The Warren Commission’s investigation concluded that a lone assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, shot the president without an accomplice. Stretching their imaginations to far reaches, this government-sponsored commission disregarded an amazing amount of evidence and inconsistencies. What should have been one of the most thorough investigations ever conducted was unbelievably flawed, leading many to believe there could have been a conspiracy, and yet to this day, the Kennedy case is considered closed by the majority of Americans.

Even if one disregards the errors in the autopsy as innocent mistakes caused as a result of a chaotic situation, there still remains evidence pointing to a conspiracy. Acoustics Studies of the Zapruder Film, as well as the testimonies of over fifty witnesses have shown that there were four or more shots fired at the president, with at least one or more coming from the grassy knoll.

What is even more suspicious than the extremely flawed autopsy are the events surrounding Oswald’s prints on the rifle. The Warren Report cited the palm print found on the rifle confidently as evidence linking Oswald to what is considered the assassination rifle. There are no questions concerning whether or not it was Oswald’s print on the rifle, but instead questions arise over how the print actually got there. Before removing the rifle from the Book Depository, Lieutenant Carl Day of the Dallas police crime laboratory dusted the rifle and tried to bring out some of the vague prints he perceived in the vicinity of the trigger housing. (Hurt, 106) He found nothing that was of any forensic value. After taking the rifle to the laboratory to continue his efforts, he concluded and told the Warren Commission, “I could not make any positive identification of these prints.” (Hurt, 107) The rifle was then taken to an FBI laboratory in Washington where professionals examined it. After much deliberation it was decided that they could not identify the prints found on the rifle to be Oswald’s. It is in the following events that take place where much speculation transpires. After an autopsy, Oswald’s body was taken to Miller’s Funeral Home in Fort Worth to be prepared for burial. “The only visitors reported were a team of FBI agents, who spent more than an hour with his body.” (Hurt, 107) Paul Groody, the funeral director recalled the visit in an interview:

Of all the debate surrounding the actual shooting, nothing has caused more argument than whether or not Oswald could have executed the spectacularly fast and accurate shots. (Hurt, 98) The Warren Commission believed he could, but there is a great amount of evidence saying that it was impossible, thus creating a conspiracy. If Oswald were the sniper, he would not only have had to been extremely swift but also would have had to have incredible accuracy, something that those who knew him recognized he had none of. Oswald’s records in the Marine Corp reveal that he had an awful shot. In a firing test, “He scored only one point over the lowest possible level of qualification.” (Hurt, 99) The Warren Commission heard testimony from one former Marine, Nelson Delgado, who stated that Oswald’s marksmanship was “a joke”, and that he could barely qualify on the range. (Summers, 99) Also, less important, but relevant to the shooting was the gun which was used for the shooting. The ancient, bolt-action Mannlicher-Carcano, represents the opposite of what any sniper would carry. One handbook on rifles has called it “an odd choice” for an assassination, since it “has no great reputation for accuracy.” (Hurt, 100) Mechanix Illustrated, dismissed this rifle as being, “crudely made, poorly designed, dangerous, inaccurate…unreliable on repeat shots,” and the telescope on the rifle was off center, giving Oswald an even greater handicap. (Hurt, 100) Oswald’s poor marksmanship, and his inferior weapon presented a considerable challenge to the Warren Commission. This challenge was heightened when expert sharpshooters, using the same rifle, failed to duplicate Oswald’s accuracy. In order to avoid any more evidence proving the Commission’s report false, a member of the HSCA committee, Robert Blakey said that “while it is not impossible for Oswald to have fired these shots, none of my experts were able to duplicate his marksmanship.” (Hurt, 101) With those words said, the Commission disregarded any of the other evidence presented and ran, using it as supporting evidence in thei

Some topics in this essay:
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