder Film. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=ufvmHYqfdbU [3] Feinsilber, M. (2013). Gerald Ford forced to admit the Warren Report fictionalized. Retrieved from http://whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/JFK/ford.html [4] Spiegelman, C., Tobin, W. A., James, W. D., Sheather, S. J., Wexler, S. & Roundhill, M. R. (December 2007). Chemical and forensic analysis of JFK assassination bullet lots: Is a second shooter possible? The Annals of Applied Statistics. 1(2), 287-301. [5] CBS News (25 June 1967) CBS News the inquiry: The Warren Report Part 3. Retrieved from http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0S00MvUfjpRzywAXgP7w8QF;_ylu= X3oDMTBvbWhyamduBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDVjEzNA-- ?p=Dan+Rather%2FWalter+Cronkite+from+1967&vid=c349eeb05a8ada4036c92a1e26b a28f0&l=15%3A26&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DV.468677 2339867951%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3F v%3DkZgGDb5eXKo&tit=CBS+News+The+Inquiry+%3A+The+Warren+Report+Part+ 3+%286%2F25%2F1967%29&c=0&sigr=11a87t8le&&tt=b [6] Dox, G. , ). trajectory image. Retrieved from om etrieved from mployee will do as well as giving guidelines on expectations of how (1979). JFK skull trajectory image. Retrieved from http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A2KJkK2uhDpRWFwA0B6JzbkF;_yl u=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages. search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DDox%2BJFK%26ei%3DUTF- 8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-200%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D5&w=363&h=41 4&imgurl=www.paulseaton.com%2Fjfk%2FDox%2Fdox_flap.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F% 2Fwww.paulseaton.com%2Fjfk%2FDox%2FDox.htm&size=28.6+KB&name=Errors+In +The+HSCA+Dox+Drawing&p=Dox+JFK&oid=1f7ee3e95087b86b997b37397752f60c &fr2=&fr=yfp-t-200&tt=Errors%2BIn%2BThe%2BHSCA%2 BDox%2BDrawin g&b=0&ni=220&no=5&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=119co55tq&sigb=12t1q931e&sigi=117r mrvv7&.crumb=LlpE8XCfZ43 [7] Youtube. (13 July 2012). JFK, laser trajectory analysis in Dealey Plaza. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5JDhi4URds [8] National Archives. (2013). Report of the President’s commission on the assassination of President Kennedy. Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren- commission-report/ [9] Tunheim, J. R. (1999). Final report of the (Kennedy) assassination records review board. Washington D.C. Assassination Record Review Board. [10] Yardum, H. (2009). The grassy knoll witnesses: Who shot JFK?. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. [11] Dandaneau, S. P. (2001). Taking it big: Developing sociological consciousness in postmodern times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. [12] McAdams, J. (2011). JFK assassination logic: How to think about claims of conspiracy. Washington, D.C: Potomac Books. Read More