JFK
In 1976, the US Senate ordered a fresh inquiry into the assassination of John F Kennedy, who was murdered in 1963 during a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. People who had been involved in the original Warren Commission investigations were asked to make fresh statements. The FBI and the CIA were persuaded to release more of their documents on Oswald. New lines of inquiry were opened and individuals who had not previously given evidence were persuaded to come forward. Most important of all, pieces of evidence such as photos and sound recordings were subjected to scientific analysis using the most up-to-date methods and equipment. The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) completed their investigation in 1979 and they finally came to a discrete verdict that Lee Harvey Oswald fired three shots at Kennedy, one of which killed the president. The fourth shot was fired from the grassy knoll. They concluded that John Kennedy was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. There are many reasons why the HSCA came to this verdict, but firstly it was important that the American people understood why this case was re-opened over a decade later! The investigation was set up as direct result of the assassinations of two other major politi
The public also became increasingly interested in the Kennedy assassination as books such as 'Rush to judgement' by Mark Lane and 'Inquest' by Edward Jay Epstein, started to be written. They immediately became best sellers and played a large role in raising awareness regarding the assassination. As a result people started to inquire more and rumours began that other people or organisations had been involved in Kennedy's assassination i.e there had been a conspiracy. As people became more and more aware about the events surrounding the assassination, many blamed the Dallas police as being incompetent in handling the whole investigation. They had proven to be extremely unorganised despite the fact that the President had just been murdered. The fact that interviews hadn't been recorded was one of the reasons why there was so much confusion. Yet the only excuse the Dallas police could come up with was that they couldn't find a tape recorder! The questions that were asked by the officers proved to worthless and what little records were kept are said to be inadequate. However more seriously, the Dallas police were wildly believed to be at fault for Oswalds death and even the world wide doubt over his guilt. Even though previously an attempt had been made to kill Oswald, no further security precautions had been taken to prevent this from happening again. Considering that they were holding the alleged assassin of the President in custody, the security was appalling. At the hands of Jack Ruby, one bullet had proved sufficient enough to kill Oswald. The fact that reporters were allowed to mingle around Oswald as he was escorted out of court, probably caused the death. Public access to Oswald should not have been permitted under any circumstance. Oswald was murdered in front of cameras and video footage of the incident shows that the police didn't make hardly any attempts to prevent the murder, but literally just stood there. Many people have found this to be extremely suspicious. Some believe that Jack Ruby killed Oswald to silence him and the police were ordered to let it happen. If this is true, who were they taking orders from? "I heard four to six shots and I'm pretty used to guns. They weren't echoes. They were different guns that were being fired." All these eyewitness testimonies remained inconclusive to the Warren Commission at the time, as they just didn't make sense. Similarly Kennedy's autopsy reports also contained many discrepancies. Two autopsies were carried out on Kennedy. It was hoped at the time that they would reveal the angles at which the bullets had entered Kennedy's body, hopefully pointing to where the gunman or gunmen were situated. The autopsies actually created even more confusion, as they were completely contradictory. The first autopsy was conducted in Parkland Hospital, Dallas although the official one was conducted in Bathesda Naval Hospital, Washington DC. When the two examinations were compared, alarming differences showed up. The main difference was that the exit and entry wounds were said to be different. In Dallas, doctors claimed that the bullet entered Kennedy's body at the front of the neck, about bow-tie height. When Kennedy was brought into Parkland Hospital, Dr Malcom Perry said that when he was about to perform the tracheotomy, he noticed a hole of about 5mm just below Kennedy's adams apple, presumably where the bullet had entered. Contrary to this, in Washington the autopsy reports show that the bullet exited from the neck. Their report confirmed the 'single bullet theory' addressed by the Warren Commission whose conclusion was highly dependent on this theory. This was that the bullet entered Kennedy's right shoulder blade, bruised the strap muscles of the right side of the neck, damaging the windpipe and making its exit through the front of the neck. According to the 'single bullet theory,' the very same bullet entered Governor Connally's back, who had been seated in front of Kennedy, w
Some common words found in the essay are:
Warren Commission, FBI CIA, Mannlicher Carcano, Jay Epstein, Robert Kennedy, Jack Ruby, Considering Oswald, Vietnam War, Warren Commission's, Governor Connally, warren commission, depository building, bullet entered, grassy knoll, entered kennedy's, bullet entered kennedy's, kennedy's assassination, kennedy victim, dallas police, victim conspiracy, robert kennedy, kennedy victim conspiracy, 'single bullet theory', result people started, verdict lee harvey,
Approximate Word count = 3015
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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