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

Some of you know me as a famous screenwriter, but I’m also a famous JFK assassination researcher and a staunch defender of Lee Harvey Oswald. He did not shoot President Kennedy or anyone else. He was framed and innocent. This is a hypothetical first meeting between Oswald and his lawyer on Saturday afternoon, November 23, 1963, had the authorities allowed it.

LAWYER: Mr. Oswald, my name is Eric Handler. I am a criminal defense lawyer here in Texas. I've been assigned to your case to represent you. Are you OK with that?

OSWALD:  Yes, I am. 

LAWYER:  Good. First, are you hurt? You look a look a little injured there. 

OSWALD: I got hit in the eye by a policeman when we scuffled in the theater. But, nothing's happened since then. My main complaint is that they took my shirt away and left me in this ragged t-shirt. It's chilly, for one thing. Also, they haven't let me shower. 

LAWYER: I'll raise those issues with the police as soon as we finish. Now, you are charged with shooting and killing the President and a police officer named JD Tippit. What do you have to say about it? 

OSWALD: I didn't shoot or kill anybody, and I don't know who did. I am innocent, and all of this is terribly wrong. 

LAWYER: Then let's start with the President. Where were you when he was shot? 

OSWALD: I was standing in the doorway of the Book Depository watching the parade. There were other employees there, and I  recognized most of them, but I can only tell you a few names. My boss Bill Shelley was there. So was Buell Frazier, with whom I ride to Irving on the weekends. Billy Lovelady was standing to my left. And there was a big Negro man standing at the bottom to my right. His first name is Carl. I don't recall his last name.

LAWYER: I see. Then let me show you something. This is from today's paper. It's a cropped image from a photo, and it includes the doorway. Do you see yourself there?

He hands the paper to Oswald.

OSWALD: Yes. That's me right there. (He points to the man in the longsleeved shirt.) That's my face and my shirt. It's my image, but it's off. It's distorted. And it looks like it's been tampered with. The top of my head isn't right. Still, it is definitely me. But, that is one freaky image. What happened to Lovelady's head? He's like the Headless Horseman. You can't shade out a whole head. That whole doorway is a mess. It's a freak show. They did some weird stuff to that photo; I guarantee you. 

LAWYER: OK, that's noted. So, you weren't up on the 6th floor? 

OSWALD: Then? No. Of course not. How could I be two places at once? 

LAWYER: Were you ever on the 6th floor that morning? 

OSWALD: Yes, I'm an order-filler, and I did go up there to get some stock. But, I broke for lunch the same time everyone else did, and I never returned to the 6th floor. 

LAWYER: What did you do when you broke for lunch?

OSWALD: I went down to the 1st floor and ate my lunch in the lunch room, which we call the domino room. 

LAWYER: You brought your lunch with you? 

OSWALD: Yes, I spent the night with my wife in Irving at the home of Ruth Paine, and I fixed a cheese sandwich and an apple to take with me when I came to work.

LAWYER: Is that all you brought with you?

OSWALD: Yes, that's all I brought with me.

LAWYER: Buell Frazier is saying that you brought a long narrow package, something about 2 feet long. 

OSWALD: That's ridiculous. Look: I ate my lunch and I threw the refuse away. So, my bag should still be in the trash can there. You can go there yourself and look for it- unless somebody took it. 

LAWYER: Now, why would somebody do that? Do you think you are being framed?

OSWALD: I'm just saying if you go there, and it’s not there, it definitely means that somebody took it. 

LAWYER: Did you tell Frazier that you were bringing curtain rods?

OSWALD: No. Why would I do that? What would I need them for when there are already curtains in my room? And if I needed curtain rods, why would I steal Ruth Paine’s? She is housing my wife and kids. She’s teaching me to drive. Why would I steal from her?

LAWYER: Of course, the idea is that you told him that because you were returning with a rifle.

OSWALD: Well, I wasn’t returning with a rifle. I had no need to tell him that. I didn’t tell him that. And I don’t know why he’s saying it.

LAWYER: All right, let's move on. Do you own a rifle? 

OSWALD: No.

LAWYER: Have you ever owned a rifle?

OSWALD: I owned one in Russia, but I sold it over there. Actually, it was a shotgun. 

LAWYER: Did you mail-order a rifle from Chicago in March?

OSWALD: No, of course not. I just told you that I don't own a rifle. And if I wanted to get a rifle, why would I mail-order it from Chicago when they've got plenty of rifles here? I could go into K-Mart where they have bins of them. What's so special about the rifles in Chicago? 

LAWYER: Well, they're saying that you mail-ordered a rifle from Chicago in March and had it sent to a P.O. Box. 

OSWALD: What? That’s ridiculous. And if that's what they think, why haven't they asked me about it? Nobody has said a word to me about that. I did not order a rifle from Chicago, and I do not have a P.O. Box. 

LAWYER: Did you have a P.O. Box in March? 

