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

Clark Rob asks why David Atlee Phillips would let Oswald step outside during the motorcade. But, we don't have to limit it to DAP. Why would the conspirators let Oswald step outside?

But, even that is too limited a question. Why would the conspirators let Oswald wander around freely in the 45 minutes leading up to the assassination? The fact that Oswald cited Junior Jarmon and the "small negro" Harold Norman as being two people who were milling around when he ate his lunch in the Domino room is also very damning. There were 75 employees there, and Oswald accurately cited two who confirmed that they were indeed there at that time.

It's damning because it was probably as late as 12:20, and some have suggested later than that, such as 12:22 or 12: 23. Remember that the motorcade was supposed to pass the TSBD at 12:25, and I don't think anyone got the word to Oswald that it was going to be 5 minutes late. So, how could Oswald be calmly eating his cheese sandwich and apple at 12;23 when he expected the President to drive by at 12:25? And even for 12:30, it's just too late- far too late- for him to still be downstairs. It leaves too little time for him to get up to the 6th floor. 

But then it was after that that Oswald was seen by Carolyn Arnold. So, why did they let that happen? Why did they let Oswald be a free agent inside or outside the building in the 45 minutes leading up to the shooting?

Well, think about it the other way: What could they have done to stop him? Tackle him? Tie him down? Of course not. All they could do to control him was to tell him things. But, what could they tell him? I assure they did NOT tell him that they were killing Kennedy that day. They must have realized that they might not get him killed right away, that he might spend some time in police custody, where he could talk, where he could be broken. It was bad enough that he could relate that he was a government intelligence agent, but for him to relate inside information about the assassination and federal involvement therein would have been catastrophic.

Oswald was the patsy. That's all. They weren't going to give him inside information. They weren't going to cut him in on the plot.

So, how exactly do you come up with a reason why a guy should stay out of sight for 45 minutes when you can't tell him what's going on? You see the problem now? They took a chance with that. They must have figured that if any witnesses reported seeing him that they would just discredit those witnesses later, as they tried to do with Carolyn Arnold.

But, I'm sure they were watching Oswald the whole time. And I'm sure that at least one person in that doorway was assigned with the task of making sure, if Oswald came out, that he did not proceed very far. I suspect that person was Bill Shelley.

Let's remember that we don't know what they told Oswald. They must have told him something, but we don't know what. Is it possible that Oswald stepped outside despite having been told not to? It's possible. But, Oswald only went as far as the landing. The guy in front of him was wearing a white shirt and tie, and we suspect that was Shelley. I know that Shelley said that he was in back, but that was very probably a lie.

The point is that Oswald wandered around freely those 45 minutes from the start of the lunch break to the shooting, but he was, in fact, on a leash- a short leash. There, in the doorway, you had Bill Shelley, standing there with both arms crossing his chest. Standing in the center. What do you think would have happened if Oswald had tried to walk down those steps? Shelley would have stopped him. 

Then, you've got Jack Ruby who appears to be turned and facing Oswald. So, Oswald had Shelley in front of him, and Ruby staring at him from Elm. Look right above the boy's wool cap. What do you see? Brown forehead? No, that wasn't his skin color. That was the ribbon of his fedora hat. He was facing the other way, towards Oswald. That's why they had to cover him up with the Woman and Boy. How odd would it be for someone to be turned and facing Doorman instead of looking at the President? Then you've got the two SS agents who also appear to be peering at Oswald.

Why is it so dark under the brim of his hat if he's facing forward? Why doesn't his skin look the same color as the Woman and Boy? And don't tell me he was African-American. It's not his skin. He was facing the other way. It's the ribbon of his hat.

If you look at his shoulder line on the left, it's at the proper angle for that to be his back.

Getting back to what Clark Rob said, why would they let Oswald step outside, they certainly didn't want it. They may have told him something to discourage it, though we have no idea what. And they were no doubt watching him closely, including while he was doing it.

What would they have done if Oswald had tried to descend those steps to venture out into the plaza? I honestly don't know. They would have been in a pickle. They obviously couldn't have made a scene. I'm sure they would have discreetly tried to stop him.

But, what if he said, "Get the fuck out of my way! I'm going down these fucking steps!"

Could they afford to fight with Oswald at that point? Let it turn into a scene? a brawl? a spectacle? No, he would have had them then. He would have been off the hook- lost to them as the patsy. They may have had a backup patsy. But, Oswald would have been out of the vice. It's mouthwatering to think about.

They made a calculated decision and took a calculated risk to let Oswald wander around freely the last 45 minutes before the assassination. And now, 50 years later, it is biting them in the butt. Both Gerald McKnight and I say so.