Oswald:Trial Of The Century Essay, Research Paper

The State vs. Lee Harvey Oswald. For the prosecution Vincent Bugliosi, and for the defense, James Spence. Both sides have their cases to make. Vincent Bugliosi, along with the United States of America contend that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the murdering of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. On the other hand the Defense will contend that Lee Harvey Oswald was only a patsy in a conspiracy possibly involving Jack Ruby, the man who assassinated Oswald, or even the Government.

The prosecution?s case against Lee Harvey Oswald is one based entirely on the government?s belief that Oswald was the lone assassin. All evidence found, points to Oswald being the only assassin, but if he was, why did the government take cameras away from people who recorded or took pictures of the assassination? Why did the government use doctors not licensed for the autopsy on the President of the United States? Also, how did they know who to arrest in such a short amount of time?

The defense had to try to show the public Lee Harvey Oswald as a normal person, not a madman or a killer. They also have to answer a few questions such as, why did Oswald leave before roll call at the Texas Book Depository? Why was Oswald carrying a loaded revolver when the police apprehended him? Also, if Oswald didn?t do it, why did he hit a police officer when he was getting arrested?

Reasons given by the government for taking away peoples film was that they wanted to analyze it to look for the assassin and evidence. This film taken from people was never returned, except for the Zapruder film. If the government kept saying that there was no conspiracy and that all evidence pointed to one assassin, why not give back the film. This troubles me and during the entire trial Bugliosi never once was able to explain that.

The whole autopsy situation was a total mess. During the House Select Committee on Assassinations investigation into the autopsy of President Kennedy, they found the following errors:

1.The President?s body was taken out of the hands of those responsible for investigation of the death and autopsy-Texas authorities.

2.Those performing the autopsy had insufficient training and experience to evaluate a death from gunshot wounds.

3.Physicians who treated the President at Parkland Hospital were not consulted before beginning the autopsy.

4.Proper photographs were not taken.

5.The President?s clothing was not examined.

6.The autopsy procedure was incomplete because:

a. External examination failed to accurately locate wounds

b. The bullet tracks were not dissected to determine their course through the body.

c. The angles of the bullet tracks through the body were not measured relative to the body axis.

d. The brain was not properly examined and sectioned.

7. The report was incomplete, inaccurate, and prepared without reference to photographs.

8. The head wound location was incorrect.

9. Other wounds of the President?s body were not localized with reference to fixed body landmarks so as to permit reconstruction of trajectories.

About an hour after the assassination a Dallas Police Radio reports that their “suspect” is in the library, when the police reach there, they immediately reply back, “It was the wrong man.” How could the police so quickly deny that the person in the library was not the assassin? The only way to say so quickly that it was the wrong man, was because they knew who the right man was. The library was a known hangout for Oswald, who lived just six blocks from it.

Why would the police send 15 officers, along with two FBI agents and the Dallas Assistant District Attorney Bill Alexander, just to arrest a man for sneaking into the Texas Theatre? Also when the lights go up in the Texas Theatre, it is rumored that a man sitting near the front tells one of the police officers that “the man they are looking for is in the third row to the back and not in the balcony.”

Know one knows for sure why Oswald was missing during role call at the Texas School Book Depository. Those that believe he shot Kennedy say he was nervous and afraid he would get caught, which they say explains why he shot Officer JD Tippet. Others that say he was the patsy say he left because he found out that he was the patsy.

When Oswald was arrested, they found a loaded revolver in his possession. Many people say that he was nervous and scared and when he saw Officer Tippit, he shot him, afraid he was going to jail. Others say he was scared because he knew he was the patsy and was running scared and was framed for the Tippet murder too.

Another interesting thing to know about the Oswald case was that when he was arrested for the murder of Officer Tippet, the detectives took paraffin casts of Oswald?s hands and right cheek. The tests came back positive for his hands and negative for his right cheek, indicating that he may have fired a pistol, but definently not a rifle.