OSWALD: No. Why would I need a P.O. Box? That costs money, and they deliver mail to your house for free. Furthermore, not having a car, I would have to hoof it to the post office or take the bus. Why should I do that? Why not let the post office deliver my mail to my residence and make it easy? 

LAWYER: So, there was nothing you needed privacy about? Nothing you wanted to keep private from your wife? 

OSWALD: Absolutely not. I don't have any secrets from her. What, do you think I was having an affair? 

LAWYER: No, I don't think that, but it's my job to ask.

OSWALD: Well, I wasn’t.

LAWYER: So, they have an order-form allegedly in your handwriting, but you're saying that it's bogus? 

OSWALD: I'm swearing on a stack of Bibles that it's bogus. I never ordered a rifle. I don't own a rifle. And I haven't handled a rifle since I left Russia. 

LAWYER: Would your wife confirm that? 

OSWALD: Of course she would, and you are free to ask her. 

(Note: When first asked if Oswald owned a rifle, Marina said he used to a long time ago, but it got sold.)

LAWYER: All right then, let's move on to Tippit. You say you didn't shoot him. Do you know anything about it?

OSWALD: Not a thing. I don't even know where he got shot. Where was it?

LAWYER: 10th and Patton.

OSWALD: 10th and Patton? I wasn't at 10th and Patton. What possible reason did I have to be at 10th and Patton? 

LAWYER: I don't know. You tell me. 

OSWALD: Look, I went home by bus and cab. I changed my pants. Not my shirt, just my pants. And then I went to the theater. Now, it's a straight shot down Beckley to Jefferson. And when you get to Jefferson, you turn right, and there's the theater. 10th and Patton would have been out of the way. I didn't go there. I had no reason to go there. And I didn't have any reason to shoot Officer Tippit. What for? I hadn't done anything.

LAWYER: Why did you go to the theater? 

OSWALD: I went there because XXX told me that I could be in trouble from having lived in the USSR, and that I should go to the theater because someone who could help me would be there.

(Note: Oswald's actions in the theater indicated that he was looking for someone. He kept getting up and sitting down next to different people.)

LAWYER: But, you never found this person? 

OSWALD: That's right. 

LAWYER: All right, listen to me. We're going to have to quit now because they only gave me 20 minutes for this. But, I'll tell you right now that if the FBI is proffering bogus evidence of you purchasing a rifle, that is criminal obstruction of justice. It means that they are committing a crime. And of course, if that's you in the doorway of Altgens photo, obviously you couldn't be there and up on the 6th floor at the same time. And if they tampered with the photo, that is more criminal obstruction of justice. By the way, what did you think of Kennedy? 

OSWALD: I liked him. I always have. 

LAWYER: So, you weren't peeved at him about anything?

OSWALD: No. Why should I be? He got us through the Cuban Missile Crisis without a war. And remember: my wife has family in the Soviet Union, and we both have friends there. Plus, Kennedy refused to invade Cuba, when many people wanted him to. He was for disarmament. He was trying to end the Cold War. I’m in favor of all that.

LAWYER: So, you had no reason at all to want to kill him? 

OSWALD: Are you kidding? Look: I had no more reason to kill him than you did. I had no more inclination to kill him than you did. And I gave no more thought to killing him than you did, which is to say that it never entered my mind. 

LAWYER: So, you didn't pose for that picture with the rifle? 

OSWALD: Of course not. How could I when I never possessed the rifle. The cops did show me that picture, and I told them that somebody put my face over someone else's body. It was a photographic trick, and I told them that if they took me to a photo lab, I could show them how it was done. Someone is framing me.

LAWYER: And in more ways than one: the phony order-form, the phony P.O. Box, the phony image, the tampered image. OK, here's what I want you to do. Refuse to talk to them any further unless I am present. If they ask you anything, you tell them that you want your lawyer present. I am going to press them now about your clothing and hygiene. Have you been getting adequate food? 

OSWALD: Yeah, it's been all right. 

LAWYER: They are going to move you to the County Jail tomorrow, which will start a whole new interaction. It's run by the Sheriff's Office, and I’m on good terms with them. I can press them about your safety, protection, and living conditions. 

OSWALD: What about my wife and kids' safety and protection? 

LAWYER: I think we should move them. I think we can find something more sheltered than the Paine residence.   

OSWALD: You realize, I don't have much money. 

LAWYER: Don't worry about that. I know people who will help, and I'm one of them. 

OSWALD: So, you believe me then?

LAWYER: Yes, I do. My gut is telling me that you are telling the truth, and I am going to fight for you.  

Oswald extends his hand, and they shake. 

OSWALD: Well, thank you. That's the best news I've heard since this nightmare began. 

LAWYER: All right then, I'm leaving. But, you stay strong, and do what I said and refuse to answer any more questions unless I'm present. 

OSWALD:  I shall do that. 

LAWYER: Good. I'll get back here as soon as I can. 

OSWALD:  Thank you. 

Lawyer: You're welcome.  

Eric turns and leaves the cell.