The types of evidence most available in the JFK assassination

The types of evidence most available in the JFK assassination
(Draft, 11 April 2000)

    The related essay “The right way and the wrong way to use evidence” defined the four basic types of evidence and showed why they rank in order of decreasing importance as (1) direct physical (physical means “validated physical”), (2) indirect physical, (3) direct testimonial, and (4) indirect testimonial. The immediately question then arises as to which of these types are most common in the JFK assassination. We answer this by providing examples from each category.
      The law defines direct evidence as that which bears immediately on the perpetrator (and any conspirators) of a crime and, if believed, solves the crime. The perpetrator can be caught by direct physical evidence (a security camera in a milk store, for example) or by direct testimonial evidence (the clerk in the store who was robbed and later identified the thief). Since most testimonial evidence is subject to some doubt, direct physical evidence corresponds to what the law simply calls “direct.” For all practical purposes, it is limited to photos, films, and videos. Conspirators, however, nearly always have to be caught by indirect evidence.
      Indirect physical evidence is simply direct physical evidence on some aspect of the assassination other than who did it (or who conspired).
      Direct testimonial evidence is the account of a witness to the crime who claims to be able to identify who did it or conspired but has no physical evidence to back it up.
      Indirect testimonial evidence is the account of a witness to some other aspect of the crime, again without physical evidence to back it up.
      Representative examples of each of these four types of evidence in the JFK assassination are listed in the table below, which is set up in the same way as the table in “The right way and the wrong way.” Several main points are clear. First, no direct physical evidence is available on shooter(s) or conspirators. This means that the identity of all participants will have to be determined indirectly. (The Moorman photo is discredited direct physical evidence.) Second, the indirect physical evidence comprises all the traditional physical evidence, some 15–20 basic pieces or more, depending on what you count (the Z-film the bullet fragments, the wounds, etc.). No physical evidence is available for potential conspirators. Third, there is very little direct testimonial evidence on the shooter(s), most notably Howard Brennan. Various people have claimed to be shooters or conspirators, but without physical documentation. Fourth, and most important, all the remaining evidence (the vast majority) is indirect testimonial, the weakest type. This category includes probably 95%–99% of the available evidence. This means that the proper view of the assassination must be derived from about 1%–5% of the evidence. We must be choose our evidence very selectively and very carefully.

	Direct	Indirect (circumstantial)
Physical (validated)	Rank = 1. Photographs, films, or videotapes of identifiable shooter(s) or conspirators in the act. None available. (The only direct physical evidence of any kind is Mary Moorman’s Polaroid photo allegedly of “Badgeman” behind the picket fence. Badgeman has not been validated, however; he seems to be fantasy rather than reality.)	Rank = 2. The conventional physical evidence, including the Zapruder film, the other films (mainly Nix and Muchmore), empty cartridge cases from the sixth floor, bullets and fragments retrieved, the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, wounds on the men’s bodies, damage to the limousine, the blood splatter on the limousine, the official autopsy report, the official X-rays and photographs from the autopsy, JFK’s clothing, documents such as the order forms for the rifle and the pistol, fingerprints and palm prints, fibers and threads, the brown paper bag, Oswald’s fake ID card, etc. Nothing available for potential conspirators.
Testimonial (witness)	Rank = 3. The testimony from anyone who reported seeing the shooter(s) or conspirators in the act and recognizing them. The only such witness for any shooter was Howard Brennan, who identified Oswald after the lineups. Various people have claimed to be a shooter (James Files, Charles Harrelson, etc.) or a conspirator (Chauncey Holt comes to mind), but never with physical documentation.	Rank = 4. Testimony from everybody else, including those who sighted a rifle or an unidentified shooter in the window (Amos Lee Euins, Robert H. Jackson, and Malcolm O. Couch), the three employees on the fifth floor (James Jarman, Jr., Bonnie Ray Williams, and Harold Norman), the men on the Triple Underpass, the other occupants of the Presidential limousine, the Secret Service men in cars following, the medical personnel from Parkland Hospital, the medical personnel at Bethesda other than the three pathologists, other employees of the TSBD, Marina Oswald, Ruth Paine, the bus driver, the taxi drivers, the Dallas Police, Buell Wesley Frazier, Linnie Mae Randle, various FBI agents, etc., etc. This category is huge.