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

Why didn't Marvin Belli allow Jack Ruby to testify? He could have told the jury that he had no memory of shooting Oswald, that he just remembered going there, and police pouncing upon him, and all the rest was a "blur." He could have told them that he had no plan to kill Oswald, that when he left for the Western Union office that morning to wire $25 to Karen Carlin, that he put his dog in the car. Why would he do that if he planned to shoot Oswald, knowing that he would never be going back to his life? Wouldn't he make arrangements for his dogs- and everything else in his life?

It should be obvious to anyone that there is no basis to claim that Ruby intended to shoot Oswald. If he intended to shoot Oswald, don't you think he would have gotten there on time to do it? It was scheduled for 10 AM, and Ruby said that he knew that. So, don't you think that he would have showed up on time, rather than an hour twenty minutes late? 

So, why did the jury give Ruby a death sentence? A death sentence? I thought death sentences were reserved for premeditated, cold-blooded murder, not a crime of passion. And again: why didn't Melvin Belli let Ruby testify? What was he afraid of? That Ruby wouldn't hold up on the cross examination? But, in this case, if he didn't hold up, he would have looked incompetent and stupid, which was good. And what could the prosecutor have said to trap him?

Prosecutor: Why exactly did you bring your dog along that morning, Mr. Ruby? Wasn't it because you were trying to make it look like just an ordinary day, when you were really intending to shoot Oswald?

Jack Ruby: No, I really thought it was an ordinary day. I expected to drive home with my dog. I had no intention of shooting Oswald.

Prosecutor: Then why did you have a loaded gun on you?

Jack Ruby: I always carry it. I often walk around with a lot of cash, as I did that day.

Prosecutor:  Did you know Oswald was going to be moved at 10 AM?

Jack Ruby: Yes, I heard it on the radio.

Prosecutor: Then why did you show up an hour and twenty minutes late if you intended to... wait, scratch that. You say you had no intention of shooting Oswald. Then what was it about the sight of him that caused you to shoot him?

Jack Ruby: I don't know because I don't remember shooting him. 

Prosecutor: What went through your mind when police started pouncing on you?

Jack Ruby: I asked myself and them why they were doing it because I didn't know. I really didn't know.

Prosecutor: Didn't you hear the gun blast?

Jack Ruby: No, I don't remember hearing the gun blast.

Prosecutor: Were you in a rage that morning?

Jack Ruby: No.

Prosecutor: But, you were distraught about the killing of the President weren't you?

Jack Ruby: I think I was to the extent a lot of people were. But, I continued to work. And I went to the Synagogue for two hours on Saturday evening and spoke to my rabbi. I was eating, going to restaurants. I think I was carrying on quite normally.

What could the prosecutor have said to trap Ruby? What lie could he have caught him in? What reason did Melvin Belli have not to put Jack Ruby on the stand?

They weren't disputing what the prosecution said happened. They were only disputing why it happened. So, what could the prosecutor have said to corner Ruby?

Why didn't Melvin Belli let Ruby testify?