After reviewing all of the evidence and testimony presented by the witnesses, I find Lee Harvey Oswald Not Guilty of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I believe there was a conspiracy, and this, I think, is how it happened:

Lyndon Baines Johnson, fearing that he may get dropped from the ticket by John Kennedy, and humiliated after being treated like a lap dog by Robert Kennedy, confided in J. Edgar Hoover that he and Hoover were most likely to get replaced by J.F.K. Hoover then decided to ask for the CIA?s help in the assassination, mainly because he knew the CIA would do it and also because the CIA had many ties with Mafia assassins who tried to assassinate Castro.

The CIA immediately joined and organized a group of Mafia assassins from Cuba and set them up in Dallas, two on the sixth floor on the Texas School Book Depository, two on the grassy knoll, and two in the railroad yard.

This assassination cannot be complete without the Secret Service. Probably only the highest officials in the Secret Service were involved, because of the way there were no agents positioned around Kennedy in the motorcade. Also many people after the assassination identified themselves as Secret Service agents, when the Secret Service reported that they had only sent one agent back to the scene of the assassination.

When it was finally time for the assassination, this is how it went:

President Kennedy is riding in the motorcade down Elm Street, a first shot rings out, striking President Kennedy in the throat. This shot came from in front of him as you can see by the way he grabs his neck, and by how doctors at Parkland Hospital said that it was an obvious entry wound.

The second shot rings out from behind him and totally misses the entire vehicle and is found in the concrete base of the underpass later on.

Then a third shot rings out, hitting Governor Connally in the ribs, before being imbedded in the cushion of the chair he was sitting in. This shot, I believe came from in front of the Governor.

Then the shots start firing from everywhere, coming mostly in front of Kennedy. Three shots are fired from the front and one misses, while the other two hit Kennedy right in the front, basically destroying his brain. The missed shot would explain how Carl Renas, head of security for the Dearborn Division of the Ford Motor Company, while driving the limousine from Washington DC to Cincinnati saw “several bullet holes”. Of those he saw, he noted that one was clearly “a primary strike”.

At the same time another shot rings out from the book depository, this one hitting Governor Connally in the wrist and imbedding in his right thigh.

Kennedy is dead, and as they rush him to Parkland Hospital, already fake Secret Service are around the scene of the crime. One agent, who would not identify himself to the police, was seen by the police picking something off the ground at the grassy knoll. Three men are pulled over in a black car for speeding. They identify themselves as Secret Service agents on their way to New Orleans to investigate the assassination. Many other Secret Service agents were also at the scene interrogating witnesses. The Secret Service says that they only sent one agent back to the scene of the assassination, and never assigned any agents to New Orleans, immediately after the shooting.

As to how they caught Oswald is simple, they knew he was a communist and also that he was a loner. What more perfect of a man could they find? Especially since it was the height of the cold war. So the FBI informed the Dallas Police that they had evidence that all pointed to Oswald. The FBI got nervous, thinking that Oswald may find out about the whole conspiracy, because he had known about the FBI coming to his house. So they had one of their informants, Jack Ruby go and assassinate the President. It was easy for Ruby to get into the police station because of all the F.B.I. around, able to let Ruby in.

Now if you still don?t believe L.B.J. was involved, why did he call the Dallas Homicide Department and tell them that they had their man, and that they didn?t have to look any further? Why did he personally call the doctors at Parkland about a confession from Oswald before he died? Why would a newly appointed President involve himself in the investigation of a homicide, that law enforcement agencies could handle?

Also the operation of covering it up would have to be done by someone with power and the knowledge to carry out the deed. That same person must be able to cover up the deed through the act of manipulation of information. Only one man had such power at that time, and that was Lyndon Baines Johnson. During his administration, he appointed the Warren Commission and at the same time locked up vital information for seventy-five years.

Also seven months before the assassination, L.B.J. made a comment referring to the President as an airplane and says, “He?s the only pilot you have, and if the plane goes down, you go with it. At least wait until next November before you shoot him down.” (Emphasis added). November 1963 was not a presidential election year.

Thank you for your attention and willingness to read. I hope I may have changed what you thought happened on November 22, 1963.