PSC482G, Spring 2000
Assignment 13, for Friday 18 February 2000
Warren Commission Report 4
(N.B. This assignment is for your guidance only. It need not be turned in.)
Read: Warren Commission Report Chapter IV (pp. 118–195; pp. 156–176 optional).
Answer these questions (briefly):
(1–7) The commission laid out the evidence against Oswald in the following sequence. Briefly evaluate the strengths and limitations of each of their conclusions.
1. He owned and possessed the rifle that shot all bullets that were recovered (and maybe all the tiny fragments, too—but that’s another story).
2. He brought that rifle to the TSBD on the morning of 22 November 1963.
3. He was on the sixth floor of the TSBD a half-hour before the assassination.
4. He was seen firing one or more shots from the southeast window, pausing a moment to observe his handiwork, and then withdrawing the rifle.
5. Six months earlier, he had used the same rifle to try to kill retired Army General Edwin H. Walker in cold blood, but just missed when the general moved at the last moment.
6. Two weeks after the Walker incident, Oswald set out to kill Richard M. Nixon while Nixon was visiting Dallas, but was physically restrained by his wife Marina.
7. He was a good enough shot to potentially succeed at all these attempts.
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8. Briefly recap Oswald’s movements after the shooting.
9. During his detention, Oswald lied repeatedly. Note some of the lies. How helpful are they in establishing his guilt or innocence?
10. Summarize the tests on Oswald’s rifle.