Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

The issue of Oswald's morality is something I think we all have to deal with. Obviously, the lone-nutters, and the HSCA CTs who think that Oswald did kill Kennedy but with accomplices, consider him a murderer. 

But, what if he wasn't a murderer, but he did other things that were bad? There are all degrees of bad, right? 

For instance, what if he was part of the conspiracy, and went along with it to a point, and even agreed to be an assassin, but then, knowing that Kennedy was going to die whether he fired or not, decided to just go downstairs and watch the slaughter from the doorway as a spectator?  

That's what Hooke says happened, but how moral would it be? Would you award him the Medal of Honor for that? Hooke would. But maybe that says more about Hooke than about Oswald. 

But, if you consider yourself an Oswald defender, how much do you defend him? Do you think that, short of actually committing murder, that he did other bad things?  

First, I'm not suggesting the guy was a saint. I don't think anybody goes through life without moral failings. But, the point is that Oswald could have been guilty of plenty without killing Kennedy or Tippit. He could have had played a part in the conspiracy but without killing anyone. There are people in the world who are dastardly and wicked but who never commit murder. 

So, when we say that "Lee Harvey Oswald was Innocent" which is the title of this Facebook page, how innocent do you think he was? 

Well, I decided to ask that question of someone I respect a great deal, and that is: John Armstrong. And, I'll tell you what he said. My questions are in regular text, and his answer are all caps. 

John, I would like your opinion about something. Obviously, Harvey did not kill Kennedy, and he was framed for it. But, do you think it's possible that he was guilty in some other way? NO, HE WAS SIMPLY A PATSY. HE HAD NO ROLE OTHER THAN THAT.

For instance, do you think he had foreknowledge of the assassination and let it happen? NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT.  

Do you think he was actively collaborating with men whom he knew were plotting to kill Kennedy?  NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT.

They say he slapped Marina around. If he did, I fault him for that. But, do you believe it?  READ MY BOOK, RALPH. MARINA WAS KGB. SHE LIED WHEN SHE SAID LHO BEAT HER. SHE WAS TELLING HER STORIES OF BEATINGS TO EVERYONE IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH  A VALID REASON FOR DIVORCE.

You can see that John Armstrong is a real Oswald defender. The Warren Report contains references to "neighbors who reported seeing signs that Oswald had beaten her." But, they never brought those neighbors in. To the best of my knowledge, Marina is the only named person who claimed that there were beatings.

To my mind, this is an unresolved issue, but I'll admit that my bias and my hope is that Oswald did not beat his wife.  I'll add that I think it's a dastardly and intolerable thing for any man to physically abuse any woman. 

But, I think a man is innocent until proven guilty. And I know of no proof that Oswald beat his wife. And since he's not here to defend himself, I think he's entitled to the presumption of innocence- even about that.  

And, I agree with John Armstrong that there is not a shred of evidence that Oswald had foreknowledge of the JFK assassination. And to allege that he was up on the 6th floor with Mac Wallace until nearly the last minute is preposterous. There were witnesses who saw him downstairs and as late as 12:25 in the case of Carolyn Arnold.

So, I am an Oswald defender, and I defend him from attacks from all directions- including that of Richard Hooke.