Jfk Assassination And Conspiracy Theories

THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION

The assassination of John F. Kennedy is one of the most controversial and debated topics in American History. November 22, 1963, the day that JFK was assassinated, is a day that will live in infamy in the mind of every American. It is not certain why Kennedy was murdered, or who actually murdered him. Speculations as to who murdered the president first lead to Lee Harvey Oswald. The Warren Commission, appointed by president Lyndon B. Johnson was established to determine who killed JFK and why. In the eyes of many Americans, the Warren Commission failed to come to an accurate conclusion. The biggest slip up that the Commission made was disregarding key eyewitness reports that they considered to be incompatible, inconsistent and were contrary to their lone psychotic assassin theory.

There is strong evidence to support that there was more than one shooter on the day of the assassination. As President Kennedy's motorcade turned left onto Elm Street, a series of gunshots rang out. Kennedy was struck twice and Governor Connally once. But where did the gunfire come from? According to the official report from the Warren Commission, all three shots came from the sixth story of the Texas School Book Depository. Thus the Commission surmised that one person, namely Oswald, had been completely responsible. But the Commission ignored the opinions of experts as well as eyewitness accounts and the sounds coming from police radios. Data that supports the involvement of the Mafia suggests that the Mob was involved in the murder of JFK as a result of his brother, Robert Kennedy's crime busting. It is also believed that Castro, with strong motives, ordered Kennedy to be killed as a result of U.S. Cuban affairs. Strong evidence supports the idea that the CIA was behind the murder of its own president, as a result of JFK's unethical decisions (regarding what?). Thus, support (form experts in the field????) has been generated to maintain that Oswald was not the only person involved in the killing of John F. Kennedy. Contrary to popular belief that Oswald was the "lone gunman" and mastermind behind the JFK assassination, there is much evidence to support that the findings of the Warren Commission were indeed wrong.

Eyewittness accounts and acoustic evidence also contribute to the provability that the there was more than one shooter. Evidence that was presented by witnesses (that said what in sum?) to the commission was disregarded because it contradicted their theory of one shooter. Additionally, it was scientifically proven with more than a 95% certainty that there were four shots fired from two different locations. The proof was found in a recording captured on the radio traffic of the Dallas Police Department. These radios were in the possession of police officers who were situated close to the motorcade and adjacent to a railroad yard and a grassy knoll. The first two gunshots could be heard faintly in the distance; however, the third was noticeably louder and presumably fired closer to where the officers were stationed. Experts analyzed the recordings and came to a mutual conclusion. In December of 1963, two of the expert investigators, Mark Weiss and Ernest Aschkenasy, testified before the House Assassination Committee. In their conclusion Professor Weiss stated that "with the probability of ninety-five percent or better" the third shot came from the grassy knoll (Arnold 189). Furthermore, several innocent bystanders also confirmed that gunfire came from the grassy knoll. These witnesses included six railroad workers who confirmed reports of smoke being seen in the area surrounding the grassy knoll immediately after the shooting stopped (Scheim 40). Additionally, several onlookers heard the sharp crack of a rifle report behind them as they observed the President's motorcade. Perhaps the most compelling account is the description given by Senator Ralph Yarborough who rode in the motorcade a few cars behind President Kennedy's limousine. The Senator stated that after driving by the grassy knoll "you could smell gun powder on our car nearly all the way to Parkland Hospital" (Scheim 40).

Along with the evidence of audio, a video captured by Abraham Zapruder documented this moment in history (did the video contribute evidence? Let us know why you are bringing this up and if it is important, this shouldn't be the first time it is introduced). Many people believe that there was no possible way that Oswald had time to fire all four shots, therefore there must have been a second shooter. The disproval of the "superbullet" (was this something suggested by the Commision?) theory helps to prove that one bullet could not have killed JFK as well as hit Senator Connally. The bullet would have had to hit President Kennedy in the neck, from the front, and then hit Connally through the back, chest, wrist, and thigh. This theory is impossible according to the Zapruder film. The film shows a definite delay between the wounding of the two men. It was physically impossible to get three well-aimed shots off in less than five seconds, because it takes 2.5 seconds for one shot (cite your source). Less than 2.5 seconds elapsed between the first and second and the second and third shots. One assassin could not shoot three shots at a man in a limousine, traveling at 11.2 mph, in under five seconds. This is evidence that there had to be a second gunman present. This does not support the Commision's theory of the "lone gunman", known as Oswald. This film also shows that there is plausible reason to believe there was a conspiracy. This film was shot with a 8mm movie camera that filmed 18.3 frames per second. Zapruder was located on a concrete platform extending from the grassy knoll. The Zapruder film implies that the first shot was fired right before frame 204. It is known that the President was shot before frame 204 because his wife turned sharply toward him at 204. It would not have been possible for Oswald, who was in the sixth story to have shot at the President at this time. A large oak tree blocked the assassins view between frames 166-210; therefore there must have been another shooter in another position. The Zapruder film implies that there is indeed a second gunman, according to the evidence and reaction of Jacqueline Kennedy at frame 204; therefore the Commission disregarded concrete evidence suggesting a second shooter, which implies that there may have been a conspiracy.

Now that it has been proven that there was more than one assassin, there