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

I think the worst thing to happen to Oswald since he was framed for killing Kennedy and murdered by Jack Ruby is his Hollywoodizing by people claiming to be his defenders. They have turned him into something that he wasn't; and they have endorsed all kinds of false stories about him. Some of these people are magnets for every false rumor and wild story about Oswald to come down the pike. 

What is crucial is to stick to the known facts. But, what makes something a fact? It takes more than somebody claiming it. Look how many men have been released from life imprisonment and even Death Row by DNA analysis? Just recently, another man got freed after decades in prison. But, how did these innocent men get convicted in the first place? Usually, it was from eye witness testimonies, and often just one: one eye-witness getting it wrong. 

When it comes to false reports about Oswald, what is the basis for them? First, the person could be mistaking Oswald for an Oswald double. Second, the person could be lying. And third, the person could be delusional. 

What helps to sort through it is to review the known facts. We know that Oswald returned from Russia in June 1962. We know he was minimally debriefed by the FBI. And that wrapped up the false defector program for him. We know he sought, unsuccessfully, to exploit his Russian-speaking ability, but nothing came of it job-wise. So, he began a series of low-paying jobs, none of which lasted. He and Marina also got involved with the White Russian community in Dallas. They attended some parties, and Oswald wowed them with his Russian-speaking. He met George DeMohrenschildt, and they became fast friends. DeMohrenschildt was no doubt asked to befriend Oswald by the CIA. There were a lot of residence changes for the Oswalds in that short period. And then in April 1963, after he loses his job at Jaggars/Chiles/Stovall, he heads down to New Orleans, arriving there on April 25.

I know of no reason to believe that Oswald was working as an intelligence agent during that period or that he was receiving $200/month from the FBI. That would have gone a long way, but the Oswalds were always in dreadful poverty, living hand to mouth. So, how could he have been getting $200/month?

But, somewhere during that period- between June 1962 when he returned from Russia and before April 1963 when he moved to New Orleans- the decision was made to cast him as the patsy in the JFK assassination. Perhaps it was made as soon as he got back from Russia. Perhaps it crossed someone's mind before he came back from Russia. But, I say he had to be here to really be pegged for the role.
   
I don't know what the official story is as to why Oswald moved to New Orleans other than that he just thought he had better job prospects there. But, we know the role it played in the assassination: to establish his pro-Castro credentials. And that's why I have to think they did something to draw him down there.

In Dallas, Oswald was not doing intelligence work of any kind; he was just working odd jobs. And by the time he went to New Orleans, he was already cast as the patsy, and once they cast him as the patsy, they weren't going to tell him anything about the plot. That would have been dumb. Why would they do that? He was the patsy. You keep the patsy in the dark. The less the patsy knows the better. 

What reason was there to tell him? He wasn't needed for anything. It's not as though they needed him to shoot. They had real assassins for that.

So, once he got to New Orleans, the dye was cast. He was the patsy, and they weren't going to breathe a word to him about the plot. From that point on, they were just playing him. They were stringing him along, keeping him totally in the dark about what was really going on. 

And why would they have done otherwise? Why would they tell him they were going to kill Kennedy? Why would they think he would be into it? Why would they think he would be capable of it? Why would they think that he was qualified? Why would they think he could be trusted? And most important, why would they think that if he was taken into custody after the assassination that he would remain quiet, particularly after he realized he was framed? Why would they empower him with information he could use against them?

Oswald was just the hapless patsy in the JFK assassination. He had no other role; no other assignment. He was not hobnobing with Carlos Marcello or other gangsters. He did not go to Mexico City to sneak poison into Cuba to kill Castro.  And, he certainly was not up on the 6th floor with Malcolm Wallace prepping his rifle. 

If when they decided to make Oswald the patsy in the JFK assassination, they also decided to make him a participant in it and even a shooter, they would have been the dumbest criminals in the history of crime.